# Pinterest Following Scraper (`scrapeengine/pinterest-following-scraper`) Actor

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapeengine/pinterest-following-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ScrapeEngine](https://apify.com/scrapeengine) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.99 / 1,000 results

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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## 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

## Pinterest Following Scraper Actor

Apify actor that collects the **following list of Pinterest profiles** from usernames, profile URLs, or keywords. It mirrors the reference output in `CandyW8119_following.json`, streams data to the Apify dataset in real time, and follows a strict proxy fallback chain (direct → datacenter → residential).

### Why this actor
- Built for Pinterest following discovery with pagination support
- Works with usernames, profile links, or keyword-like handles (bulk input)
- Live dataset writes and summary saved to key-value store
- Resilient anti-blocking: retries, random delays, and proxy fallbacks
- Minimal setup: just provide `_pinterest_sess` cookie and inputs

### Key features
- Bulk inputs via `sources` (URLs, @usernames, keywords)
- Clean output fields: thumbnails, profile URL, follower/board counts, verification flags, etc.
- Proxy strategy: start with **no proxy**, then auto-switch to **datacenter**, then to **residential** and stick there if blocking is detected; all transitions are logged
- Retry with exponential backoff and 1–2s jitter between pages
- Async `aiohttp` requests for efficient pagination

### Input
Example (Apify console JSON):
```json
{
  "sources": [
    { "url": "https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/" },
    { "url": "@anotheruser" }
  ],
  "pinterestSess": "YOUR__pinterest_sess_COOKIE",
  "sortOrder": "default",
  "maxComments": 120,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
````

**Fields**

- `sources` (array, required): URLs/usernames/keywords (bulk supported).
- `pinterestSess` (string, required): `_pinterest_sess` cookie value.
- `sortOrder` (string): `default`, `recent`, or `relevance` (Pinterest may ignore).
- `maxComments` (integer): Max following records per input (1–1000).
- `proxyConfiguration` (object): Default is no proxy. On block → datacenter; if blocked again → residential (sticky). Groups honored when provided.

### Output

- Data is pushed live to the default dataset. Each item matches the reference shape (sample from `CandyW8119_following.json`):
  - `serachUsername`, `username`, `full_name`
  - `profileUrl`, `image_medium_url`, `image_large_url`, `pin_thumbnail_urls`
  - `follower_count`, `pin_count`, `board_count`
  - Flags: `is_verified_merchant`, `explicitly_followed_by_me`, `domain_verified`, `is_private_profile`
  - Raw `recent_pin_images` for context
- Run summary is stored in key-value store under `SUMMARY`.

### How it works

1. Normalize each source to a username.
2. Start direct requests with `_pinterest_sess` cookie.
3. Paginate `/resource/UserFollowingResource/get/` with page size up to 50.
4. On block-like status (401/403/429/503): switch to datacenter; on further block: switch to residential and keep it. All changes are logged.
5. Retry each page up to 3 times with backoff; add 1–2s jitter between pages.
6. Transform each user and push immediately to the dataset; continue even if some inputs fail.
7. Save summary (processed inputs, total users saved, proxy mode/groups).

### Running locally

```bash
python -m src
```

Provide input via the Apify key-value store `INPUT.json` or environment when running on the platform. Ensure your `_pinterest_sess` cookie is valid.

### Best practices

- Use a fresh Pinterest session cookie.
- Keep `maxComments` reasonable (e.g., <= 500) to reduce block risk.
- Allow proxy fallback; residential will stick after a block cascade.
- Monitor logs for proxy switches and retry events.

### Support and notes

- Data is collected only from public endpoints.
- Respect Pinterest terms and local regulations when using the data.

# Actor input Schema

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

📝 One entry per line in the list editor.

✅ Examples: `https://www.pinterest.com/username/`, `@creator`, `creator`, or a keyword-style seed if that’s how you roll.

🪄 We normalize messy inputs — your job is ideas; ours is fetching who they follow. 🚀

## `pinterestSess` (type: `string`):

🔐 Paste the cookie value for `_pinterest_sess` from your browser while logged into Pinterest.

⚠️ Without it, Pinterest won’t play nice — the actor will stop early rather than fake results.

🔒 Treat it like a password: private runs only, rotate if shared, and never commit it to git. 🤫

## `maxComments` (type: `integer`):

🎚️ Safety dial: how many following accounts to collect for each source before moving on.

📊 Default 10 for quick tests; crank it up for deep dives (up to 100,000).

💡 Lower = faster and lighter; higher = richer graphs but longer runs. ⏱️

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

🚀 Starts with no proxy for speed and simplicity.

🧱 First block? We hop to datacenter proxies.

🧱 Still blocked? We switch to residential and stay there for the rest of the run so retries feel human.

💡 Leave Apify Proxy off unless you already know you need it — smart fallback still has your back. 🤝

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sources": [
    "https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/"
  ],
  "maxComments": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "sources": [
        "https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapeengine/pinterest-following-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 = {
    "sources": ["https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapeengine/pinterest-following-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 '{
  "sources": [
    "https://www.pinterest.com/CandyW8119/"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call scrapeengine/pinterest-following-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Pinterest Following Scraper",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "WAUQlzH14btrG5ubu"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/scrapeengine~pinterest-following-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapeengine-pinterest-following-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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/scrapeengine~pinterest-following-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapeengine-pinterest-following-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/scrapeengine~pinterest-following-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-scrapeengine-pinterest-following-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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",
                "required": [
                    "sources"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "sources": {
                        "title": "🎯 Sources — profiles, @handles, links, or keywords (bulk)",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "📝 One entry per line in the list editor.\n\n✅ Examples: `https://www.pinterest.com/username/`, `@creator`, `creator`, or a keyword-style seed if that’s how you roll.\n\n🪄 We normalize messy inputs — your job is ideas; ours is fetching who they follow. 🚀",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "pinterestSess": {
                        "title": "🍪 `_pinterest_sess` — your Pinterest session key",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "🔐 Paste the cookie value for `_pinterest_sess` from your browser while logged into Pinterest.\n\n⚠️ Without it, Pinterest won’t play nice — the actor will stop early rather than fake results.\n\n🔒 Treat it like a password: private runs only, rotate if shared, and never commit it to git. 🤫"
                    },
                    "maxComments": {
                        "title": "🔢 Cap per source — max following accounts to grab",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 100000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "🎚️ Safety dial: how many following accounts to collect for each source before moving on.\n\n📊 Default 10 for quick tests; crank it up for deep dives (up to 100,000).\n\n💡 Lower = faster and lighter; higher = richer graphs but longer runs. ⏱️",
                        "default": 10
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "🌐 Proxies — glide past blocks without babysitting",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "🚀 Starts with no proxy for speed and simplicity.\n\n🧱 First block? We hop to datacenter proxies.\n\n🧱 Still blocked? We switch to residential and stay there for the rest of the run so retries feel human.\n\n💡 Leave Apify Proxy off unless you already know you need it — smart fallback still has your back. 🤝"
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```