Stack Overflow Scraper — Q&A Search on 184 Stack Exchange Sites

Search Stack Overflow, Server Fault, Ask Ubuntu, Data Science, Security, Math, English, Law, Workplace — any of the 184 Stack Exchange sites (plus their meta sites) — and get clean JSON: question, tags, score, views, asker, and the top answers and comments in the same request. Built for support teams, developer relations, researchers and coding agents. It reads the official Stack Exchange API 2.3: no proxy, no browser, no API key needed (an optional free Stack Apps key raises the quota from 300 to 10,000 requests a day).

Use cases

• Product support monitoring — tag feed of new questions on your-product with unanswered: noAnswers; answer them before a competitor does.
• Problem research — which problems in your field people keep asking about, and which stay unsolved (queries + fromDate + minViews + accepted: no).
• Docs / brand tracking — questions that link to your domain (url: "*.mycompany.com*") or mention your name in the title.
• Competitive research — top-voted questions on a competitor's tag (sort: votes, sortMin), how many go unanswered, which topics recur.
• Knowledge base for RAG / coding agents — pull accepted answers for a list of question URLs or a whole tag, with code blocks preserved.
• Community intelligence — tag sizes, synonyms and related tags to size an ecosystem; user lookups to find experts on a topic.

Input

All fields are optional except the ones a mode needs (see mode). The first fields in the input form are the ones each mode needs.

Field	Type	Default	Allowed values / notes
mode	string	search	search (full text + filters), tag (feed of questions on tags), questions (by id/URL), users, tagInfo
queries	string[]	–	Free-text queries (search). One request chain per query. Empty = filter-only search
site	string	stackoverflow when empty	API site parameter (see Reference), meta.<site>, a site URL or its name
key	string (secret)	–	Stack Apps application key → 10,000 requests/day instead of 300/IP
tagged	string	–	;-separated tags, AND semantics (python;pandas). Required in tag mode, a filter in search mode
nottagged	string	–	Exclude tags (search only)
title / body	string	–	Text that must appear in title / body (search only)
url	string	–	Questions linking to this URL, * wildcards (search only)
user	integer	–	Asker's user id (search only)
accepted / closed / migrated / notice / wiki	string	any	any, yes, no (search only)
minAnswers / minViews	integer	–	Lower bounds (search only)
unanswered	string	any	noAnswers (0 answers), noAcceptedAnswer. In search mode noAnswers is checked on each question: the actor reads more pages (up to 5 per 100 of limit, at most 25) until limit such questions are found
fromDate / toDate	date	–	Creation-date window (search, tag): YYYY-MM-DD, ISO 8601 time (no zone = UTC) or unix seconds. A bare toDate includes that whole day
sort	string	the mode's default	search: relevance (default) activity creation votes · tag: activity (default) creation votes hot week month · users: reputation (default) creation name modified
order	string	desc	desc, asc
sortMin / sortMax	string	–	Bounds on the sort field: a whole number for votes, a date for activity/creation. Needs one of those sorts
limit	integer	20	Questions per query / feed, matches per user name; 1–500 (100 per API request)
maxItems	integer	1000	Hard cap on rows for the whole run (1–10,000); the run also stops at your max cost per run
questionIds	string[]	–	Ids or question URLs (questions mode), 100 per request
users	string[]	–	User ids, profile URLs or display-name searches (users mode)
tags	string[]	–	Tag names (tagInfo mode)
includeRelatedTags	boolean	false	tagInfo: top 30 co-occurring tags (+1 request per tag)
includeAnswers	integer	2	0–30 answers embedded per question, accepted first then by score. No extra requests
includeComments	boolean	false	Embed comments on questions and embedded answers (same request)
bodyMaxLength	integer	2000	Truncate question text (0 = unlimited)
answerBodyMaxLength	integer	3000	Truncate each answer (0 = unlimited)
dedupe	boolean	true	One row per question (or user) even when several queries or names match it
fields	string[]	–	Only these top-level columns, in your order; id is always kept (first, unless you list it elsewhere). See Output for the column names

A filter is never dropped silently. The run stops before any request (a failed run: only the start event is charged), with a message naming the field, when:

• fromDate, toDate, sortMin or sortMax is not a date / number it can read (Apify also checks the format before the run);
• sortMin / sortMax is set but the sort takes no bound (relevance, hot, week, month, or the mode's default);
• a search-only filter (nottagged, title, body, url, user, accepted, closed, migrated, notice, wiki, minAnswers, minViews) is set in tag mode;
• filters contradict each other (accepted: yes with unanswered, minAnswers with unanswered: noAnswers), or the site is unknown;
• no name in fields is a column of the mode.

