# Metaculus Questions Scraper (`parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper`) Actor
Browse forecasting questions on Metaculus filtered by status, sort, or free text search. Each question carries id, title, category, status, close\_time, community\_prediction, and num\_predictions. Useful for AI safety research, geopolitics tracking, and forecast aggregation.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $7.50 / 1,000 results
This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## ๐ฎ Metaculus Questions Scraper
> ๐ **Export Metaculus forecasting questions in seconds, including community predictions, prediction counts, categories, and resolution dates, straight from the public api2 endpoint.**
> ๐ **Last updated:** 2026-05-29 ยท **๐ 12 fields** per record ยท 50,000+ Metaculus questions ยท Crowdsourced forecasting
The Metaculus Questions Scraper turns the Metaculus public `api2/questions/` endpoint into a clean dataset. It walks the cursor-paginated feed, filters by status and free-text search, and emits one row per question with the community median prediction, category, and timing.
| ๐ฏ Target Audience | ๐ก Primary Use Cases |
|---|---|
| ๐ฎ Forecasters | Calibration & track records |
| ๐ Researchers | Wisdom-of-crowds datasets |
| ๐ข Hedge funds | Tail-risk signal monitoring |
| ๐ค ML researchers | Forecast aggregation training |
| ๐ฐ Journalists | Real-world probability quotes |
| ๐ฉโ๐ป Developers | Mirror Metaculus locally |
### ๐ What the Metaculus Questions Scraper does
- Calls `https://www.metaculus.com/api2/questions/` with status, search, and ordering filters.
- Walks pagination until `maxItems` is reached.
- Extracts community median prediction, prediction count, categories, close & resolve times.
- Exports as CSV, Excel, JSON, JSONL, XML, RSS, or HTML.
> ๐ก **Why it matters:** Metaculus is the largest serious forecasting community on the internet. Their community predictions are battle-tested calibration sources.
### ๐ฌ Full Demo
_๐ง Coming soon._
### โ๏ธ Input
Field
Type
Required
Description
maxItems
integer
No
Free 10, paid up to 1M.
status
enum
No
open, closed, resolved, all.
search
string
No
Full-text query.
orderBy
enum
No
Sort order.
**Example 1:**
```json
{ "status": "open", "orderBy": "-vote_score", "maxItems": 50 }
````
**Example 2:**
```json
{ "search": "AI", "status": "open" }
```
> โ ๏ธ **Good to Know:** The Metaculus api2 endpoint is public. No key required.
### ๐ Output
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ `id` | number | Question ID. |
| ๐ `title` | string | Question title. |
| ๐ `url` | string | Public URL. |
| ๐ข `status` | string | open/closed/resolved. |
| ๐ท๏ธ `category` | string | Comma-joined categories. |
| โฐ `close_time` | string | When forecasting closes. |
| ๐ฎ `community_prediction` | number | Community median (q2). |
| ๐งฎ `num_predictions` | number | Total predictions count. |
| ๐ `scrapedAt` | string | When fetched. |
| โ `error` | string | Error if upstream failed. |
**Sample record:**
```json
{
"id": 12345,
"title": "Will AGI be declared before 2030?",
"url": "https://www.metaculus.com/questions/12345/",
"status": "open",
"category": "AI, Tech",
"close_time": "2029-12-31T23:59:00Z",
"community_prediction": 0.18,
"num_predictions": 4521,
"scrapedAt": "2026-05-29T13:00:00.000Z",
"error": null
}
```
### โจ Why choose this Actor
| ๐ | Public Metaculus api2, no key. |
| ๐ฎ | Pulls community median directly. |
| ๐ข | Numeric casting on every numeric field. |
| ๐ | Errors surfaced cleanly. |
| ๐ | Status, search, sort filters. |
| ๐พ | CSV / Excel / JSON / XML / RSS / HTML. |
### ๐ How it compares to alternatives
| Approach | Setup | Pagination? | Filter? | Errors? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw fetch | 20 min | manual | manual | โ |
| Custom scraper | 1 hr | โ | partial | partial |
| **This Actor** | 5 sec | โ | โ | โ |
### ๐ How to use
1. Click **Try for free**.
2. Pick a status / search.
3. Click **Start**.
### ๐ผ Business use cases
**๐ Tail-risk monitoring.** Watch AI, geopolitics, biosecurity questions for tail signals.
**๐ผ Calibration research.** Build calibration plots vs Metaculus community.
**๐ฐ Newsroom.** Quote crowd probabilities in stories.
**๐ค ML.** Train forecast aggregation models.
### ๐ Automating Metaculus Questions Scraper
- **Make / Zapier** to Airtable / Slack.
