# npm Package Scraper - Registry Search & Package Metadata (`thirdwatch/npm-package-scraper`) Actor

Search the public npm registry or look up exact packages. Export versions, descriptions, maintainers, download counts, quality scores, links, licenses, and keywords. Built for research, benchmarking, and data pipelines. No login, cookies, or API keys — clean JSON output and pay-per-result pricing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/npm-package-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Business
- **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

## npm Package Scraper

> Search npm packages and export versions, descriptions, maintainers, downloads, registry scores, repositories, licenses, and keywords.

### What you get

Discover packages with registry search or resolve exact unscoped and scoped names. Search results include npm's download estimates and quality, popularity, and maintenance signals; exact lookups return the latest package metadata.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `name` | npm package name |
| `version` | Latest or returned version |
| `description` | Package description |
| `keywords` | Published keywords |
| `license` | Published license for exact lookups |
| `date` | Search index update date when available |
| `publisher` | Publisher or author name |
| `maintainers` | Maintainer names |
| `weekly_downloads` | npm weekly download estimate |
| `monthly_downloads` | npm monthly download estimate |
| `dependents` | Reported dependent count |
| `score` | Overall registry search score |
| `quality_score` | Registry quality component |
| `popularity_score` | Registry popularity component |
| `maintenance_score` | Registry maintenance component |
| `npm_url` | npm package page |
| `repository_url` | Source repository when published |
| `homepage_url` | Project homepage when published |
| `query` | Search or exact package that produced the row |
| `source` | Data-source name |

### Example output

```json
{
  "name": "crawlee",
  "version": "3.15.1",
  "description": "A web scraping and browser automation library",
  "weekly_downloads": 184000,
  "score": 0.91,
  "quality_score": 0.87,
  "npm_url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/crawlee",
  "query": "web scraping"
}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `queries` | No | Registry searches such as `web scraping` or `react table`; `web scraping` is used only when both input modes are empty |
| `packageNames` | No | Exact names such as `react` or `@apify/actor` |
| `maxResultsPerQuery` | No | Results for each search, from 1 to 250; defaults to 20 |

### Use cases

- Developers: compare packages before choosing a dependency.
- Engineering leaders: monitor important packages and versions.
- Researchers: measure ecosystem popularity and maintenance signals.
- Open-source teams: discover related projects and repositories.

### Limitations

Search metrics are supplied by npm and can change independently. Exact lookups and discovery searches expose different upstream fields, so download and score fields can be empty on exact rows while license fields can be empty on search rows. Popularity is not evidence of security or suitability; inspect licenses, repositories, and advisories before adoption.

### Compared to alternatives

Compared with `benthepythondev/npm-package-scraper`, this Actor supports exact scoped-package lookups as well as discovery search. Compared with `seeb/npm-package-trend-monitor`, it exports npm's search score components, maintainers, repository links, keywords, and download estimates for broader package research.

### FAQ

#### Can I look up a scoped package?

Yes. Put the full name, such as `@apify/actor`, in `packageNames`.

#### Why is a license empty on a search result?

npm's discovery response does not always include it. Use an exact package lookup when license metadata is important.

#### Can I run multiple searches together?

Yes. Add several entries to `queries`; duplicate package names are removed.

Explore more at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev). Related Actors: [Google Search Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-search-scraper), [Stack Exchange Questions Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/stack-exchange-questions-scraper), and [Hacker News Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/hacker-news-scraper).

Last verified: 2026-07

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Search terms such as web scraping, React table, or keywords:automation.

## `packageNames` (type: `array`):

Optional exact names such as react or @apify/actor.

## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

The npm registry supports up to 250 search results per query.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "packageNames": [
    "react"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 20
}
```

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "web scraping"
    ],
    "packageNames": [
        "react"
    ],
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/npm-package-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 = {
    "queries": ["web scraping"],
    "packageNames": ["react"],
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/npm-package-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 '{
  "queries": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "packageNames": [
    "react"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 20
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/npm-package-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/npm-package-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/sv1hZec9irMm1eyvo/builds/LxOkEtMiDLxcUZzMG/openapi.json