Options that only change the order, or that the chosen mode does not use (e.g. tagged in questions mode), run anyway and are reported as warnings in the status message and SUMMARY.warnings. A fields name in another letter case, or a near miss with a single candidate (titel → title), is corrected and reported the same way.

Reference

Sort options by mode

Mode	Endpoint	sort values	sortMin/sortMax type
search	/search/advanced	relevance, activity, creation, votes	number (votes) / date (activity, creation); none for relevance
tag	/questions, /questions/no-answers, /questions/unanswered	activity, creation, votes, hot, week, month	number / date; none for hot, week, month
users	/users, /users/{ids}	reputation, creation, name, modified	–

Quota

Setup	Requests / day	Notes
No key	300 per IP	Shared by every actor run leaving the same Apify IP — fine for a few runs a day, not for heavy monitoring
With key	10,000 per key	Register a free app at stackapps.com/apps/oauth/register; the key is not secret-sensitive but is passed as a secret input

One page of up to 100 questions including answers and comments = one request. The actor honours the API backoff field, spaces requests ≥ 120 ms apart, and on throttle_violation (error 502), a used-up quota or a refused key it stops asking at once instead of retrying. Rows already saved are kept: the run ends SUCCEEDED with a status that says why it stopped early. If nothing was saved, the run fails with the API's message.

Sites (site parameter)

184 main sites, fetched from /sites on 2026-09-13. Every site also has a meta site: prefix meta. (e.g. meta.askubuntu; Stack Overflow's is meta.stackoverflow). Full live list: https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/sites?pagesize=1000

