# GitHub Repo Scraper · Repositories, Stars, Topics & Languages (`reapx/github-repo-scraper`) Actor

Scrape GitHub repositories by language, topic, star count, license, organization, and pushed date window. Returns clean structured repo metrics and metadata without authentication.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/reapx/github-repo-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Tarek Etman](https://apify.com/reapx) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Business, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.85 / 1,000 github repository record scrapeds

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 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

![reapX — public sources in, addressable records out](https://reapx.dev/reapx.gif)

## GitHub Repo Scraper · Repositories, Stars, Topics & Languages

Scrape GitHub repositories by programming language, topic tag, star counts, open-source license, organization handle, and commit update windows. Returns structured repository metrics, star counts, fork counts, watcher counts, open issue counts, primary language, topics array, and update timestamps without requiring login or API tokens.

> Maintained by **reapX**. Every row cites the Apify run that produced it — nothing is inferred, modelled or filled in, and a field absent from the source is absent from the row. The extracted archive for this source is browsable at [reapx.dev/data/github-repo-scraper/](https://reapx.dev/data/github-repo-scraper/) and mirrored as an open dataset on [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/datasets/reapxdev/github-repo-scraper) and [Kaggle](https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/reapxdev/github-repo-scraper). Questions: reapxdev@proton.me

***

### ⬇️ Input

The actor accepts structured JSON input to define search criteria, filters, sorting options, and record capacity limits.

#### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default / Prefill | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `query` | String | `stars:>1000 language:python` | Custom GitHub search query expression. |
| `language` | String | `python` | Filter repositories by primary programming language (e.g. `python`, `typescript`, `rust`, `go`). |
| `topic` | String | `""` | Filter repositories tagged with a specific topic (e.g. `machine-learning`, `web3`, `cli`). |
| `minStars` | Integer | `0` | Minimum stargazer count floor for matching repositories. |
| `maxStars` | Integer | `0` | Maximum stargazer count ceiling for matching repositories (0 for unlimited). |
| `license` | String | `""` | Filter by open-source SPDX license identifier (e.g. `mit`, `apache-2.0`, `gpl-3.0`). |
| `organization` | String | `""` | Filter repositories owned by a specific GitHub user or organization handle (e.g. `facebook`, `google`). |
| `pushedAfter` | String | `""` | Filter repositories with code pushed on or after this ISO date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). |
| `sort` | String | `"stars"` | Sort criterion (`"stars"`, `"forks"`, `"help-wanted-issues"`, `"updated"`). |
| `order` | String | `"desc"` | Sort direction (`"desc"`, `"asc"`). |
| `maxItems` | Integer | `50` | Maximum number of repository records to scrape and push to dataset (1 to 5000). |
| `githubToken` | String | `""` | Optional personal access token for higher rate limits (never stored or logged). |

#### Example Input Configuration

```json
{
  "language": "python",
  "topic": "machine-learning",
  "minStars": 1000,
  "sort": "stars",
  "order": "desc",
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

***

### ⬆️ Output

Every repository record is pushed item-by-item to the run's default dataset. Each row corresponds to a single GitHub repository identified by its canonical `slug` (`owner/repo`).

#### Output Fields

| Field Name | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| `slug` | String | Canonical repository slug (`owner/repo`). Serves as primary key. | `"facebook/react"` |
| `repoId` | Integer | Unique numeric GitHub repository identifier. | `10270250` |
| `name` | String | Repository name without owner prefix. | `"react"` |
| `fullName` | String | Full repository owner/name path. | `"facebook/react"` |
| `owner` | String | GitHub username or organization handle owning the repository. | `"facebook"` |
| `ownerType` | String | Account type (`"Organization"` or `"User"`). | `"Organization"` |
| `ownerAvatarUrl` | String | Profile avatar URL for owner. | `"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/69631?v=4"` |
| `htmlUrl` | String | Public web URL on GitHub. | `"https://github.com/facebook/react"` |
| `description` | String | Text bio or summary of repository. | `"The library for web and native user interfaces."` |
| `stars` | Integer | Total stargazer count. | `225000` |
| `forks` | Integer | Total forks count. | `45000` |
| `watchers` | Integer | Subscriber count watching repository. | `6700` |
| `openIssues` | Integer | Total open issues and pull requests. | `1200` |
| `language` | String | Primary programming language detected by GitHub. | `"JavaScript"` |
| `topics` | Array | Array of topic strings attached to repository. | `["declarative", "frontend", "library", "react"]` |
| `license` | String | SPDX license key. | `"mit"` |
| `licenseName` | String | Human-readable license title. | `"MIT License"` |
| `isFork` | Boolean | Whether repository is a fork. | `false` |
| `isArchived` | Boolean | Whether repository is archived (read-only). | `false` |
| `isDisabled` | Boolean | Whether repository is disabled by GitHub. | `false` |
| `defaultBranch` | String | Primary git branch name. | `"main"` |
| `createdAt` | String | ISO 8601 creation timestamp. | `"2013-05-24T16:15:54Z"` |
| `updatedAt` | String | ISO 8601 metadata update timestamp. | `"2026-08-03T18:30:00Z"` |
| `pushedAt` | String | ISO 8601 last push timestamp. | `"2026-08-03T19:00:00Z"` |
| `scrapedAt` | String | ISO 8601 UTC timestamp of scraping run. | `"2026-08-03T20:00:00Z"` |

#### Sample Dataset Output Item

