GitLab Projects Scraper

Export structured public GitLab public software projects for discovery, comparison, monitoring, and governance.

What you get

Search the public GitLab catalog and save one deduplicated row per public software project. Results include stable project ID, namespace path, description, topics, repository and README links, default branch, stars, forks, creation time, last activity, archive status, and visibility. Use discovery inputs for market maps and exact-name inputs, when available, for stable monitoring cohorts.

Output fields

Field group	Description
Identity	Canonical projectId, display name, and source URL.
Release evidence	Current version or tag data and source timestamps when published.
Adoption signals	Public download, install, pull, star, or rating metrics available from the source.
Ownership and links	Public author, owner, project, repository, documentation, or homepage references.
Classification	Public tags, categories, keywords, packaging, or status values.
Provenance	Search query and named upstream source for traceable analysis.

Example output

{"projectId":250833,"pathWithNamespace":"gitlab-org/gitlab-runner","topics":["ci"],"stars":10000,"forks":2000,"lastActivityAt":"2026-07-20T00:00:00Z","visibility":"public","url":"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner"}

Input parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
queries	No	Up to five public project search phrases.
projectPaths	No	Up to 25 exact namespace/project paths or URLs.
sort	No	Stars, activity, created date, or updated date.
includeArchived	No	Include public archived projects; defaults to false.
apiToken	No	Optional secret token for higher public API limits.
maxResultsPerQuery	Yes	Maximum projects per query; defaults to 25.
maxResults	Yes	Maximum unique projects across all modes; defaults to 100.

At least one discovery or exact-name input is required. Result limits apply after cross-input deduplication, and only saved unique rows are charged.

Use cases

• Developers: discover alternatives and compare public release evidence.
• Platform teams: monitor versions, tags, compatibility, and activity for a fixed portfolio.
• Security teams: build an evidence inventory before joining vulnerability and deployment data.
• Product researchers: map a developer ecosystem with repeatable queries and dated snapshots.

Limitations

The Actor saves only public GitLab.com projects. Search is subject to GitLab ranking and rate limits, and star or activity counts do not establish maintainership quality or software safety.

Compared to alternatives

Current Apify Store alternatives include logiover/gitlab-scraper and parseforge/gitlab-public-projects-scraper. Thirdwatch combines discovery and bounded monitoring inputs where the source permits them, saves canonical evidence URLs, deduplicates before charging, provides exactly four PPE tiers, and ships ten ready-to-save Task recipes plus a five-article workflow library. Compare current Store listings directly because competitor features and pricing can change.

FAQ

Does this Actor access private packages or accounts?

No. It collects only metadata available from the public source and does not sign in, bypass access controls, or request private registry credentials.

How should I monitor a fixed portfolio?

Use exact names where supported, keep result limits explicit, save the input as an Apify Task, and retain dated datasets. Do not let an empty or failed run overwrite the previous successful snapshot.

Are popularity metrics quality or security scores?

No. Downloads, installs, pulls, stars, and ratings help prioritize review, but they do not replace vulnerability, provenance, license, maintainership, or internal deployment evidence.

Where can I find more workflows?

Visit Thirdwatch developer-data scrapers and the related GitHub, npm, and OSV Actors.

Last verified: 2026-07