VSCode / Open VSX Extension Metadata Scraper

Pull rich metadata for any VSCode-compatible extension from the Open VSX registry: downloads, version, publisher, license, repository, tags, and timestamps. Feeds dev-tools market research, competitive dashboards, and editor-extension analytics. No API key required.

Open VSX (open-vsx.org) is the vendor-neutral marketplace used by VSCodium, Gitpod, Theia, and Cursor. It exposes a clean public REST API with no authentication.

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How to use

Send a JSON input with one field:

{
  "extension_id": [
    "redhat/java",
    "ms-python/python",
    "dbaeumer/vscode-eslint",
    "esbenp/prettier-vscode",
    "eamodio/gitlens"
  ]
}

Each entry must be in namespace/extension form (case-sensitive, usually lowercase). The actor fetches one row per id and writes results to the dataset. Unknown or unlisted ids are skipped with a warning.

If extension_id is omitted the actor runs on three demo extensions (redhat/java, ms-python/python, dbaeumer/vscode-eslint).

Input schema

Field	Type	Required	Description
extension_id	string[]	no	List of namespace/extension ids to fetch

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Example output row

{
  "extension_id": "eamodio/gitlens",
  "namespace": "eamodio",
  "name": "gitlens",
  "version": "15.5.1",
  "display_name": "GitLens, Git supercharged",
  "description": "Supercharge Git within VS Code. Visualize code authorship at a glance via Git blame annotations...",
  "published_by": "eamodio",
  "download_count": 48210931,
  "average_rating": 4.2,
  "review_count": 1284,
  "published_at": "2024-11-20T15:32:10.123Z",
  "license": "MIT",
  "repository": "https://github.com/gitkraken/vscode-gitlens",
  "homepage": "https://gitkraken.com/gitlens",
  "categories": ["SCM Providers", "Visualization", "Other"],
  "tags": ["git", "blame", "history", "diff", "github"]
}

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Pricing

Pay per event. Price per 1,000 events:

Event	Base price	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Dataset item	$1.00	$0.90	$0.80	$0.70

Bronze, Silver and Gold are the discounts Apify gives users of its paid plans. The Pricing tab always shows the current prices.

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Buyer

• Extension market intelligence: track download trends, rating trajectories, and version cadences across any extension portfolio.
• Dev-tools competitive research: benchmark your extension or a competitor set against the full Open VSX catalog.
• IDE ecosystem analytics: build dashboards covering VSCodium / Gitpod / Theia / Cursor adoption across publisher namespaces.
• Publisher audits: enumerate all extensions under a given namespace and surface licensing, repository, and maintenance signals.
• No-auth, no-rate-limit headache: Open VSX's public API requires no key; the actor handles pacing so you don't get throttled.

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Run it through the API

Python, with the apify-client package:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("v0iddo/vscode-marketplace-extensions").call(run_input={"extension_id": ["redhat/java", "ms-python/python", "dbaeumer/vscode-eslint"]})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript, with the apify-client package:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('v0iddo/vscode-marketplace-extensions').call({"extension_id": ["redhat/java", "ms-python/python", "dbaeumer/vscode-eslint"]});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

One HTTP call that waits for the run and returns the rows (for runs that finish within 5 minutes):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/v0iddo~vscode-marketplace-extensions/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"extension_id": ["redhat/java", "ms-python/python", "dbaeumer/vscode-eslint"]}'

Use it from an agent (MCP)

Claude, Cursor, VS Code and other MCP clients can call this actor as a tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to the client's MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=v0iddo/vscode-marketplace-extensions",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Do I need an account, cookies or an API key?

No. The actor reads public data without logging in. You only need an Apify account to start it.

How am I charged?

Pay per event, at the prices on the Pricing tab for your Apify plan (the Pricing section of this page lists them). The platform usage of the run is included in those prices, and your spending limit for a run is always respected.

Why did my run return no results?

The status message and the log of the run say why: usually nothing matched the input, or the source did not answer for a moment. Check the input against the example above and run it again.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes. Save your input as a task and add a schedule in the Apify Console (daily, hourly or with a cron expression). Each run gets its own dataset, so you keep a history.

Which formats can I export?

JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML table and RSS from the Output tab or the API. Integrations send the rows to Google Sheets, Slack, Make, Zapier, n8n or a webhook.

Is collecting this data allowed?

The actor collects data that the source publishes openly, without a login. Public data can still be personal data under laws such as the GDPR, and sources have their own terms: make sure your use of the data follows the rules that apply to you.

What happens when the source changes?

An automated test runs the actor every day on the example input and checks the rows, not only that the run finished. When a check fails, the actor is repaired and rebuilt; the build history on this page shows each update.

Something is missing or wrong. Where do I report it?

Open an issue on the Issues tab of this actor with the run link. Requests for a new field are welcome too.

Related actors

• JetBrains Marketplace Plugin Scraper
• Chrome Web Store Scraper: Extension Details and Ratings
• npm Package Stats Scraper: Metadata and Downloads
• App Store Scraper: App Details, Ratings, Prices
• App Store Search Scraper: Apps by Keyword
• App Store Top Charts Scraper: Ranks by Country and Genre

Source

Data is fetched from the Open VSX REST API:

GET https://open-vsx.org/api/{namespace}/{extension}

Documentation: open-vsx.org/swagger-ui

The Microsoft VSCode Marketplace (marketplace.visualstudio.com) exposes only a non-standard POST extensionquery endpoint; Open VSX is the cleaner public surface and covers all extensions published to the open registry.