🐍 PyPI Scraper: Package Stats, Downloads & Releases

PyPI Scraper reads the official pypi.org JSON API, the PyPI Simple index, pypistats.org and the monthly top-15,000 list. Give it package names, a top-N count, name-search texts or a release-monitoring date, and get version, license, maintainers, dependencies, Python versions, vulnerability counts and day, week and month downloads. Optional per-version release history and both PyPI RSS feeds. Export CSV, Excel, JSON or XML. No login, no API key. Checked 2026-10-10. Billed per row delivered, never for errors.

PyPI Scraper turns a list of package names, the top downloaded packages, or a name search into one clean table. In a cloud run on 2026-10-10, a top-40 pull (ranks 2000 to 2039) returned 40 of 40 packages with all three download columns in 42 seconds, straight from registry data rather than parsed HTML.

🐍 What does PyPI Scraper do?

• Scrape PyPI package metadata: name, latest version, summary, author and maintainer with emails, license, Python requirement and homepage, repository, documentation and issue links.
• Get PyPI download stats per package: last day, week and month (from pypistats.org).
• Pull the top N most downloaded PyPI packages (up to 15,000, from the community monthly list) with topRank, or search package names (case and separator insensitive substring over the Simple index).
• Monitor releases with onlyNewSince: only packages, release rows and feed items newer than a date or a window such as 7d. Also read the newest-packages and latest-updates feeds.
• Export the full release history, one row per version, with release date, file count, wheel and sdist sizes, Python tags, pre-release and yanked flags.
• Read dependencies, extras, classifiers, Python versions and known vulnerability counts.
• Accept plain names, https://pypi.org/project/<name>/ URLs or requirements.txt lines such as django>=5.

📦 What data can you extract from PyPI?

Field	Row type	Example
name / packageName	package, release	requests
version	package, release	2.34.2
summary, author, authorEmail	package	Python HTTP for Humans.
maintainer, maintainerEmail	package (when listed)	a maintainer name
license	package	Apache-2.0
requiresPython, pythonVersions	package, release	>=3.10
repository, homePage, documentationUrl, issuesUrl, changelogUrl, projectUrls	package	https://github.com/psf/requests
dependencies, dependenciesCount, requiredDependenciesCount, extras	package	charset_normalizer<4,>=2
classifiers, developmentStatus, keywords	package	Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13
vulnerabilityCount, vulnerabilityIds	package	0
downloadsLastDay / Week / Month	package	1202777296
topRank, topDownloads30d	package (topN mode)	rank in the monthly top-15,000 list
versionCount, firstReleaseDate, latestReleaseDate	package	163, 2026-05-14T19:25:26Z
latestSdistSizeBytes, latestSmallestWheelBytes	package	size in bytes
longDescription	package (opt-in)	cut at 20,000 characters
releasedAt, fileCount, hasWheel, hasSdist, sdistSizeBytes, smallestWheelBytes, pythonTags, isPrerelease, yanked, yankedReason	release	2026-05-14T19:25:26Z, 2, true
feed, title, publishedAt	feed-item	newest-packages, ISO UTC time
scrapedAt, url	all	ISO timestamp, PyPI link

The dataset schema lists 54 keys (53 data columns plus error) in one fixed order, with four views: Overview, Packages, Releases and Feed. Optional columns are left out when PyPI has no value for them, so you never get empty arrays or placeholder text.

🧾 Sample output of the PyPI scraper

Record from a cloud run on 2026-10-07 (shortened). This is the older, trimmed shape: newer columns such as authorEmail, vulnerabilityCount and topRank are not shown.

{
  "recordType": "package",
  "name": "requests",
  "version": "2.34.2",
  "url": "https://pypi.org/project/requests/",
  "summary": "Python HTTP for Humans.",
  "author": "Kenneth Reitz",
  "license": "Apache-2.0",
  "requiresPython": ">=3.10",
  "dependencies": ["charset_normalizer<4,>=2", "idna<4,>=2.5", "urllib3<3,>=1.26", "certifi>=2023.5.7"],
  "downloadsLastDay": 50777141,
  "downloadsLastWeek": 304164213,
  "downloadsLastMonth": 1202777296,
  "versionCount": 163,
  "latestReleaseDate": "2026-05-14T19:25:26.443000Z",
  "yanked": false,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-07T19:41:37.367Z"
}

A release-history row from the same run looks like this:

{
  "recordType": "release",
  "packageName": "requests",
  "version": "2.34.2",
  "releasedAt": "2026-05-14T19:25:26.443000Z",
  "fileCount": 2,
  "hasWheel": true,
  "yanked": false,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-07T19:41:37.550Z"
}

💰 How much does it cost to scrape PyPI?