```json
{
  "slug": "facebook/react",
  "repoId": 10270250,
  "name": "react",
  "fullName": "facebook/react",
  "owner": "facebook",
  "ownerType": "Organization",
  "ownerAvatarUrl": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/69631?v=4",
  "htmlUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react",
  "description": "The library for web and native user interfaces.",
  "stars": 225000,
  "forks": 45000,
  "watchers": 6700,
  "openIssues": 1200,
  "language": "JavaScript",
  "topics": [
    "declarative",
    "frontend",
    "javascript",
    "library",
    "react",
    "ui"
  ],
  "license": "mit",
  "licenseName": "MIT License",
  "isFork": false,
  "isArchived": false,
  "isDisabled": false,
  "defaultBranch": "main",
  "createdAt": "2013-05-24T16:15:54Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-08-03T18:30:00Z",
  "pushedAt": "2026-08-03T19:00:00Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-03T20:00:00Z"
}
```

***

### How it works

The actor issues targeted REST HTTP queries directly to GitHub's public Search API (`https://api.github.com/search/repositories`).

1. **Query Construction**: Inputs such as `language`, `topic`, `minStars`, `maxStars`, `license`, `organization`, and `pushedAfter` are combined into a canonical GitHub search expression.
2. **Paced Execution**: Requests are executed with automatic backoff and rate-limit header inspection. Unauthenticated requests are throttled at safe intervals to comply with GitHub's 10 requests per minute search ceiling.
3. **Item-by-Item Pushing**: Each repository record is cleaned, formatted into a standard schema, charged at $0.001 per event, and pushed directly to Apify's default dataset in real time.
4. **Resilience**: In case of rate limits or transient network errors, the client backs off exponentially without failing or discarding previously pushed rows.

***

### Features & Use Cases

- **Open Source Ecosystem Intelligence**: Track trending repositories across Rust, Python, Go, and TypeScript.
- **Competitive & Vendor Analysis**: Monitor open-source activity for major tech companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Vercel.
- **Lead Generation & Developer Marketing**: Identify fast-growing developer tools and active maintainer communities.
- **License & Compliance Audits**: Screen repositories by SPDX license key (`mit`, `apache-2.0`, `gpl-3.0`) for enterprise compliance.
- **AI & ML Model Discovery**: Discover newly updated Large Language Model (LLM) tooling and computer vision repositories.

***

### Code Example — Python Apify Client

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

## Initialize the Apify Client with your API token
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

## Prepare actor input configuration
run_input = {
    "language": "rust",
    "topic": "cli",
    "minStars": 1000,
    "sort": "stars",
    "order": "desc",
    "maxItems": 50
}

## Run the actor and wait for completion
run = client.actor("reapx/github-repo-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

## Fetch dataset items
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item['slug']} ({item['stars']} stars) - {item['htmlUrl']}")
```

***

### Pricing

Pay-per-event pricing: **$0.001 per repository record scraped**.

