# Public X/Twitter Profile Metadata Scraper (`w3crawler/twitter-profile-scraper`) Actor

Extract public X/Twitter profile page title, display name, bio, avatar, canonical URL, JSON-LD, response status, and access diagnostics for bounded usernames.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/w3crawler/twitter-profile-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [w3crawler](https://apify.com/w3crawler) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 profiles

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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

### What does Public X/Twitter Profile Metadata Scraper do?

This Actor extracts public page-level profile metadata from [X/Twitter](https://x.com/). It accepts bounded usernames, tries the official public X URL and Twitter-compatible fallback, and uses one unauthenticated browser render only when public HTML is an application shell. It does not scrape tweets, use cookies, authenticate, solve CAPTCHAs, or bypass access controls.

### Why use it?

Use it for public profile inventories, display-name and bio checks, canonical-link audits, and small scheduled metadata snapshots through Apify's API, scheduling, monitoring, and integrations. Duplicate usernames are normalized and removed before requests.

X can return a challenge, login wall, missing profile, or non-success response. Those outcomes become minimal four-field diagnostic rows and are summarized in `OUTPUT`; they are not represented as successful empty profiles.

### How to run

1. Open the Actor's **Input** tab.
2. Enter one to 100 usernames, with or without `@`.
3. Leave proxy disabled for the default direct public request, or explicitly enable standard Apify Proxy routing in Cloud.
4. Run the Actor and inspect normal profile rows, diagnostics, and `OUTPUT`.

### Input

| Field | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `usernames` | Yes | One to 100 values containing one to 15 letters, numbers, or underscores. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | No | Direct by default; optional Apify Proxy configuration, limited to five groups. |
| `fixtureFile` | No | Repository-relative JSON fixture for deterministic local QA. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "usernames": ["@OpenAI", "apify"],
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}
```

### Output

Normal rows contain public profile metadata only: stable record identity, normalized username, profile URL, display name, bio, avatar, canonical URL, public page title, bounded JSON-LD when exposed, source/provenance, and a UTC timestamp. HTTP status, access/authentication flags, extraction stage, browser transport, and run-summary fields are not emitted in normal dataset rows.

Example normal output:

```json
{
  "recordType": "twitter-profile",
  "recordId": "twitter-profile:openai",
  "source": "x.com",
  "provenance": "public_x_profile_page",
  "username": "openai",
  "profileUrl": "https://x.com/openai",
  "displayName": "OpenAI",
  "bio": "Creating useful AI systems.",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://x.com/openai",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Example diagnostic:

```json
{
  "url": "https://x.com/openai",
  "error": "X returned a challenge or block page; no bypass was attempted.",
  "errorCode": "BLOCKED",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

`OUTPUT` contains status, requested usernames, stored-item count, successful-profile count, failed-profile count, diagnostic count, data availability, generator provenance, and completion time. You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

### Tips, FAQ, and responsible use

Start with one or two usernames to confirm public access. Use `fixtureFile` for parser changes without live traffic. `BLOCKED`, `HTTP_ERROR`, `NOT_FOUND`, and `NO_PUBLIC_PROFILE_DATA` reflect the public response observed by this unauthenticated run. Missing optional metadata is omitted rather than inferred.

This Actor is not affiliated with X Corp. Follow X/Twitter terms, robots guidance, rate limits, privacy rules, and applicable law. Use only information made public by the target and do not infer sensitive attributes or evade technical restrictions.

# Actor input Schema

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

One to one hundred public usernames, with or without the @ prefix.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional Apify proxy configuration. Requests are direct by default; enable a proxy only when direct public access fails.

## `fixtureFile` (type: `string`):

Optional repository-relative JSON fixture containing public profile metadata for deterministic local validation.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "usernames": [
    "openai"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runSummary` (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": [
        "openai"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("w3crawler/twitter-profile-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": ["openai"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("w3crawler/twitter-profile-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": [
    "openai"
  ]
}' |
apify call w3crawler/twitter-profile-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,w3crawler/twitter-profile-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/jeZos416U3aH595Y9/builds/KVAFp7YJzgMvcABq1/openapi.json