# GitHub Repo Scraper — Search, Details, Releases & Trending (`thriftykiwi/github-repo-scraper`) Actor Scrape GitHub repository data using the public REST API and trending page. Search repos by keyword, get repo details, releases, top contributors, and trending repositories. No authentication required — uses GitHub's public API endpoints and page scraping. - **URL**: https://apify.com/thriftykiwi/github-repo-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Thrifty Kiwi](https://apify.com/thriftykiwi) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $5.00 / 1,000 result items This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## GitHub Repositories Scraper — Search, Details, Releases, Contributors & Trending ⚡ **No authentication required** — searches public repos via the GitHub REST API and scrapes the trending page. No API tokens, no proxies, no setup. ### Quick Start 1. Pick a **mode**: Search repositories, get repo details, releases, contributors, or trending repos. 2. Enter your input — search keywords, a repo path (`owner/repo`), or a language for trending. 3. Click **Start** and get structured JSON in seconds. #### Example: Search for machine learning repos ```json { "mode": "search", "query": "machine learning", "limit": 10 } ```` #### Example: Get repo details ```json { "mode": "repo", "owner": "microsoft", "repo": "vscode" } ``` #### Example: Get trending Python repos ```json { "mode": "trending", "language": "python", "limit": 25 } ``` #### Example: Get latest releases ```json { "mode": "releases", "owner": "facebook", "repo": "react", "limit": 5 } ``` #### Example: Get top contributors ```json { "mode": "contributors", "owner": "tensorflow", "repo": "tensorflow", "limit": 20 } ``` ### Features - **5 scraping modes**: Search, Repo Details, Releases, Contributors, Trending - **No auth needed** — uses GitHub's public REST API and page scraping - **No proxy required** — direct access, fast and reliable - **Trending page scraping** — get what's hot on GitHub right now, by language - **Pagination** — fetches up to 200 results per run - **Structured JSON** — clean, consistent output schema with all key fields - **Language filtering** — filter trending repos by programming language - **Rate limit aware** — respects GitHub's public API rate limit (60 req/hr) ### Output Fields #### Search / Repo Detail / Trending: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `name` | Repository name | | `full_name` | Owner/repository | | `description` | Repository description | | `stars` | Star count | | `forks` | Fork count | | `language` | Primary programming language | | `topics` | Repository topics/tags | | `url` | GitHub URL | | `created_at` | Creation date | | `updated_at` | Last update date | | `owner_login` | Owner username | | `owner_type` | User or Organization | | `license` | SPDX license identifier | | `open_issues` | Open issue count | #### Releases: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `tag_name` | Git tag (e.g., v2.1.0) | | `name` | Release name | | `body` | Release notes (first 500 chars) | | `draft` | Whether it's a draft | | `prerelease` | Whether it's a pre-release | | `published_at` | Release date | | `author_login` | Release author | #### Contributors: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `login` | GitHub username | | `avatar_url` | Avatar image URL | | `contributions` | Commit count | | `html_url` | Profile URL | #### Trending (additional fields): | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `stars_today` | Stars gained today | ### Use Cases - **Competitive analysis** — Track competitor repos, their releases, and contributor activity - **Market research** — Discover trending technologies and frameworks - **Lead generation** — Find repos and organizations matching your ICP - **Developer tools** — Build dashboards, alerts, and analytics on top of GitHub data - **Academic research** — Study open-source trends, contribution patterns, and language adoption - **Recruitment** — Find top contributors to specific technologies or projects ### Why This Scraper? Most GitHub scrapers require auth tokens, use heavyweight browser automation, or only do one thing. This scraper: - **No token needed** — uses the public REST API for instant results - **All 5 modes in one** — search, details, releases, contributors, and trending - **Trending page scraping** — unique feature not available via the REST API - **Clean defaults** — click "Start" with defaults and get real results immediately - **Lightweight** — HTTP-only, no browser overhead ### Rate Limits This Actor uses GitHub's public REST API which has a rate limit of **60 requests per hour** per IP. For higher volumes, provide a GitHub personal access token — but even without one, the default limits are sufficient for most use cases. ### Pricing This Actor uses **Pay-Per-Event** pricing. You only pay for results returned, not for API calls or pagination overhead. ### About the Publisher Built by [Thrifty Kiwi](https://apify.com/thriftykiwi), an Apify Creator publishing high-quality, zero-hassle data extraction tools. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What type of GitHub data to scrape. ## `query` (type: `string`): Keyword or phrase to search GitHub repositories (only used in 'search' mode). ## `owner` (type: `string`): GitHub username or organization. Required for repo, releases, and contributors modes. ## `repo` (type: `string`): Repository name (without owner). Required for repo, releases, and contributors modes. ## `language` (type: `string`): Filter trending repos by programming language (lowercase). Leave empty for all languages. Only used in 'trending' mode. Examples: python, javascript, rust, go. ## `spokenLanguage` (type: `string`): Spoken language filter for trending (e.g., 'en' for English). Leave empty for default. Only used in 'trending' mode. ## `limit` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of results to return (1-200). ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "search", "query": "machine learning", "owner": "microsoft", "repo": "vscode", "limit": 10 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "search", "query": "machine learning", "owner": "microsoft", "repo": "vscode", "language": "", "spokenLanguage": "", "limit": 10 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("thriftykiwi/github-repo-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "search", "query": "machine learning", "owner": "microsoft", "repo": "vscode", "language": "", "spokenLanguage": "", "limit": 10, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("thriftykiwi/github-repo-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "search", "query": "machine learning", "owner": "microsoft", "repo": "vscode", "language": "", "spokenLanguage": "", "limit": 10 }' | apify call thriftykiwi/github-repo-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=thriftykiwi/github-repo-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "GitHub Repo Scraper — Search, Details, Releases & Trending", "description": "Scrape GitHub repository data using the public REST API and trending page. Search repos by keyword, get repo details, releases, top contributors, and trending repositories. No authentication required — uses GitHub's public API endpoints and page scraping.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "1Yctzf9iXhcxZvNj7" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/thriftykiwi~github-repo-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-thriftykiwi-github-repo-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/thriftykiwi~github-repo-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-thriftykiwi-github-repo-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/thriftykiwi~github-repo-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-thriftykiwi-github-repo-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Scraping Mode", "enum": [ "search", "repo", "releases", "contributors", "trending" ], "type": "string", "description": "What type of GitHub data to scrape.", "default": "search" }, "query": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Keyword or phrase to search GitHub repositories (only used in 'search' mode)." }, "owner": { "title": "Repository Owner", "type": "string", "description": "GitHub username or organization. Required for repo, releases, and contributors modes." }, "repo": { "title": "Repository Name", "type": "string", "description": "Repository name (without owner). Required for repo, releases, and contributors modes." }, "language": { "title": "Language Filter", "type": "string", "description": "Filter trending repos by programming language (lowercase). Leave empty for all languages. Only used in 'trending' mode. Examples: python, javascript, rust, go." }, "spokenLanguage": { "title": "Spoken Language", "type": "string", "description": "Spoken language filter for trending (e.g., 'en' for English). Leave empty for default. Only used in 'trending' mode." }, "limit": { "title": "Max Results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of results to return (1-200).", "default": 10 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```