- **Tiered Volume Discounts**: Discount tiers apply automatically from FREE through DIAMOND (up to 25% discount).
- **Zero Charge Guarantee**: If no repositories match your search criteria or the source is unreachable, you are charged $0.
- **Platform Usage Included**: Apify platform compute fees are absorbed into the event price.

***

### ❓ FAQ

##### Does this scraper require a GitHub account or API token?

No account or API token is required. The scraper reads public GitHub data over unauthenticated HTTP. Providing an optional `githubToken` increases rate limits from 10 to 30 requests per minute.

##### What is the primary key / identifier for entity pages?

The primary identifier is `slug` formatted as `owner/repo` (e.g. `facebook/react`). The numeric ID is saved as `repoId` to prevent collision with named entity fields.

##### How fast does the scraper execute?

The default run of 50 repositories completes in under 15 seconds.

##### Can I filter by last commit push date?

Yes, use `pushedAfter` with an ISO date (e.g. `2026-01-01`) to filter for repositories actively updated after that date.

***

### 💬 Your feedback

We continuously improve this actor based on user feedback. If you encounter bugs, missing fields, or feature requests:

- Submit an issue on the Apify Console actor page.
- Contact maintainers directly at `reapxdev@proton.me`.

***

### Disclaimer

Unofficial - not affiliated with GitHub. Collects public data only. reapx. Contact reapxdev@proton.me.

### 🧪 Example input

A real, runnable configuration — this is an actual input this Actor has run with.

```json
{
  "language": "python",
  "minStars": 500,
  "sort": "stars",
  "order": "desc",
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

### 📄 Sample output

One real row from a real run of this Actor, unedited.

