# Wikimedia Commons User Rights Log Scraper (`parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Wikimedia Commons user rights log entries via the public MediaWiki API. Returns each rights change as a flat row with old and new groups, acting user, target user, timestamp, and comment. Filter by acting user or target user, export up to 1,000,000 entries to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.62 / 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Wikimedia Commons User Rights Log Scraper

**Scrape Wikimedia Commons user rights logs by username, target user, or all changes, up to a million entries per run.** Each row includes the old and new user groups, the acting admin, timestamp, and the log comment. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Wikimedia Commons does not offer a bulk export of its user rights log, and the on-wiki Special:Log page is built for browsing one screen at a time. This Actor reads the public MediaWiki API directly, filters by the acting user or the affected target user, and returns every matching rights change in one fixed schema. It is the fastest way to get a complete, analyzable record of who gained or lost sysop, bureaucrat, or other rights on Commons.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Wikimedia Commons for |
|---|---|
| Wikimedia researchers | Studying how administrator and bureaucrat rights are granted and revoked over time |
| Community governance analysts | Auditing changes to advanced permissions for transparency or dispute resolution |
| Tool developers | Building dashboards or alerts that track when specific users gain or lose rights |
| Journalists covering Wikipedia | Investigating patterns in who receives elevated permissions on Commons |

### What it does

This Actor collects Wikimedia Commons user rights log entries by acting user, target user, or all changes, and returns each entry as a flat row with the old and new groups, metadata, timestamp, and comment.

- 👤 **Filter by acting user:** return only log entries performed by a specific admin or bureaucrat.
- 🎯 **Filter by target user:** return only entries that changed the rights of a particular account.
- 📦 **Bulk export:** pull up to 1,000,000 entries in a single run for full-history analysis.
- 🧾 **Structured rows:** every entry includes old and new groups, metadata, timestamp, and the log comment.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Wikimedia Commons data

**📊 Audit admin promotions.**

A governance researcher pulls all rights changes for the last five years, filters by target user, and builds a timeline of who became an administrator and when.

**🔍 Investigate a specific account.**

A journalist enters a username as the target and gets every rights change that account ever received, including the acting admin and the log comment.

**📈 Track rights trends.**

A data analyst collects all rights changes monthly and charts the number of sysop grants and revocations to spot governance shifts.

**🛠️ Build a monitoring tool.**

A developer schedules the Actor to run daily, filters by target user, and feeds new rights changes into a Slack alert for a watchlist of accounts.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | The public MediaWiki API needs no registration or authentication. |
| **Complete history** | Access every rights change back to the beginning of the log, not recent pages. |
| **Clean schema** | Old and new groups are parsed into separate fields for easy comparison. |
| **Flexible export** | Save results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for any downstream tool. |

### What a Wikimedia Commons record looks like

Every record returns as one flat JSON row. Here is a real one from a run:

```json
{
 "logId": 406092773,
 "title": "User:CollationBot",
 "pageId": 197039701,
 "logPage": 197039701,
 "type": "rights",
 "action": "rights",
 "user": "Krd",
 "timestamp": "2026-08-26T13:09:29Z",
 "comment": "[[Commons:Bots/Requests/CollationBot]]",
 "scrapedAt": "2026-08-26T20:16:59.217Z"
}
```

Every value above comes from a real run. A field a record does not have comes back as `null`.

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with an acting username, a target username, or leave both empty to collect all rights changes. The maxItems limit controls how many entries are returned, and filters are applied by the API as it reads the log. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Wikimedia Commons User Rights Log Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Wikimedia Commons through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that the username you entered exists and is spelled exactly, including capitalization. Also verify that the account has at least one rights change in the log. If you used both user and targetUser filters, try removing one to broaden the search.

**The run stops before reaching my maxItems.**

The API may return fewer entries than requested if there are no more matching log events. The Actor stops when the API signals there are no further pages, even if maxItems is higher.

**I see an error about the API endpoint.**

Wikimedia Commons occasionally rate-limits or briefly blocks automated requests. Wait a few minutes and retry. If the problem persists, check that the endpoint URL is still valid.

**The old and new groups fields look like JSON.**

The API returns groups as arrays, and the Actor stores them as JSON strings in the dataset. You can parse them in your analysis tool or use the JSON export format.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Wikimedia account or API key? | No. The Actor uses the public MediaWiki API endpoint, which requires no authentication for reading log events. |
| Can I get all user rights changes, not recent ones? | Yes. The API supports pagination back to the first entry, and the Actor follows the continue parameter until it reaches your maxItems limit. |
| What is the difference between the user and targetUser filters? | The user filter matches the account that performed the rights change, usually an admin or bureaucrat. The targetUser filter matches the account whose rights were changed. |
| What data does each row contain? | Each row includes the log ID, acting user, target user, old and new groups, old and new metadata, timestamp, and the log comment. |
| Can I export the results to Excel? | Yes. The Actor supports CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML export formats. |
| Is there a limit on how many entries I can scrape? | Free users are limited to 10 items for preview. Paid users can set maxItems up to 1,000,000. |
| Does this Actor scrape the live log or a snapshot? | It reads the live log via the API at the time of the run, so results reflect the current state of the log. |
| Can I filter by a specific date range? | The input schema does not include date filters. You can filter by acting user or target user, and then filter the exported data by timestamp in your own analysis. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

### 💰 How much does it cost to scrape Wikimedia Commons User Rights Log?

This Actor uses **pay-per-result** pricing: **$0.004 per result** collected. You are billed only for the results you receive, so a run that returns nothing costs nothing.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

## `user` (type: `string`):

Filter log entries to only those performed by this specific username. Leave empty to include all users.

## `targetUser` (type: `string`):

Filter log entries to only those affecting this specific target username. Leave empty to include all targets.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Complete dataset of all scraped records.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 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);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/wikimedia-commons-user-rights-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/vyXOZoANa0qDc4wG8/builds/dkL2b4ZZOIllYqfqR/openapi.json