# Stack Overflow & Stack Exchange Questions Search (`shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search`) Actor

Search questions on Stack Overflow or any Stack Exchange site by text and tags via the official API: score, answers, views, accepted-answer flag, tags, dates. Unanswered-only mode for DevRel and support teams.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search.md
- **Developed by:** [CarrierDaily](https://apify.com/shawndunn) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.80 / 1,000 questions

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Stack Overflow & Stack Exchange Questions Search

Search questions on Stack Overflow or any Stack Exchange site by text and tags via the official API: score, answers, views, accepted-answer flag, tags, dates. Unanswered-only mode for DevRel and support teams.

### Why this actor

- Official API, any of 170+ SE sites, unanswered filter; no personal profile data collected.
- Pay only for results: **$0.80 per 1,000 questions**, no start fee, failed lookups are free.
- Robust: automatic retries with exponential backoff, respects `Retry-After`, per-item error rows instead of crashed runs.
- Clean, flat JSON/CSV/Excel output ready for Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, n8n, Clay, or the Apify API.

### Use cases

- DevRel: find unanswered questions about your product
- Content ideas from high-view questions
- Track developer pain points per tag over time
- Docs gap analysis

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `site` | string | Any Stack Exchange site: stackoverflow, superuser, serverfault, askubuntu, datascience, ... |
| `query` | string | Words in title/body. |
| `tagged` | array | Questions with all of these tags, e.g. python, pandas. |
| `sort` | string | Ordering. |
| `unansweredOnly` | boolean | Questions with zero answers (great for DevRel / support teams). |
| `includeBody` | boolean | Adds the question text. |
| `maxResults` | integer | Cap. |
| `apiKey` | string | Free key raises daily quota from 300 to 10,000 requests. |
| `maxItems` | integer | 0 = no limit. Caps cost. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "site": "stackoverflow",
  "query": "apify",
  "sort": "creation",
  "maxResults": 30
}
```

### Output

Each dataset item looks like this (real sample from a test run, long fields trimmed):

```json
{
  "site": "stackoverflow",
  "questionId": 79794000,
  "title": "Facebook's Graph API \"IG Hashtag Search (Top Media)\" Doesn't Return Videos",
  "url": "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79794000/facebooks-graph-api-ig-hashtag-search-top-media-doesnt-return-videos",
  "tags": [
    "facebook-graph-api",
    "instagram-api",
    "hashtag"
  ],
  "score": 0,
  "answerCount": 0,
  "viewCount": 145,
  "isAnswered": false,
  "hasAcceptedAnswer": false,
  "createdAt": 1760828221,
  "lastActivityAt": 1760828221,
  "body": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-14T16:21:17+00:00"
}
```

Rows that could not be processed contain an `error` field and are **not charged**.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: **$0.0008** per question (= $0.80 / 1,000). Use **Max results** to cap spend. Apify's free plan credit covers thousands of results per month.

### Integrations & API

Run on a schedule in Apify Console, call via the Apify API / Python & JS clients, or connect to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack and webhooks. Works as a tool for AI agents via Apify MCP.

### FAQ

**Is this an official tool?** No. It is an independent actor and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the data source or any trademark owner named here.

**Is it legal?** The actor only reads publicly available data from public endpoints, without logins, and does not bypass paywalls or access controls. You are responsible for using the data in line with applicable laws (e.g. GDPR) and the source sites' terms.

**Something broke?** Open an issue in the Issues tab; we typically respond within 24 hours and ship fixes fast.

# Actor input Schema

## `site` (type: `string`):

Any Stack Exchange site: stackoverflow, superuser, serverfault, askubuntu, datascience, ...

## `query` (type: `string`):

Words in title/body.

## `tagged` (type: `array`):

Questions with all of these tags, e.g. python, pandas.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Ordering.

## `unansweredOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Questions with zero answers (great for DevRel / support teams).

## `includeBody` (type: `boolean`):

Adds the question text.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Cap.

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

Free key raises daily quota from 300 to 10,000 requests.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

0 = no limit. Caps cost.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "site": "stackoverflow",
  "query": "web scraping",
  "sort": "activity",
  "unansweredOnly": false,
  "includeBody": false,
  "maxResults": 100,
  "maxItems": 0
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

## `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 = {
    "query": "web scraping"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search").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 = { "query": "web scraping" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search").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 '{
  "query": "web scraping"
}' |
apify call shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,shawndunn/stack-overflow-questions-search"
        }
    }
}
```

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/IP5EGmhLI0Y4LCWru/builds/dxLjOOYNHA8OYVv0o/openapi.json