# Internet Archive Scraper - Books, Media & Wayback Snapshots (`thirdwatch/internet-archive-scraper`) Actor

Search archive.org for books, movies, audio, software, and images, read full item metadata and file lists, and list Wayback Machine snapshots for any URL.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/internet-archive-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Other, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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/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

## Internet Archive Scraper

> Search archive.org, read full item metadata and file lists, and list Wayback Machine snapshots for any URL.

### What you get

The Internet Archive holds tens of millions of free books, films, concerts, software titles, images, and archived web pages. This Actor turns three of its public endpoints into clean dataset rows.

- **Search** archive.org with a plain phrase or a fielded query, filtered by media type, collection, creator, subject, language, and year, sorted by relevance, downloads, or date.
- **Item metadata** for identifiers you already have, including the complete file manifest with formats, sizes, checksums, and direct download URLs.
- **Wayback snapshots** for a URL, host, or whole domain, with capture timestamps, HTTP status, content digest, and a ready-to-open snapshot link.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `record_type` | `item`, `item_metadata`, or `wayback_snapshot` |
| `identifier`, `title`, `creator`, `description` | Core item fields |
| `mediatype`, `collections`, `subjects`, `languages` | Classification |
| `date`, `year`, `publicdate`, `addeddate` | Item and publication dates |
| `downloads`, `item_size_bytes` | Popularity and size |
| `files`, `file_count`, `total_size_bytes` | File manifest in item mode |
| `original_url`, `timestamp`, `captured_at`, `status_code`, `digest` | Wayback capture details |
| `snapshot_url`, `details_url`, `metadata_url` | Direct links back to archive.org |

### Example output

```json
{"record_type":"item","identifier":"CSPAN3_20190824_120000","title":"20th anniversary special on Apollo 11 moon landing","mediatype":"movies","downloads":58,"collections":["TV-BBC"],"details_url":"https://archive.org/details/CSPAN3_20190824_120000"}
```

```json
{"record_type":"wayback_snapshot","queried_url":"apify.com","timestamp":"20070531101538","captured_at":"2007-05-31T10:15:38+00:00","status_code":200,"snapshot_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20070531101538/http://www.apify.com:80/"}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `mode` | Yes | `search`, `item`, or `wayback` |
| `query` | No | Phrase or fielded query such as `creator:"NASA" AND subject:"mars"` |
| `mediaTypes`, `collection`, `creator`, `subject`, `language` | No | Search filters |
| `yearFrom`, `yearTo` | No | Publication-year range |
| `sort` | No | Relevance by default; downloads, publish date, size, or identifier |
| `identifiers` | For `item` | archive.org identifiers to describe |
| `maxFilesPerItem` | No | Files listed inside each item record; defaults to 50 |
| `urls` | For `wayback` | URLs or domains to list captures for |
| `waybackMatchType` | No | `exact`, `prefix`, `host`, or `domain` |
| `waybackCollapse` | No | Collapse captures to one per year, month, day, or unique content |
| `waybackFrom`, `waybackTo`, `waybackStatusCode` | No | Capture date and status filters |
| `maxResults` | No | Upper bound on saved rows; defaults to 100 |

### Use cases

- Researchers and librarians can export a subject or collection as a structured catalogue.
- Journalists and legal teams can evidence how a page looked on a given date.
- SEO and brand teams can track when a competitor's pages changed or disappeared.
- ML teams can shortlist public-domain texts, audio, and images with licence fields attached.

### Limitations

archive.org caps deep paging at 10,000 results per query, so very broad searches need to be narrowed by year, collection, or media type to be collected fully. Relevance, availability, and metadata quality are the Internet Archive's own; user-contributed items vary. Per-user `fav-*` pseudo-collections are dropped from `collections` because a popular item can carry thousands of them. The Actor reads metadata and links only. It does not download the media files themselves, and it does not bypass access restrictions on lending-library items.

### Compared to alternatives

Generic web scrapers point at archive.org's HTML and break with every redesign. This Actor uses the documented public search, metadata, and CDX endpoints, so the fields stay stable. It also covers all three surfaces in one place: catalogue search, item manifests, and Wayback captures, which otherwise means three separate tools.

### FAQ

#### Is an API key required?

No. All three endpoints are public and keyless.

#### How do I search a specific collection?

Set `collection` to the collection identifier, such as `nasa` or `librivoxaudio`, or write it into `query` as `collection:nasa`.

#### Why did my search return fewer rows than the reported match count?

archive.org stops paging at 10,000 results. The run logs the total it saw; narrow the query to reach the rest.

### Related Actors

- [Google News Scraper - Fast, Pay Per Result, No Proxy](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-news-scraper) — Thirdwatch
- [Substack Scraper - Posts, Authors & Search](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/substack-scraper) — Thirdwatch
- [VK Posts Scraper - Walls, Media & Engagement](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/vk-posts-scraper) — Thirdwatch

Last verified: 2026-09

More scrapers at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev).

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Search the archive, read metadata for known items, or list Wayback Machine snapshots for a URL.

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

Free text or an archive.org query such as creator:"NASA" AND subject:"mars". Used in search mode.

## `mediaTypes` (type: `array`):

Restrict search results to these media types. Leave empty for everything.

## `collection` (type: `string`):

Restrict search results to one archive.org collection, such as nasa or librivoxaudio.

## `creator` (type: `string`):

Restrict search results to one creator, author, or uploader.

## `subject` (type: `string`):

Restrict search results to one subject tag.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Restrict search results to one language, such as English or spa.

## `yearFrom` (type: `integer`):

Earliest publication year to include in search results.

## `yearTo` (type: `integer`):

Latest publication year to include in search results.

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

Order of returned search results.

## `identifiers` (type: `array`):

archive.org identifiers to read metadata and file lists for. Used in item mode.

## `maxFilesPerItem` (type: `integer`):

How many files to list inside each item record in item mode.

## `urls` (type: `array`):

URLs or domains to list archived snapshots for. Used in wayback mode.

## `waybackMatchType` (type: `string`):

How broadly to match the URL when listing snapshots.

## `waybackCollapse` (type: `string`):

Keep one snapshot per period or per unique content instead of every capture.

## `waybackFrom` (type: `string`):

Earliest capture date as YYYY, YYYYMM, or YYYYMMDD.

## `waybackTo` (type: `string`):

Latest capture date as YYYY, YYYYMM, or YYYYMMDD.

## `waybackStatusCode` (type: `string`):

Keep only snapshots captured with this status code, such as 200.

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

Upper bound on saved records. archive.org caps search paging at 10,000 results per query.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "apollo 11",
  "mediaTypes": [],
  "collection": "",
  "creator": "",
  "subject": "",
  "language": "",
  "sort": "",
  "identifiers": [
    "nasa"
  ],
  "maxFilesPerItem": 50,
  "urls": [
    "apify.com"
  ],
  "waybackMatchType": "exact",
  "waybackCollapse": "timestamp:6",
  "waybackFrom": "",
  "waybackTo": "",
  "waybackStatusCode": "",
  "maxResults": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `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": "apollo 11",
    "identifiers": [
        "nasa"
    ],
    "urls": [
        "apify.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/internet-archive-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 = {
    "query": "apollo 11",
    "identifiers": ["nasa"],
    "urls": ["apify.com"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/internet-archive-scraper").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": "apollo 11",
  "identifiers": [
    "nasa"
  ],
  "urls": [
    "apify.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/internet-archive-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/internet-archive-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/JyKGWENpV44h0i8Ds/builds/tZpRuHgdk2SW3z2lg/openapi.json