# Kickstarter Comments Scraper (`stealth_mode/kickstarter-comments-scraper`) Actor Scrape community comments from any Kickstarter project page. This scraper captures comment text, author details, creation dates, replies, badges, moderation flags, and 20+ additional fields — perfect for community analysis, sentiment tracking, and creator engagement research. - **URL**: https://apify.com/stealth\_mode/kickstarter-comments-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Stealth mode](https://apify.com/stealth_mode) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. 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 ## Kickstarter Comments Scraper: Extract Project Comments & Community Insights --- ### What Is Kickstarter & Why Scrape Comments? Kickstarter is the world's leading crowdfunding platform, hosting thousands of active projects across creative, technology, design, and innovation categories. Every project page contains a vibrant comments section where backers, curious supporters, and community members discuss ideas, ask questions, and share feedback. Analyzing comments manually is impractical at scale. The **Kickstarter Comments Scraper** automates collection of project discussions, enabling you to extract structured comment data for sentiment analysis, community engagement studies, and creator insights — without clicking through hundreds of comment threads. --- ### Overview The **Kickstarter Comments Scraper** extracts comment records from any Kickstarter project's comments section, capturing both the discussion content and platform metadata. It is ideal for: - **Creators & brand managers** tracking backer sentiment and engagement - **Market researchers** analyzing community feedback across product categories - **Data analysts** studying crowdfunding dynamics and creator-backer interaction - **Academics** researching online community behavior and funding campaigns - **Investors** evaluating project momentum through community discussion activity The scraper is highly configurable, allowing bulk collection across multiple projects, with resilient error handling and flexible output limits. --- ### Input Format The scraper accepts a JSON configuration object with three main parameters: ```json { "urls": [ "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments" ], "ignore_url_failures": true, "max_items_per_url": 200 } ```` | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `urls` | Array | Direct URLs to Kickstarter project comments pages. Use the format: `/projects/[creator-username]/[project-slug]/comments` | | `ignore_url_failures` | Boolean | If `true`, the scraper continues running even if some URLs fail. If `false`, the entire run stops at the first error. Default: `true` | | `max_items_per_url` | Integer | Maximum number of comments to collect per URL (e.g., `200`). Useful for controlling data volume and API usage | > **Tip:** The comments URL is located on each project page. Navigate to the project, scroll to comments, and copy the full URL from your browser address bar. *** ### Output Format #### Example Output ```json { "id": "Q29tbWVudC00NzQzNTU0OA==", "body": "Backed to keep an eye on this one. The combination of The Wheel of Time, Dire Wolf, and a grand strategy format is really interesting. I’ve been following the campaign trends on Tabletop Analytics too, curious to see how far this one goes.", "created_at": 1780491957, "parent_id": null, "author": { "id": "VXNlci0xMjIyNTU3MzY1", "image_url": "https://i.kickstarter.com/assets/010/500/931/d06078d7136ac3a6993ebd9525ae3fcf_original.png?anim=false&fit=cover&height=200&origin=ugc&q=92&v=1461694076&width=200&sig=ULlrzopFOmZvfTxDDiM1D8xswBU4WFzNAOjSdvZtYJs%3D", "name": "Nuuko Twilightcatcer", "url": "https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1222557365", "is_blocked": false, "__typename": "User" }, "removed_per_guidelines": false, "author_badges": [], "can_report": false, "can_delete": false, "can_pin": false, "can_remove_backer": false, "has_flaggings": false, "deleted_author": false, "deleted": false, "sustained": false, "pinned_at": null, "author_canceled_pledge": false, "is_project_live": true, "is_project_successful": false, "author_backing": null, "replies": { "total_count": 0, "nodes": [], "page_info": { "start_cursor": null, "has_previous_page": false, "__typename": "PageInfo" }, "__typename": "CommentConnection" }, "from_url": "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments" } ``` Each scraped comment returns a comprehensive record with 20+ fields capturing the comment content, author metadata, and platform moderation details: #### Comment Content & Identification | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `ID` | Unique identifier for the comment within Kickstarter's system | | `Body` | The full text content of the comment as written by the author | | `Created At` | ISO timestamp when the comment was posted (e.g., `2024-01-15T10:30:00Z`) | | `Replies` | Number of direct replies to this comment, showing engagement depth | #### Author & Identity | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `Author` | Name and profile information of the comment author | | `Author Badges` | Array of badges indicating author status (e.g., "Creator", "Project Backer", "Kickstarter Staff") | | `Author Backing` | Backer status for this specific project (whether author pledged funds) | | `Author Canceled Pledge` | Boolean flag indicating if the author previously backed but later canceled | | `Deleted Author` | Boolean flag if the author account was deleted after posting | #### Comment Hierarchy & Threading | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `Parent ID` | ID of the parent comment if this is a reply; `null` if it's a top-level comment | #### Moderation & Community Management | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `Removed Per Guidelines` | Boolean indicating if the comment was removed for violating community guidelines | | `Deleted` | Boolean flag if the comment was deleted (by author or moderator) | | `Sustained` | Boolean flag if a moderation action was upheld after appeal | | `Has Flaggings` | Boolean indicating if community members reported this comment | | `Pinned At` | ISO timestamp if a moderator pinned this comment; `null` if unpinned | #### Permissions & Capabilities | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `Can Report` | Boolean indicating whether the current viewer can report this comment | | `Can Delete` | Boolean indicating whether the current viewer can delete this comment (author or moderator only) | | `Can Pin` | Boolean indicating whether the current viewer has permission to pin this comment (creator/moderator) | | `Can Remove Backer` | Boolean indicating whether the comment author's backer status can be removed by a moderator | #### Project Context | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `Is Project Live` | Boolean indicating whether the project was still active when the comment was posted | | `Is Project Successful` | Boolean indicating whether the project's funding goal was met | *** ### How to Use 1. **Find a Kickstarter project** — Browse Kickstarter.com and select any active or completed project. 