Google Fonts Live Query Actor

What does Google Fonts Live Query Actor do?

This Actor searches the live public Google Fonts family metadata for a phrase such as sans serif, then writes matching font families to an Apify dataset. It reads the public Google Fonts metadata feed; it does not require a Google account or API key. Each record includes a specimen link, family category, language subsets, available styles, designers, modification date, and any popularity or trending values present in the feed.

Only families whose metadata matches at least one query term are returned. If fewer than minItems matching families are available, the run fails instead of padding the output with unrelated families or static examples.

Why use Google Fonts Live Query Actor?

Use it to discover font families for design systems, compare styles and supported scripts, or monitor changes in the public catalog. Apify provides scheduled runs, dataset downloads, integrations, and API access. The result includes the query and retrieval timestamp so downstream workflows can distinguish a current catalog lookup from an older one.

How to use Google Fonts Live Query Actor

1. Enter a search phrase in Query, such as sans serif or a designer name.
2. Leave Maximum records and Minimum records at 10 for a quick test. Lower the minimum if a narrow query is expected to match fewer families.
3. Run the Actor, then inspect the Output dataset. Open a specimen URL to view the family on Google Fonts.
4. Download the dataset as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel, or retrieve it through the Apify API.

Input

Field	Default	Purpose
query	sans serif	Terms matched against family name, category, language subsets, and designer names.
maxItems	10	Maximum font families to return, up to 100.
minItems	10	Minimum number of matching live families required for a successful run.
requestTimeoutSecs	30	Timeout for the public metadata request.
proxyConfiguration	Disabled	Optional standard Apify proxy configuration when needed for ordinary connectivity.

No login, CAPTCHA solving, or private account access is used.

{"query":"sans serif","maxItems":10,"minItems":10}

Output

The dataset contains one real font family per item, not a single page-level metadata record. A representative record from the default query is:

{
  "serviceName": "Google Fonts",
  "query": "sans serif",
  "itemPosition": 1,
  "recordType": "fontFamily",
  "title": "Roboto",
  "url": "https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto",
  "sourceUrl": "https://fonts.google.com/metadata/fonts",
  "sourceType": "google-fonts-metadata-live",
  "details": {
    "category": "Sans Serif",
    "subsets": ["latin", "greek"],
    "styles": ["400", "700"],
    "designers": ["Christian Robertson"],
    "openSource": true
  }
}

The example abbreviates array fields for readability; actual values come from the live feed and may change. Other fields can include details.lastModified, details.popularity, details.trending, scrapedAt, and the run duration.

Data table

Field	Meaning
title	Font family name.
url	Public Google Fonts specimen page.
details.category	Serif, Sans Serif, Display, Handwriting, or Monospace category when supplied.
details.subsets	Supported script/language subsets.
details.styles	Available style keys or weights from the feed.
details.designers	Designers credited by Google Fonts.
details.lastModified	Last-modified date reported by the feed.
details.popularity, details.trending	Source-provided ranking metadata, when present.

Pricing and cost estimation

The Actor charges $0.00199 per dataset result, plus the listed Actor Start event and platform usage costs. A default 10-result run has a result charge of $0.0199 before those additional costs. You can set a maximum run charge in Apify; smaller maxItems values help keep usage predictable.

Tips and advanced options

Use a specific family, designer, category, or script term for a focused search. If the query is narrow, set minItems below 10 so a valid small result set is accepted. The Actor reads the current public feed once per run and does not invent records if it is unavailable. Local development can be checked with apify validate-schema and apify run.

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Why did my run fail with zero results? The public metadata request may have failed, or the phrase matched fewer families than minItems. Review the run log and try a broader term or a lower minimum. Do not interpret an access error as proof that the catalog is empty.

Use the data in accordance with Google Fonts terms and applicable law. This Actor extracts public font metadata, not personal or private account data. For questions or a source change, use the Actor's Issues tab.