Pay per event, charged only for rows saved. Live prices read on 2026-10-10, by Apify plan tier:

Event	What is billed	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold and up
package-record	One package (also top-N and search rows)	$0.015	$0.01313	$0.01125	$0.010
release-record	One released version	$0.010	$0.010	$0.010	$0.010
feed-record	One newest-package or latest-update item	$0.010	$0.010	$0.010	$0.010

Example: 1,000 packages cost 1,000 x $0.015 = $15.00 on the Free tier ($10.00 on Gold). A top-5 pull costs 5 x $0.015 = $0.075 (cloud run on 2026-10-10: 5 package-record events charged). A package plus 29 release rows costs $0.015 + 29 x $0.010 = $0.305 (same day: 1 package-record and 29 release-record events). Packages skipped by onlyNewSince, not-found names, empty results and error rows are free; a monitoring run with nothing new charged 0 events.

🚀 How to scrape PyPI in 3 steps

1. Open the actor and paste package names or pypi.org URLs into Package names, or set Top downloaded packages or Search package names.
2. Toggle Release history or a feed if you need those rows, optionally set Only releases since, and set Max Items.
3. Click Start, then download the dataset as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML.

⚙️ Input

Field	Type	Default	Meaning
packageNames	array	requests, numpy, flask	Names, pypi.org URLs or requirements.txt lines
topN, topStartRank	integer	0 (off), 1	N most downloaded packages, max 15,000; first rank to take
searchQueries	array	empty	Name-substring search, at least 3 letters or digits
searchMaxResultsPerQuery	integer	20	Max matches per text, up to 1,000
includeDownloadStats, includeReleaseHistory	boolean	true, false	Day/week/month downloads; one row per released version
includeNewestPackagesFeed, includeLatestUpdatesFeed	boolean	false	Newest packages RSS (about 40 rows); latest updates RSS (about 100 rows)
includeDescription	boolean	false	Add the long project description
onlyNewSince	string	empty	UTC date, or 24h, 7d, 2w, 3mo, 1y, today, yesterday
maxItems	integer	10 (prefill)	Cap on total rows (free users: 10)

{
  "packageNames": ["requests", "numpy", "flask"],
  "includeDownloadStats": true,
  "includeReleaseHistory": true,
  "maxItems": 100
}

Other examples: {"topN": 100, "maxItems": 100} and {"packageNames": ["django"], "includeReleaseHistory": true, "onlyNewSince": "7d"}.

📤 Output

One dataset with three row types (package, release, feed-item) told apart by recordType. Empty values are never emitted; vulnerabilityCount: 0 and yanked: false are real values. If nothing is found or newer than onlyNewSince, the run ends with a status message and no charge. Invalid input gives one free error row. If PyPI is unreachable and zero rows could be delivered, the run fails.

Limits to know:

• Search matches package names only, not summaries or keywords.
• The top list comes from a community project whose repository states no licence; it holds public PyPI download statistics, so check it fits your use.
• pypistats.org allows 60 requests per minute per IP, so a top pull with download stats runs at about 1 package per second (40 packages in 42 seconds). Turn download stats off for roughly 3 to 6 packages per second.
• A scan with onlyNewSince is bounded: it stops after 600 skipped packages plus 400 per delivered row. Measured worst-case free scans cost $0.0003 to $0.0004.
• Default memory is 512 MB (peak sampled 149 to 313 MB). Small cloud runs (1 to 5 rows) succeeded 16 of 16 times, median 2.4 seconds.

⚖️ PyPI scraper vs alternatives

Store pages read on 2026-10-10. "Not stated" means the listing does not show it.

	RecordsData PyPI Scraper	hipersoft/pypi-scraper	logiover/pypi-package-scraper
Price per 1,000	$15 Free, $10 Gold	from $1.875	from $1.50
Top downloaded list	Yes, up to 15,000	Not stated	Yes, up to 5,000
Name search	Yes, names only	No, exact names	Not stated in their listing
Release history	All versions, with sizes	10 most recent, optional	Latest version only
Release monitoring, feeds	onlyNewSince, two feeds	Not stated in their listing	Scheduling suggested only
Output columns	53	23	16

We cost more per package row than every rival here; the extra buys full release rows, both RSS feeds, vulnerability counts and a monitoring mode. automly/pypi-package-metadata-api charges $0.50 per 1,000 and lists maintainers and version rows, with no search or top list. ef12/pypi-package-scraper starts at $2 and offers keyword search (20 results per query). hipersoft has one field we lack, dependenciesRaw. If you only need names and versions, a cheaper actor or the free PyPI JSON API is enough.

🧰 PyPI scraper use cases

Ranking the most downloaded Python packages, daily release monitoring, dependency and license audits for a requirements list, security reviews of yanked, stale or vulnerable dependencies, download trend tracking, and supply-chain monitoring through the latest-updates feed.

