# Stack Overflow Scraper | Questions by Tag, Votes & Answers (`resounding_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-scraper`) Actor Scrape Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange questions by tag. Sort by newest, active, votes, or bountied. Extract titles, vote counts, answer counts, tags, excerpts, and author profiles. Track developer discussions and find technical content. Export as JSON or CSV, run via API, or schedule runs. - **URL**: https://apify.com/resounding\_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [alars num](https://apify.com/resounding_diplomacy) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, AI - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 ## Stack Overflow Trending Scraper Scrape questions from Stack Overflow and the entire Stack Exchange network by tag. Extract titles, vote counts, answer counts, accepted-answer status, view counts, excerpts, tags, and author information as structured JSON. No API key required. This actor uses CheerioCrawler for fast HTML scraping with automatic pagination and optional deep-link scraping of individual question pages. It works across Stack Overflow and any Stack Exchange subdomain (e.g. `serverfault`, `superuser`, `askubuntu`). Export to JSON, CSV, or via API. ### Features - Scrape questions by tag from Stack Overflow or any Stack Exchange site - Sort options: newest, active, votes, frequent, bountied - Optional accepted-answers-only filter - Optional detail scraping of individual question pages for answer content - Automatic pagination to reach `maxItems` - Works across all Stack Exchange network sites - Extracts title, URL, votes, answers, accepted-answer flag, views, excerpt, tags, author, and timestamp ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |-------|------|---------|-------------| | `tag` | String | `javascript` | Stack Overflow tag to scrape (e.g. `python`, `react`, `docker`) | | `sortBy` | String | `newest` | Sort order: `newest`, `active`, `votes`, `frequent`, `bountied` | | `maxItems` | Integer | `50` | Maximum number of questions to return | | `includeAnswers` | Boolean | `true` | Enable deep-link scraping of question detail pages | | `includeAcceptedOnly` | Boolean | `false` | Only return questions with an accepted answer | | `site` | String | `stackoverflow` | Stack Exchange site subdomain (e.g. `serverfault`, `askubuntu`) | #### Example input ```json { "tag": "python", "sortBy": "votes", "maxItems": 100, "includeAcceptedOnly": true, "site": "stackoverflow" } ```` ### Output ```json { "title": "How to merge two dictionaries in Python 3.9+", "url": "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38987/how-to-merge-two-dictionaries", "votes": 4500, "answers": 12, "hasAccepted": true, "views": "1.2m", "excerpt": "I have two Python dictionaries, and I want to write a single expression...", "tags": ["python", "dictionary", "merge"], "author": "user123", "askedWhen": "asked 5 mins ago", "site": "stackoverflow" } ``` ### Use cases - **Developer research** — identify common pain points and trending topics in a technology - **Content creation** — find popular questions to write tutorials, blog posts, or documentation around - **SEO** — discover high-traffic question topics to target with content - **Community monitoring** — track activity in specific tags across the Stack Exchange network - **Support intelligence** — aggregate unanswered or trending questions for product teams - **Technical recruiting** — identify active experts by tag and reputation ### How to use 1. Open the actor on the Apify Store. 2. Enter a `tag` (e.g. `python`, `react`, `docker`). 3. Choose a `sortBy` option and optionally set `includeAcceptedOnly`. 4. Optionally switch `site` to a different Stack Exchange subdomain. 5. Click **Start** and export results to JSON, CSV, or via API. Use scheduled runs to track new questions in your technology stack and feed them into content or support workflows. # Actor input Schema ## `tag` (type: `string`): Stack Overflow tag to search (e.g. javascript, python, react, docker) ## `site` (type: `string`): Which Stack Exchange site to scrape (stackoverflow, serverfault, askubuntu, etc.) ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Sort questions by newest, active, votes, frequent, or bountied ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of questions to scrape ## `includeAcceptedOnly` (type: `boolean`): Only return questions that have an accepted answer ## Actor input object example ```json { "tag": "javascript", "site": "stackoverflow", "sortBy": "newest", "maxItems": 50, "includeAcceptedOnly": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("resounding_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("resounding_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-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 '{}' | apify call resounding_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=resounding_diplomacy/stackoverflow-trending-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Stack Overflow Scraper | Questions by Tag, Votes & Answers", "description": "Scrape Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange questions by tag. Sort by newest, active, votes, or bountied. Extract titles, vote counts, answer counts, tags, excerpts, and author profiles. Track developer discussions and find technical content. Export as JSON or CSV, run via API, or schedule runs.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "Bh0dfSnWM7PipJk0n" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/resounding_diplomacy~stackoverflow-trending-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-resounding_diplomacy-stackoverflow-trending-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/resounding_diplomacy~stackoverflow-trending-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-resounding_diplomacy-stackoverflow-trending-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/resounding_diplomacy~stackoverflow-trending-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-resounding_diplomacy-stackoverflow-trending-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "tag": { "title": "Tag", "type": "string", "description": "Stack Overflow tag to search (e.g. javascript, python, react, docker)", "default": "javascript" }, "site": { "title": "Stack Exchange Site", "type": "string", "description": "Which Stack Exchange site to scrape (stackoverflow, serverfault, askubuntu, etc.)", "default": "stackoverflow" }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort By", "enum": [ "newest", "active", "votes", "frequent", "bountied" ], "type": "string", "description": "Sort questions by newest, active, votes, frequent, or bountied", "default": "newest" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of questions to scrape", "default": 50 }, "includeAcceptedOnly": { "title": "Accepted Answers Only", "type": "boolean", "description": "Only return questions that have an accepted answer", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```