- **Cron schedule** native Apify.
- **Webhooks** on completion.
- **Pipe to BigQuery / Snowflake / Postgres**.
### ๐ Beyond business use cases
**๐ Education.** Teach forecasting / Bayesian inference.
**๐งช Personal research.** Track your interest area.
**๐ค Open data.** Public forecast dashboards.
**๐งฐ Prototyping.** Quick feed.
### ๐ค Ask an AI assistant about this scraper
Drop this README into ChatGPT or Claude.
### โ Frequently Asked Questions
**โ API key?** None.
**โ Pagination?** Cursor-paginated, fully walked.
**โ Filter?** Yes - status, search, sort.
**โ Cast?** Yes.
**โ Errors?** Clean `{error}` record.
**โ Schedule?** Yes.
**โ Scraping or API?** Public api2.
**โ Schema stable?** Yes.
**โ Formats?** CSV, Excel, JSON, JSONL, XML, RSS, HTML.
**โ Coverage?** All Metaculus questions.
### ๐ Integrate with any app
Apify integrations with Make, Zapier, Slack, Discord, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Gmail, Airbyte, Keboola, Telegram, GitHub, REST/webhook.
### ๐ Recommended Actors
| Actor | What it does |
|---|---|
| [ParseForge PredictIt Markets Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/predictit-markets-scraper) | Political prediction markets. |
| [ParseForge The Odds API Sports Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/the-odds-api-sports-scraper) | Sports betting markets. |
| [ParseForge Stocktwits Trending Symbols Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/stocktwits-trending-symbols-scraper) | Retail sentiment. |
| [ParseForge Alpha Vantage Public Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/alpha-vantage-public-scraper) | Stocks, FX, crypto. |
> ๐ก **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for 900+ scrapers.
***
**Disclaimer:** This actor scrapes only publicly available data. ParseForge is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the third-party services referenced. Users are responsible for complying with the target site's terms of service and applicable law. [Create a free account w/ $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
# Actor input Schema
## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):
Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000
## `status` (type: `string`):
Question status filter.
## `search` (type: `string`):
Full-text search across titles.
## `orderBy` (type: `string`):
Sort order for returned questions.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"maxItems": 10,
"status": "open",
"orderBy": "-publish_time"
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (type: `string`):
No description
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"maxItems": 10
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`๐พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// ๐ Want to learn more ๐? Go to โ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("๐พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# ๐ Want to learn more ๐? Go to โ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/metaculus-questions-scraper",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Metaculus Questions Scraper",
"description": "Browse forecasting questions on Metaculus filtered by status, sort, or free text search. Each question carries id, title, category, status, close_time, community_prediction, and num_predictions. Useful for AI safety research, geopolitics tracking, and forecast aggregation.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "P3Fs4wm1gWo195bVl"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/parseforge~metaculus-questions-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-parseforge-metaculus-questions-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/parseforge~metaculus-questions-scraper/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-parseforge-metaculus-questions-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/parseforge~metaculus-questions-scraper/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-parseforge-metaculus-questions-scraper",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"maxItems": {
"title": "Max Items",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 1000000,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000"
},
"status": {
"title": "Status",
"enum": [
"open",
"closed",
"resolved",
"all"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Question status filter.",
"default": "open"
},
"search": {
"title": "Search query (optional)",
"type": "string",
"description": "Full-text search across titles."
},
"orderBy": {
"title": "Order by",
"enum": [
"-publish_time",
"publish_time",
"-close_time",
"close_time",
"-vote_score"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Sort order for returned questions.",
"default": "-publish_time"
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```