VS Code Marketplace Scraper

Export structured public VS Code Marketplace editor extensions for discovery, comparison, monitoring, and governance.

What you get

Search the public VS Code Marketplace catalog and save one deduplicated row per editor extension. Results include extension identity, installs, ratings, releases, compatibility, publisher verification, repository and support links, dependencies, extension packs, and VSIX checksums. Use discovery inputs for market maps and exact-name inputs, when available, for stable monitoring cohorts.

Output fields

Field group	Description
Identity	Canonical identifier, 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

{"identifier":"ms-python.python","displayName":"Python","publisherVerified":true,"installs":100000000,"rating":4.5,"version":"2026.10.0","engine":"^1.90.0","sourceUrl":"https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python","url":"https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python"}

Input parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
queries	No	Up to five public extension search phrases.
extensionIds	No	Up to 25 exact publisher.extension identifiers.
sort	No	Relevance, update, publication, rating, or install ordering.
maxResultsPerQuery	Yes	Maximum extensions per query; defaults to 25.
maxResults	Yes	Maximum unique extensions 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

Only public Marketplace metadata is available. Install counts and ratings are adoption signals rather than security verdicts, and marketplace property availability varies by publisher.

Compared to alternatives

Current Apify Store alternatives include freshactors/vscode-marketplace-scraper and parseforge/vs-code-marketplace-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