```json
{
  "slug": "codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x",
  "repoId": 132750724,
  "name": "build-your-own-x",
  "fullName": "codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x",
  "owner": "codecrafters-io",
  "ownerType": "Organization",
  "ownerAvatarUrl": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/58904235?v=4",
  "htmlUrl": "https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x",
  "description": "Master programming by recreating your favorite technologies from scratch.",
  "stars": 535588,
  "forks": 50598,
  "watchers": 535588,
  "openIssues": 619,
  "language": "Markdown",
  "topics": [
    "awesome-list",
    "free",
    "programming",
    "tutorial-code",
    "tutorial-exercises",
    "tutorials"
  ],
  "license": "",
  "licenseName": "",
  "isFork": false,
  "isArchived": false,
  "isDisabled": false,
  "defaultBranch": "master",
  "createdAt": "2018-05-09T12:03:18Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-08-03T18:07:04Z",
  "pushedAt": "2026-07-14T19:25:58Z",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-03T18:07:38Z"
}
```

### ⚠️ Run outcomes and error handling

This Actor reports what happened in the run's **status message**, and it always keeps whatever it collected. These are the outcomes you can get and what each one means.

| Outcome | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Success** | Rows were returned and you were charged `repository-scraped` at $0.001 per row. |
| **No matches** | The source returned nothing for your filters. **Nothing is charged.** Widen the date window or drop a filter. |
| **Partial - source refused** | The source rate-limited or refused some requests. The affected items are skipped and named in the log, and **everything already collected is still pushed**. A block never discards a run's work. |
| **Rejected filter** | The source itself rejected the filter combination. The run fails fast with the source's own reason and **nothing is charged.** |

#### What is guaranteed either way

- **Every row is pushed as it is built**, not buffered to the end of the run. Anything that buffers output loses everything to a timeout, a block or a migration; this does not.
- **`Retry-After` is respected.** When the source asks for a pause, the Actor waits the time it asked for instead of retrying into a harder block.
- **A field absent from the source is absent from the row.** Nothing is inferred, modelled or filled in to make a row look complete.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Custom GitHub repository search query expression (e.g. <code>stars:>1000 language:python</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Broader queries increase run duration and total event charges; specific filters isolate exact targets.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to build query automatically from the language, topic, stars, license, and organization inputs below.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Filter repositories by primary programming language (e.g., <code>python</code>, <code>typescript</code>, <code>rust</code>, <code>go</code>, <code>java</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Narrows search results to codebases written in the chosen language.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to search across all programming languages unconditionally without language restriction.

## `topic` (type: `string`):

Filter repositories tagged with a specific GitHub topic (e.g., <code>machine-learning</code>, <code>web3</code>, <code>cli</code>, <code>react</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Restricts returned items to repositories explicitly tagged with this topic.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to search across all topics and untagged repositories.

## `minStars` (type: `integer`):

Minimum stargazer count threshold for matching repositories (e.g., <code>500</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Higher minimum star values filter out lower-ranked or newly created repositories, focusing results on popular projects.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave at 0 or empty for no lower bound on repository stars.

## `maxStars` (type: `integer`):

Maximum stargazer count ceiling for matching repositories (e.g., <code>5000</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Setting a maximum cap isolates mid-tier or hidden gem repositories before they reach viral star counts.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave at 0 or empty for no upper bound on repository stars.<br><br>The higher the number, the longer the run takes and the more you are charged, because you pay per row returned.

## `license` (type: `string`):

Filter by open-source license key (e.g., <code>mit</code>, <code>apache-2.0</code>, <code>gpl-3.0</code>, <code>bsd-3-clause</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Filters repository records to projects with compatible open-source licensing.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to include repositories with any open-source license or no declared license.

## `organization` (type: `string`):

Filter repositories belonging to a specific GitHub user or organization (e.g., <code>facebook</code>, <code>google</code>, <code>vercel</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Restricts results strictly to public repositories owned by the specified organization or user account.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to search across all public GitHub organizations and user accounts.

## `pushedAfter` (type: `string`):

Filter repositories with code commits pushed on or after this ISO date (e.g., <code>2026-01-01</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Excludes unmaintained or stale repositories that have not received recent updates.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Leave empty to include repositories regardless of last commit push date.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Field by which search results are ordered by GitHub Search API (<code>stars</code>, <code>forks</code>, <code>help-wanted-issues</code>, <code>updated</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Controls ranking priority of returned repository records.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Defaults to sorting by <code>stars</code>.

## `order` (type: `string`):

Sort direction for ordering query results (<code>desc</code> for descending order, <code>asc</code> for ascending order). <b>Consequence:</b> Directs whether top-ranked or bottom-ranked repositories appear first in returned items.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Defaults to <code>desc</code> (descending).

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

Maximum number of repository records to scrape and output into dataset (e.g., <code>50</code>, <code>500</code>). <b>Consequence:</b> Higher numbers increase execution runtime and pay-per-event cost at $0.001 per record.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Defaults to 50 repository items.<br><br>The higher the number, the longer the run takes and the more you are charged, because you pay per row returned.

## `githubToken` (type: `string`):

Optional GitHub PAT for higher rate limits (30 req/min for Search API instead of 10 req/min unauthenticated). <b>Consequence:</b> Significantly speeds up multi-page queries; never stored or logged.<br><br><b>Empty meaning:</b> Runs unauthenticated with automatic backoff pacing.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "stars:>1000 language:python",
  "language": "python",
  "sort": "stars",
  "order": "desc",
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Default dataset containing scraped GitHub repository 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 = {
    "query": "stars:>1000 language:python",
    "language": "python",
    "topic": "",
    "minStars": 0,
    "maxStars": 0,
    "license": "",
    "organization": "",
    "pushedAfter": "",
    "maxItems": 50,
    "githubToken": ""
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("reapx/github-repo-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 = {
    "query": "stars:>1000 language:python",
    "language": "python",
    "topic": "",
    "minStars": 0,
    "maxStars": 0,
    "license": "",
    "organization": "",
    "pushedAfter": "",
    "maxItems": 50,
    "githubToken": "",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("reapx/github-repo-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "stars:>1000 language:python",
  "language": "python",
  "topic": "",
  "minStars": 0,
  "maxStars": 0,
  "license": "",
  "organization": "",
  "pushedAfter": "",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "githubToken": ""
}' |
apify call reapx/github-repo-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=reapx/github-repo-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/eW5MtZOkH8o9IlFAq/builds/UIni5bWIeJGyJxv2B/openapi.json