Wikimedia Commons WikiProjects Scraper

Wikimedia Commons WikiProjects Scraper

Scrape WikiProjects from Wikimedia Commons, filtered by search term, up to a million per run. Each WikiProject comes with its page ID, namespace, and title. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Wikimedia Commons hosts thousands of WikiProjects that coordinate contributions around specific topics, but there is no built-in way to export a structured list of them. This actor reads the public category members API directly, lets you filter by a search term, and returns every matching WikiProject in one fixed schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape Wikimedia Commons for
Digital archivists	Catalog which WikiProjects exist for a given subject area.
Wikimedia community organizers	Audit active and inactive WikiProjects to plan outreach.
Researchers in open knowledge	Analyze the topical distribution of volunteer coordination efforts.
Tool builders	Feed a live list of WikiProjects into a dashboard or bot.

What it does

This Actor collects WikiProjects from Wikimedia Commons by reading the category members API and returns each one as a flat row with its page ID, namespace, and title.

• Search filter: supply an optional search term to return only WikiProjects whose title contains that string.
• Bulk export: retrieve up to 1,000,000 WikiProjects in a single run and download as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
• Zero authentication: the public Wikimedia Commons API requires no login, app registration, or API key.

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

What you can do with Wikimedia Commons data

Build a WikiProject directory.

A community portal maintainer runs the actor with no search term to get every WikiProject, then publishes the list as a navigable index.

Map geographic coverage.

A researcher filters by country names to see which regions have active WikiProjects and identifies gaps in representation.

Populate a maintenance bot.

A tool builder scrapes the full list daily and feeds it into a bot that checks each project page for stale activity.

Analyze topical trends.

A data analyst extracts all WikiProjects, categorizes them by subject, and tracks how volunteer focus shifts over time.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key needed	The Wikimedia Commons category API is fully public; start scraping immediately.
Structured output	Every WikiProject is returned as a flat row with pageid, ns, and title, ready for analysis.
Search precision	Filter by title substring to isolate WikiProjects for a specific topic or language.
Scalable volume	Paid users can pull up to a million items; free users get a 10-item preview.

What a Wikimedia Commons record looks like

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

{
 "title": "Commons:WikiProject",
 "url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons%3AWikiProject",
 "pageid": 12650413,
 "namespace": 4,
 "scrapedAt": "2026-09-06T17:39:25.509Z"
}

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 optional search term, and the filter runs as each WikiProject is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200
}

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account.
2. Open the Wikimedia Commons WikiProjects Scraper.
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 (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient 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:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/wikimedia-commons-wikiprojects-scraper"

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

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your search term. If it is too specific or contains a typo, no WikiProject titles will match. Try running without a search term first to see the full list.

The actor returns fewer items than I expected.

The free tier is limited to 10 items. If you are on a paid plan, verify your maxItems setting. Also, the Wikimedia Commons category may not contain as many WikiProjects as you assumed.

I get an error or timeout during the run.

The Wikimedia Commons API is generally stable, but occasional downtime can occur. Retry the run after a few minutes. If the problem persists, reduce the maxItems value to lower the load.

The search filter is not returning expected WikiProjects.

The filter matches the title substring exactly as it appears in the API. Try a shorter or alternative form of the term, and check the sample output for the exact title format used on Commons.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a Wikimedia account or API key to use this scraper?	No. The actor calls the public Wikimedia Commons API, which requires no authentication, app registration, or API key.
What data does each WikiProject row contain?	Each row includes the page ID, namespace, and title of the WikiProject. The exact fields are shown in the sample output on the actor's page.
Can I filter WikiProjects by a specific topic?	Yes. Use the optional search term input to return only WikiProjects whose title contains the string you provide, such as 'Photography' or 'Maps'.
How many WikiProjects can I scrape in one run?	Free users can scrape up to 10 items as a preview. Paid Apify users can set a higher limit, up to 1,000,000 items per run.
What output formats are supported?	You can export the dataset in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML format from the Apify console or via API.
Does this actor scrape the full content of each WikiProject page?	No. It collects the list of WikiProjects from the category members API. It returns the page ID, namespace, and title, not the full page body text.
Is this an official Wikimedia tool?	No. This is a third-party scraper built on Apify that uses the public Wikimedia Commons API. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Can I schedule this actor to run automatically?	Yes. Apify supports scheduled runs, so you can set the actor to scrape the WikiProjects list daily, weekly, or at any custom interval.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

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

Pricing

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.

⚠️ 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.