site	Name	Audience
stackoverflow	Stack Overflow	professional and enthusiast programmers
serverfault	Server Fault	system and network administrators
superuser	Super User	computer enthusiasts and power users
meta	Meta Stack Exchange	meta-discussion of the Stack Exchange family of Q&A websites
webapps	Web Applications	power users of web applications
gaming	Arqade	passionate videogamers on all platforms
webmasters	Webmasters	webmasters
cooking	Seasoned Advice	professional and amateur chefs
gamedev	Game Development	professional and independent game developers
photo	Photography	professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers
stats	Cross Validated	people interested in statistics, machine learning, data analysis, data mining, and data visualization
math	Mathematics	people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields
diy	Home Improvement	contractors and serious DIYers
gis	Geographic Information Systems	cartographers, geographers and GIS professionals
tex	TeX - LaTeX	users of TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, and related typesetting systems
askubuntu	Ask Ubuntu	Ubuntu users and developers
money	Personal Finance & Money	people who want to be financially literate
english	English Language & Usage	linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts
stackapps	Stack Apps	apps, scripts, and development with the Stack Exchange API
ux	User Experience	user experience researchers and experts
unix	Unix & Linux	users of Linux, FreeBSD and other Un*x-like operating systems
wordpress	WordPress Development	WordPress developers and administrators
cstheory	Theoretical Computer Science	theoretical computer scientists and researchers in related fields
apple	Ask Different	power users of Apple hardware and software
rpg	Role-playing Games	gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games
bicycles	Bicycles	people who build and repair bicycles, people who train cycling, or commute on bicycles
softwareengineering	Software Engineering	professionals, academics, and students working within the systems development life cycle
electronics	Electrical Engineering	electronics and electrical engineering professionals, students, and enthusiasts
android	Android Enthusiasts	enthusiasts and power users of the Android operating system
boardgames	Board & Card Games	people who like playing board games, designing board games or modifying the rules of existing board games
physics	Physics	active researchers, academics and students of physics
homebrew	Homebrewing	dedicated home brewers and serious enthusiasts
security	Information Security	information security professionals
writing	Writing	the craft of professional writing, including fiction, non-fiction, technical, scholarly, and commercial writing
video	Video Production	engineers, producers, editors, and enthusiasts spanning the fields of video, and media creation
graphicdesign	Graphic Design	Graphic Design professionals, students, and enthusiasts
dba	Database Administrators	database professionals who wish to improve their database skills and learn from others in the community
scifi	Science Fiction & Fantasy	science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts
codereview	Code Review	peer programmer code reviews
codegolf	Code Golf	programming puzzle enthusiasts and code golfers
quant	Quantitative Finance	finance professionals and academics
pm	Project Management	project managers
skeptics	Skeptics	scientific skepticism
fitness	Physical Fitness	physical fitness professionals, athletes, trainers, and those providing health-related needs
drupal	Drupal Answers	Drupal developers and administrators
mechanics	Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair	mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles
parenting	Parenting	parents, grandparents, nannies and others with a parenting role
sharepoint	SharePoint	SharePoint enthusiasts
music	Music: Practice & Theory	musicians, students, and enthusiasts
sqa	Software Quality Assurance & Testing	software quality control experts, automation engineers, and software testers
judaism	Mi Yodeya	those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more
german	German Language	speakers of German wanting to discuss the finer points of the language and translation
japanese	Japanese Language	students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language
philosophy	Philosophy	those interested in the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence
gardening	Gardening & Landscaping	gardeners and landscapers
travel	Travel	road warriors and seasoned travelers
crypto	Cryptography	software developers, mathematicians and others interested in cryptography
dsp	Signal Processing	practitioners of the art and science of signal, image and video processing
french	French Language	students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the French language
christianity	Christianity	committed Christians, experts in Christianity and those interested in learning more
bitcoin	Bitcoin	Bitcoin users, developers, and enthusiasts
linguistics	Linguistics	professional linguists and others with an interest in linguistic research and theory
hermeneutics	Biblical Hermeneutics	professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts
history	History	historians and history buffs
bricks	Bricks	LEGO® and building block enthusiasts
spanish	Spanish Language	linguists, teachers, students and Spanish language enthusiasts in general wanting to discuss the finer points of the language
scicomp	Computational Science	scientists using computers to solve scientific problems
movies	Movies & TV	movie and TV enthusiasts
chinese	Chinese Language	students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language
biology	Biology	biology researchers, academics, and students
poker	Poker	serious players and enthusiasts of poker
mathematica	Mathematica	users of Wolfram Mathematica
psychology	Psychology & Neuroscience	practitioners, researchers, and students in cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry
outdoors	The Great Outdoors	people who love being outdoors enjoying nature and wilderness, and learning about the required skills and equipment
