Wordpress Org Plugins Scraper

WordPress.org Plugins Scraper — Plugin Search, Installs, and Ratings

Overview

WordPress.org Plugins Scraper collects publicly available plugin information from the WordPress.org plugin directory. It helps you discover plugins, compare active installations and ratings, review compatibility information, and examine plugin details.

Search by keyword, author, or tag, browse popular or recently updated plugins, or retrieve details for specific plugin slugs. Results are saved in an Apify dataset that you can export as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Features

• Keyword search: Find plugins using search terms such as seo.
• Author catalogs: Collect plugins associated with specified WordPress.org usernames.
• Tag-based discovery: Find plugins categorized under selected directory tags.
• Plugin browsing: Browse popular, new, or recently updated plugins.
• Detailed plugin information: Retrieve metadata for known plugin slugs.
• Installation and rating statistics: Collect active installation counts, downloads, ratings, and rating breakdowns when available.
• Compatibility information: Review required WordPress and PHP versions and required plugins.
• Duplicate reduction: Store each plugin slug only once during a run.
• Structured exports: Download the collected dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Use Cases

• Plugin shortlists: Compare plugins by active installations, downloads, and user ratings.
• Author research: Build catalogs of plugins published by selected developers.
• Category research: Discover plugins associated with specific directory tags.
• Plugin maintenance: Review version numbers, update dates, and compatibility requirements.
• Directory monitoring: Compare repeated exports to identify changes in plugin statistics.
• WordPress site audits: Prepare plugin research data for evaluating dependencies and alternatives.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
searchQueries	Array	["seo"]	Keywords used to search the plugin directory.
authors	Array	[]	WordPress.org author usernames.
tags	Array	[]	Plugin directory tags to search.
browse	String	""	Browse category: popular, new, or updated. An empty string skips browsing.
pluginSlugs	Array	[]	Plugin slugs for retrieving detailed records.
maxItems	Integer	100	Maximum number of plugin records to collect. Maximum: 1000.

Example Input

{
  "searchQueries": ["seo"],
  "authors": ["automattic"],
  "tags": [],
  "browse": "",
  "pluginSlugs": ["akismet"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

To search for different plugin categories, add keywords to searchQueries.

To retrieve specific plugin details, add their directory slugs to pluginSlugs.

To browse popular plugins, set browse to popular. Use new or updated to select the corresponding directory listing.

What Data Does This Actor Extract?

The actor collects plugin metadata and statistics returned by the WordPress.org plugin directory. Available fields depend on the selected collection method and the information provided for each plugin.

Extracted Data Fields

Field	Type	Description
name	String	Plugin display name.
slug	String	Unique plugin directory slug.
version	String	Current plugin version.
author	String	Plugin author credit.
author_profile	String	Author profile reference, when available.
requires	String	Minimum required WordPress version.
tested	String	WordPress version against which the plugin was tested.
requires_php	String	Minimum required PHP version, when available.
requires_plugins	Array	Slugs of other required plugins, when specified.
rating	Integer	Plugin rating score.
ratings	Object	Counts of ratings by star level.
num_ratings	Integer	Total number of ratings.
support_threads	Integer	Number of support threads.
support_threads_resolved	Integer	Number of resolved support threads.
active_installs	Integer	Reported number of active installations.
downloaded	Integer	Total downloads reported by the directory.
last_updated	String	Date or timestamp of the latest update.
added	String	Date the plugin was added to the directory.
homepage	String	Plugin homepage reference, when available.
short_description	String	Brief plugin description.
pluginDescription	String	Longer plugin description.
tags	Object	Plugin tag names and associated values.
mode	String	Collection method, such as search, author, tag, browse, or detail.
scraped_at	String	Timestamp when the record was saved, in UTC.

Additional fields may be present when returned by the directory and retained by the actor.

Example Output

A plugin record may look like this:

{
  "name": "Rank Math SEO - AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings",
  "slug": "seo-by-rank-math",
  "version": "1.0.280",
  "author": "Rank Math SEO",
  "requires": "6.7",
  "tested": "7.1.3",
  "requires_php": "7.4",
  "requires_plugins": [],
  "rating": 96,
  "ratings": {
    "5": 7075,
    "4": 144,
    "3": 53,
    "2": 43,
    "1": 196
  },
  "num_ratings": 7511,
  "support_threads": 46,
  "support_threads_resolved": 39,
  "active_installs": 4000000,
  "downloaded": 200256922,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-06 12:43pm GMT",
  "added": "2018-11-19",
  "short_description": "SEO plugin",
  "pluginDescription": "Longer description text from the directory.",
  "tags": {
    "seo": "seo"
  },
  "mode": "search",
  "scraped_at": "2026-10-12T00:00:00Z"
}

The values are illustrative and may not reflect the plugin's current directory information.

Working with Your Dataset

1. Run the actor with your search terms, authors, tags, browse category, or plugin slugs.
2. Open the resulting dataset.
3. Review plugin details, installation counts, ratings, and compatibility information.
4. Export the dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel.
5. Compare exports from different runs to review changes over time.

Important Notes

• Plugin information reflects the directory data available when the actor runs.
• Some fields may be empty or unavailable for particular plugins.
• The maxItems setting limits the number of plugin records collected.
• Duplicate plugin slugs are stored only once during a run.
• Search and browse results depend on the directory's available listings and ranking.
• Installation counts, downloads, ratings, and update information can change over time.

FAQ

Can I search for plugins by keyword?

Yes. Add your keywords to the searchQueries array.

Can I collect plugins from a specific author?

Yes. Add the author's WordPress.org username to the authors array.

Can I retrieve details for a known plugin?

Yes. Add the plugin slug to pluginSlugs.

Can I browse newly added or updated plugins?

Yes. Set browse to new or updated. You can also use popular for popular plugin listings.

Does the actor collect active installations and ratings?

Yes. These statistics are included when they are available in the directory results.

Can I export the results to a spreadsheet?

Yes. Export the Apify dataset as CSV or Excel, or download it as JSON.

Disclaimer

This actor is an independent data collection tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by WordPress.org or the WordPress project. Plugin information and statistics may change, and the completeness of each record depends on the publicly available directory data.

Is Web Scraping Legal?

Collecting information that is already public is generally legal. Scraping is not the same thing as hacking, and there is no single law that bans it. The limits are the usual ones: do not break into accounts, do not take private or confidential data, and be careful with personal data and copyrighted works. A site's terms can also restrict how you access it. Facts such as a public name, price, or rating are not the same thing as republishing someone's article or photo.

This actor collects information from public pages. It does not log in and it does not bypass access controls.

For a longer explanation, see Apify's article Is web scraping legal?.