RubyGems Package Scraper - Ruby Gem Downloads & Dependencies

Ruby package intelligence from RubyGems.org. Search or look up gems and get download stats, dependencies, license, authors, links, and reverse-dependency ecosystem impact in one normalized record.

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns:

{
  "name": "sinatra",
  "description": "Sinatra is a DSL for quickly creating web applications in Ruby with minimal effort.",
  "latestVersion": "4.2.1",
  "platform": "ruby",
  "totalDownloads": 352872397,
  "versionDownloads": 11208396,
  "licenses": ["MIT"],
  "authors": "Blake Mizerany, Ryan Tomayko, Simon Rozet, Konstantin Haase",
  "homepageUrl": "http://sinatrarb.com/",
  "sourceUrl": "https://github.com/sinatra/sinatra",
  "projectUrl": "https://rubygems.org/gems/sinatra",
  "documentationUrl": "https://www.rubydoc.info/gems/sinatra",
  "changelogUrl": "https://github.com/sinatra/sinatra/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
  "bugTrackerUrl": "https://github.com/sinatra/sinatra/issues",
  "gemUri": "https://rubygems.org/gems/sinatra-4.2.1.gem",
  "runtimeDependencies": [
    { "name": "logger", "requirements": ">= 1.6.0" },
    { "name": "mustermann", "requirements": "~> 3.0" },
    { "name": "rack", "requirements": ">= 3.0.0, < 4" },
    { "name": "rack-protection", "requirements": "= 4.2.1" },
    { "name": "rack-session", "requirements": ">= 2.0.0, < 3" },
    { "name": "tilt", "requirements": "~> 2.0" }
  ],
  "runtimeDependencyCount": 6,
  "developmentDependencyCount": 0,
  "sha": "b7aeb9b11d046b552972ade834f1f9be98b185fa8444480688e3627625377080",
  "yanked": false,
  "versionCreatedAt": "2025-10-10T15:20:36.806Z",
  "reverseDependencyCount": 3070,
  "reverseDependencies": ["mpayer_ruby", "sinatra_cyclist", "gitall"],
  "aiSummary": {
    "whatItDoes": "Sinatra is a lightweight framework for building web applications in Ruby with ease.",
    "category": "Web Framework",
    "alternativeTo": "Ruby on Rails",
    "targetUser": "Web developers"
  },
  "source": "rubygems",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-17T10:23:38.913Z",
  "error": null
}

The most complete RubyGems scraper available. It pairs total and per-version download counts with the full runtime dependency list, license, authors, and every project link, then optionally adds reverse-dependency impact (which gems depend on this one) and a short AI classification. Missing source values are returned as null.

📥 Input · 📤 Output · 💰 Pricing · ▶️ Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Use cases
• Run via API and CLI
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting

What it does

The actor talks to the public RubyGems.org registry in two modes. In search mode it queries by keyword and paginates through matching gems. In gem mode it looks up an exact list of gem names. For each gem it writes one normalized record with the total download count, the latest version and its download count, the full runtime dependency list (name plus version requirement), the development dependency count, license(s), authors, checksum, yanked status, and every project link (homepage, source code, documentation, changelog, bug tracker, RubyGems page). Two optional add-ons enrich each gem: reverse dependencies (the count and a sample of gems that depend on it) and an AI classification of what the gem does.

Quickstart

Open the actor, paste this into the input, and press Run. It returns the 10 most relevant gems for the keyword json.

{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "json",
  "maxResults": 10
}

To inspect specific gems instead, switch to gem mode and pass exact names:

{
  "mode": "gem",
  "names": ["rails", "sinatra", "devise"],
  "includeReverseDependencies": true
}

Input reference

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	search	search to query by keyword, or gem to look up exact gem names.
query	string	json	Keyword to search RubyGems.org (used in search mode).
names	array	["rails","sinatra"]	Exact gem names to look up (used in gem mode).
maxResults	integer	10	Maximum gems to collect. Free Apify plans are capped at 10 per run.
includeReverseDependencies	boolean	false	Paid add-on. Adds the reverse-dependency count plus a sample of up to 50 gems that depend on each result.
withAiSummary	boolean	false	Paid add-on. Adds an AI classification (what it does, category, comparable library, target user).

Output reference

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Gem name.
description	string	Gem description (info).
latestVersion	string	Latest published version.
platform	string	Gem platform (usually ruby).
totalDownloads	number	All-time download count.
versionDownloads	number	Downloads of the latest version.
licenses	array	License identifiers.
authors	string	Gem authors.
homepageUrl	string	Homepage link.
sourceUrl	string	Source code repository.
projectUrl	string	RubyGems.org gem page.
documentationUrl	string	Documentation link.
changelogUrl	string	Changelog link.
bugTrackerUrl	string	Issue tracker link.
gemUri	string	Direct .gem download URI.
runtimeDependencies	array	Runtime dependencies as {name, requirements}.
runtimeDependencyCount	number	Number of runtime dependencies.
developmentDependencyCount	number	Number of development dependencies.
sha	string	Gem checksum.
yanked	boolean	Whether the latest version is yanked.
versionCreatedAt	string	Publication date of the latest version.
reverseDependencyCount	number	Count of gems that depend on this one (add-on).
reverseDependencies	array	Sample of up to 50 dependent gem names (add-on).
aiSummary	object	AI classification of the gem (add-on).
observedAt	string	When the record was captured.
error	string	Error message for a failed lookup, otherwise null.

Use cases

• Ruby dependency analysis: map a gem's full runtime dependency tree and version requirements to plan upgrades and audit your Gemfile.
• SCA and software supply chain: use reverse dependencies to measure blast radius. See how many and which gems depend on a package before you patch, deprecate, or flag it.
• Package popularity research: rank gems by total and per-version downloads to pick the best-maintained option in a category.
• Ruby dev tooling and dashboards: feed clean, structured gem metadata into internal catalogs, dependency dashboards, and CI checks.
• Competitive and ecosystem intelligence: compare alternatives (for example web frameworks or auth libraries) side by side with an AI classification of what each gem does and who it targets.

Run via API and CLI

Start a run with the Apify API and fetch the dataset when it finishes:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~rubygems-packages-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"search","query":"authentication","maxResults":25}'

Or with the Apify CLI:

$apify call scrapers_lat/rubygems-packages-scraper --input '{"mode":"gem","names":["rails"]}'

Billing and limits

This actor is billed pay per event.

Event	Price (USD)	When it is charged
result	$0.008	Once per gem record written to the dataset.
reverse_dependencies	$0.008	Once per gem, only when includeReverseDependencies is on and the dependent list is returned.
ai_summary	$0.012	Once per gem, only when withAiSummary is on and the AI returns usable output.

Notes:

• Add-ons are off by default and are disabled entirely for free Apify plans.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 results per run.
• Failed lookups (a gem that does not exist, or a transient source error) are written as an unbilled error row and never charged.
• The actor stops emitting and charging once your configured spend limit (maxTotalChargeUsd) is reached.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Do I need a RubyGems account or API key? No. The actor reads the public RubyGems.org registry.

Why is a gem's record an error row? The gem name does not exist on RubyGems.org, or the registry was briefly unavailable. Error rows are never billed.

How current are the downloads and versions? They are read live from RubyGems.org at run time, so they reflect the registry at the moment of the run.

Why are some fields null? RubyGems does not always populate every link or field for every gem. Missing values are returned as null so the record shape stays consistent.