2. **Navigate to comments** — Click the "Comments" tab or scroll to the comments section on the project page. 3. **Copy the URL** — Copy the full comments page URL from your browser (e.g., `.../comments`). 4. **Prepare your input** — Paste the URL into the `urls` array in the configuration JSON. 5. **Set limits** — Adjust `max_items_per_url` based on your needs (e.g., `50` for sample, `500+` for full dataset). 6. **Run the scraper** — Start the actor and monitor progress in the log. 7. **Download results** — Export as JSON, CSV, or Excel for analysis. **Best practices:** - Use `ignore_url_failures: true` when scraping multiple projects to avoid interruptions. - Start with `max_items_per_url: 100` to test before scaling to larger collections. - Comments are returned in chronological order by default; sort afterward if needed. *** ### Use Cases & Business Value - **Sentiment analysis:** Track backer enthusiasm and concerns across funding stages - **Competitor research:** Monitor community discussions on rival projects - **Creator feedback:** Identify frequently asked questions and improvement suggestions - **Engagement metrics:** Measure comment velocity and reply rates to assess project momentum - **Academic research:** Study crowdfunding dynamics, backer psychology, and community trust patterns By automating comment collection, you can analyze thousands of conversations in minutes — revealing insights that shape product strategy, community management, and funding outcomes. *** ### Conclusion The **Kickstarter Comments Scraper** transforms crowdfunding project discussions into actionable data. Whether you're a creator optimizing backer engagement, a researcher studying community dynamics, or an analyst tracking market trends, this scraper delivers the rich comment data you need — structured, complete, and ready for analysis. # Actor input Schema ## `urls` (type: `array`): Add the URLs of the comments list urls you want to scrape. You can paste URLs one by one, or use the Bulk edit section to add a prepared list. ## `ignore_url_failures` (type: `boolean`): If true, the scraper will continue running even if some URLs fail to be scraped. ## `max_items_per_url` (type: `integer`): The maximum number of items to scrape per URL. ## `proxy` (type: `object`): Select proxies to be used by your scraper. ## Actor input object example ```json { "urls": [ "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments" ], "ignore_url_failures": true, "max_items_per_url": 20, "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "urls": [ "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments" ], "ignore_url_failures": true, "max_items_per_url": 20, "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("stealth_mode/kickstarter-comments-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urls": ["https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments"], "ignore_url_failures": True, "max_items_per_url": 20, "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": True, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"], "apifyProxyCountry": "US", }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("stealth_mode/kickstarter-comments-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 '{ "urls": [ "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/direwolfdigital/war-of-the-dragon-the-wheel-of-time/comments" ], "ignore_url_failures": true, "max_items_per_url": 20, "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": [ "RESIDENTIAL" ], "apifyProxyCountry": "US" } }' | apify call stealth_mode/kickstarter-comments-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=stealth_mode/kickstarter-comments-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Kickstarter Comments Scraper", "description": "Scrape community comments from any Kickstarter project page. This scraper captures comment text, author details, creation dates, replies, badges, moderation flags, and 20+ additional fields — perfect for community analysis, sentiment tracking, and creator engagement research.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "0TgwgYlzsAFKzVr5J" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/stealth_mode~kickstarter-comments-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-stealth_mode-kickstarter-comments-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/stealth_mode~kickstarter-comments-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-stealth_mode-kickstarter-comments-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/stealth_mode~kickstarter-comments-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-stealth_mode-kickstarter-comments-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "urls": { "title": "URLs of the comments list urls to scrape", "type": "array", "description": "Add the URLs of the comments list urls you want to scrape. You can paste URLs one by one, or use the Bulk edit section to add a prepared list.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "ignore_url_failures": { "title": "Continue running even if some URLs fail to be scraped", "type": "boolean", "description": "If true, the scraper will continue running even if some URLs fail to be scraped." }, "max_items_per_url": { "title": "Max items per URL", "type": "integer", "description": "The maximum number of items to scrape per URL." }, "proxy": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Select proxies to be used by your scraper." } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```