🔌 Run the PyPI scraper via API and integrations

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/recordsdata~pypi-package-stats-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"packageNames":["requests","flask"],"maxItems":10}'

Works with the Apify API, JavaScript and Python clients, schedules, webhooks, Zapier, Make, n8n and Google Sheets.

🤖 PyPI Scraper MCP server for AI agents

AI agents can call this Actor through the Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com?tools=RecordsData/pypi-package-stats-scraper.

Add this to your MCP client configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code or any remote MCP client):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=RecordsData/pypi-package-stats-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Example agent prompt:

Use the PyPI Scraper to get the license, latest version, dependencies and last-month downloads for requests, httpx and aiohttp, then tell me which has the most downloads. Then list the django releases from the last 7 days.

Tool description: choose this Actor when an agent needs facts about Python packages on PyPI: version, license, dependencies, download counts, the top downloaded list, name search, dated release history, only-new release monitoring or the newest-packages and latest-updates feeds. It takes the same fields as the Input table above.

🛡️ Is it legal to scrape PyPI?

The actor reads PyPI's public JSON API, Simple index and RSS feeds, the public top-packages list and pypistats.org's public API, at a polite rate and with a descriptive user agent. It collects package metadata only, not private data. Review PyPI and pypistats terms for your own use case.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Where do the PyPI Scraper download counts come from?

The PyPI Scraper takes day, week and month download counts from pypistats.org, which publishes PyPI download statistics, while package metadata such as version, license and dependencies comes from the official pypi.org JSON API. Each package row carries downloadsLastDay, downloadsLastWeek and downloadsLastMonth when pypistats.org answers.

Can I paste PyPI URLs instead of package names into the PyPI Scraper?

Yes. The PyPI Scraper normalizes URLs in the form https://pypi.org/project/name/ to the plain package name, so you can mix names and pypi.org project URLs in the same Package names list. You can also paste requirements.txt lines such as django>=5, one per entry, and get one row per Python package. Names differing only by case or separators merge into one row.

How complete is the PyPI Scraper release history?

The PyPI Scraper returns every version that PyPI lists for the package when Release history is turned on, one row per version with file count, wheel availability and file sizes. The release date is the first uploaded file of that version. Very old versions without uploaded files have no release date, so the releasedAt field is left out for them.

Why did my PyPI Scraper run return 0 results?

Either the package names were not found on PyPI, so check the spelling, or no data option was enabled in the PyPI Scraper input, or nothing was newer than your onlyNewSince date. Not-found names produce no billed rows, and the status message says so. Fix the input and run the PyPI Scraper again.

Am I charged for failed lookups in the PyPI Scraper?

No. The PyPI Scraper saves error and not-found rows without a billable event, so you pay only for package, release and feed rows that were delivered to the dataset. You can also set a maximum cost per run in Apify, and the PyPI Scraper stops cleanly when that limit is reached.

Can the PyPI Scraper list the top downloaded PyPI packages?

Yes. Set topN (up to 15,000) and optionally topStartRank. The PyPI Scraper reads the community monthly top-15,000 list, then adds the usual metadata and download columns plus topRank and topDownloads30d. Each row is billed as a package-record. The list is refreshed monthly, and its repository states no licence.

How does PyPI Scraper release monitoring work?

Set onlyNewSince to a UTC date or a window such as 7d. The PyPI Scraper then keeps only packages whose latest release is newer, release rows uploaded since then and feed items published since then. Skipped packages are free, and a run with nothing new ends with a status message and zero charged events.

Why are download counts missing for a package in the PyPI Scraper?

pypistats.org rate limits requests, at 60 per minute per IP. The PyPI Scraper spaces its calls with a one second gap and honours the rate-limit headers. If pypistats.org still refuses, the download columns are left out of that row with a log warning, and the package row is still delivered and billed as normal with its metadata, license and dependencies.

Can I try the PyPI Scraper for free?

Yes. Free Apify users get a 10-row preview of the PyPI Scraper, enough to check package metadata, download counts and release rows on your own package list. Paid Apify plans unlock larger runs and lower per-row prices on the Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers, down to $0.010 per package row on Gold.

Can I export PyPI Scraper results to Excel or CSV?

Yes. The PyPI Scraper writes one Apify dataset that you can download as CSV, Excel, JSON, XML or HTML from the Storage tab or through the API. Package, release and feed rows are told apart by the recordType field, so you can filter them in a spreadsheet or load them into a database.

🔗 Want more developer data? Other RecordsData scrapers

• Hacker News Search Scraper
• Wikipedia Articles Scraper
• SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper

💬 Support

Found a bug or missing field? Open the Issues tab on this actor's page or write to contact.punkrecordsdata@gmail.com. Custom solutions available on request.

Last updated: 2026-10-11