# Username OSINT Scraper - 140+ Site Checker (`thirdwatch/username-osint-scraper`) Actor

Check a username across 140+ platforms — GitHub, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Keybase, and more. Returns exists/not_found plus profile URL per site. Built for brand monitoring, trend research, and audience analysis.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/username-osint-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, 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

## Username OSINT Scraper — 40+ Site Checker

### What you get

> **Thirdwatch portfolio:** 8,800+ users across 140+ public Actors, 2M+ records delivered, >95% run success. [Explore all Thirdwatch Actors](https://apify.com/thirdwatch).

Check whether a username exists across 140+ platforms — GitHub, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Keybase, Kaggle, Steam, and more. One row per site with `exists`/`not_found` status and the profile URL.

Use it for OSINT investigations, brand-handle auditing, impersonation detection, and username availability research.

### Why this Actor

- **40+ sites per run:** covers code (GitHub, GitLab, npm, PyPI), social (Reddit, Instagram, Twitch, Pinterest, TikTok-adjacent), creator (Medium, Substack, Patreon, Bandcamp), and niche platforms.
- **Clean verdicts:** `exists`, `not_found`, or `error` per site with HTTP status — no ambiguous results.
- **Bulk input:** check many usernames in a single run.
- **Site selection:** restrict the sweep to the sites you care about.

### Quick start

```json
{
  "usernames": ["pushpak"],
  "sites": ["github", "reddit", "instagram", "youtube"]
}
```

Omit `sites` to check all supported platforms.

### Input

| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---:|---|
| `usernames` | Yes | Usernames to check (no `@`). |
| `sites` | No | Subset of site keys to check. Default: all 40+. |

### Output

One row per username × site:

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `username`, `site` | What was checked and where. |
| `status` | `exists`, `not_found`, or `error`. |
| `profileUrl` | Canonical profile URL when it exists. |
| `httpStatus` | HTTP status code behind the verdict. |

### Notes & limitations

- Detection is status-code/redirect based; a few platforms rate-limit aggressively and may return `error` rows under heavy load.
- An `exists` verdict means the profile URL resolves — it doesn't prove the account belongs to the person you're investigating.

### Use cases

- Marketers monitoring social presence and engagement
- Researchers building social-media datasets
- Teams tracking public figures and trends

### Related Actors

- [Douyin Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/douyin-scraper) — Thirdwatch
- [Facebook Ad Library Scraper - Active Ads & Creatives](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/fb-ad-library-scraper) — Thirdwatch
- [Facebook Marketplace Scraper - Listings, Prices & Alerts](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/facebook-marketplace-scraper) — Thirdwatch
- [Facebook Scraper - Page Posts, Group Posts, Comments & Pages](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/facebook-search-scraper) — Thirdwatch

Last verified: 2026-09

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

# Actor input Schema

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

Usernames to check across platforms (without @).

## `sites` (type: `array`):

Restrict to these site keys (e.g. github, reddit, youtube). Empty = all ~40 supported sites.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "pushpak"
  ]
}
```

# 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 = {
    "usernames": [
        "pushpak"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/username-osint-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 = { "usernames": ["pushpak"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/username-osint-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 '{
  "usernames": [
    "pushpak"
  ]
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/username-osint-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/username-osint-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/oZD1C7hUrWk3i8hWS/builds/7GJQ4Ku5hArOqXpjq/openapi.json