# Perplexity AI Answer Scraper (`rl1987/perplexity-api-scraper`) Actor

Submits natural-language queries to Perplexity's answer engine (via the reversed Perplexity Android API) and returns the model's answer text plus its cited web sources. Anonymous guest tier, no account needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rl1987/perplexity-api-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [R.L.](https://apify.com/rl1987) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 answers

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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

## Perplexity AI Answer Scraper

Submit natural-language questions to [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai) and get back the
model's **answer text** and the **web sources it cited** — as structured dataset rows. The actor
talks to Perplexity's mobile answer API directly (reversed from the `ai.perplexity.app.android`
app), using the app's **anonymous guest tier**, so no Perplexity account or API key is required.

### What it does

For each query you provide, the actor:

1. obtains a short-lived anonymous bearer token from Perplexity's attestation endpoint,
2. streams the answer from `POST /rest/sse/perplexity_ask`, and
3. pushes one dataset row with the answer and its citations.

### Input

| Field | Type | Notes |
|-------|------|-------|
| `queries` | string list | One or more questions. Each produces one row. |
| `sources` | multi-select | Corpora to search: `web`, `scholar`, `social`, `video`, `image`. Default `[web]`. |
| `maxSources` | integer | Cap citations kept per answer. `0` = all. |
| `language` | string | Answer language (BCP-47), e.g. `en`, `lt`. |
| `timezone` | string | IANA timezone for time-relative answers. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | proxy | **Residential proxy required** (see below). Defaults to Apify Proxy RESIDENTIAL. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "What is the capital of Lithuania?",
    "Who won the 2022 FIFA World Cup?"
  ],
  "sources": ["web"],
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] }
}
```

### Output

Each dataset row:

```json
{
  "query": "What is the capital of Lithuania?",
  "answer": "The capital of Lithuania is **Vilnius**. ...",
  "source_count": 10,
  "sources": [
    { "name": "Vilnius - Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius", "snippet": "..." }
  ],
  "mode": "concise",
  "backend_uuid": "…"
}
```

If a single query fails, its row carries an `error` field and the batch continues.

### Why a residential proxy is required

Perplexity's answer endpoint stalls requests coming from datacenter IP ranges. The actor therefore
routes every request through a **residential** proxy and draws a fresh exit IP per query. The input
defaults to Apify Proxy with the `RESIDENTIAL` group; a datacenter proxy or no proxy will hang.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: **$0.005 per answer** (one charge per query answered). Citations are included in that
charge.

### Notes & limitations

- Guest tier: answers come from Perplexity's default model for anonymous clients; account-only
  features (custom models, Pro search history, file upload) are out of scope.
- The attestation step uses the app's own flow; Perplexity's server does not enforce a real Play
  Integrity check on the guest tier, which is why no device or Google account is needed.
- This is an unofficial client and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Perplexity AI.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

One or more natural-language questions. Each is answered separately and produces one dataset row (answer + citations).

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Which corpora Perplexity may search for citations. Leave as \[web] for standard web answers; empty lets the model decide (may skip search).

## `maxSources` (type: `integer`):

Cap the number of cited sources kept per answer. 0 = keep all.

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

BCP-47 language code the answer should be written in, e.g. "en", "lt", "de".

## `timezone` (type: `string`):

IANA timezone used for time-relative answers, e.g. "UTC", "Europe/Vilnius".

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Perplexity stalls datacenter IPs on the answer endpoint, so a RESIDENTIAL proxy is required for this actor to work. Apify Proxy (RESIDENTIAL) is selected by default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "What is the capital of Lithuania?"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "web"
  ],
  "maxSources": 0,
  "language": "en",
  "timezone": "UTC",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "What is the capital of Lithuania?"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rl1987/perplexity-api-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 = {
    "queries": ["What is the capital of Lithuania?"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rl1987/perplexity-api-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "What is the capital of Lithuania?"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call rl1987/perplexity-api-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rl1987/perplexity-api-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/WUkDIcoRn3ezTbgvO/builds/BNUUcNnFrxKYvx1BX/openapi.json