martialarts	Martial Arts	students and teachers of all martial arts
sports	Sports	participants in team and individual sport activities
academia	Academia	academics and those enrolled in higher education
cs	Computer Science	students, researchers and practitioners of computer science
workplace	The Workplace	members of the workforce navigating the professional setting
chemistry	Chemistry	scientists, academics, teachers, and students in the field of chemistry
chess	Chess	serious players and enthusiasts of chess
raspberrypi	Raspberry Pi	users and developers of hardware and software for Raspberry Pi
russian	Russian Language	students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Russian language
islam	Islam	Muslims, experts in Islam, and those interested in learning more about Islam
salesforce	Salesforce	Salesforce administrators, implementation experts, developers and anybody in-between
patents	Ask Patents	people interested in improving and participating in the patent system
genealogy	Genealogy & Family History	expert genealogists and people interested in genealogy or family history
robotics	Robotics	professional robotic engineers, hobbyists, researchers and students
expressionengine	ExpressionEngine® Answers	administrators, end users, developers and designers for ExpressionEngine® CMS
politics	Politics	people interested in governments, policies, and political processes
anime	Anime & Manga	anime and manga fans
magento	Magento	users of the Magento e-Commerce platform
ell	English Language Learners	speakers of other languages learning English
sustainability	Sustainable Living	folks dedicated to a lifestyle that can be maintained indefinitely without depleting available resources
tridion	Tridion	Tridion developers and administrators
reverseengineering	Reverse Engineering	researchers and developers who explore the principles of a system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation
networkengineering	Network Engineering	network engineers
opendata	Open Data	developers and researchers interested in open data
freelancing	Freelancing	self-employed and freelance workers
blender	Blender	people who use Blender to create 3D graphics, animations, or games
mathoverflow.net	MathOverflow	professional mathematicians
space	Space Exploration	spacecraft operators, scientists, engineers, and enthusiasts
sound	Sound Design	sound engineers, producers, editors, and enthusiasts
astronomy	Astronomy	astronomers and astrophysicists
tor	Tor	researchers, developers, and users of Tor
pets	Pets	pet owners, caretakers, breeders, veterinarians, and trainers
ham	Amateur Radio	amateur radio enthusiasts
italian	Italian Language	students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Italian language
pt.stackoverflow	Stack Overflow em Português	programadores profissionais e entusiastas
aviation	Aviation	aircraft pilots, mechanics, and enthusiasts
ebooks	Ebooks	ebook publishers and readers
alcohol	Beer, Wine & Spirits	alcoholic beverage aficionados and those interested in beer, wine, or spirits
softwarerecs	Software Recommendations	people seeking specific software recommendations
arduino	Arduino	developers of open-source hardware and software that is compatible with Arduino
cs50	CS50	students of Harvard University's CS50
expatriates	Expatriates	people living abroad on a long-term basis
matheducators	Mathematics Educators	those involved in the field of teaching mathematics
earthscience	Earth Science	those interested in the geology, meteorology, oceanography, and environmental sciences
joomla	Joomla	Joomla! administrators, users, developers and designers
datascience	Data Science	Data science professionals, Machine Learning specialists, and those interested in learning more about the field
puzzling	Puzzling	those who create, solve, and study puzzles
craftcms	Craft CMS	administrators, end users, developers and designers for Craft CMS
buddhism	Buddhism	people practicing or interested in Buddhist philosophy, teaching, and practice
hinduism	Hinduism	followers of the Hindu religion and those interested in learning more about Hinduism
communitybuilding	Community Building	community managers, administrators, and moderators
worldbuilding	Worldbuilding	writers/artists using science, geography and culture to construct imaginary worlds and settings
ja.stackoverflow	スタック・オーバーフロー	プログラマーとプログラミングに熱心な人
emacs	Emacs	those using, extending or developing Emacs
hsm	History of Science and Mathematics	people interested in the history and origins of science and mathematics
economics	Economics	those who study, teach, research and apply economics and econometrics
lifehacks	Lifehacks	people looking to bypass life's everyday problems with simple tricks
engineering	Engineering	professionals and students of engineering
coffee	Coffee	people interested in all aspects of producing and consuming coffee
vi	Vi and Vim	people using the vi and Vim families of text editors
musicfans	Music Fans	music historians, critics, and fans
woodworking	Woodworking	professional and amateur woodworkers
civicrm	CiviCRM	administrators and users of the CiviCRM Constituent Relationship Management software
medicalsciences	Medical Sciences	professionals in medical and allied health fields, students of those professions, related academics, and others with a sound understanding of medicine and healthcare-related sciences
ru.stackoverflow	Stack Overflow на русском	программистов
rus	Русский язык	лингвистов и энтузиастов русского языка
mythology	Mythology & Folklore	enthusiasts and scholars of mythology and folklore
law	Law	legal professionals, students, and others with experience or interest in law
opensource	Open Source	people organizing, marketing or licensing open source development projects
elementaryos	elementary OS	developers and users of elementary OS and applications
portuguese	Portuguese Language	linguists, teachers and learners wanting to discuss the finer points of the Portuguese language
computergraphics	Computer Graphics	computer graphics researchers and programmers
hardwarerecs	Hardware Recommendations	people seeking specific hardware recommendations
es.stackoverflow	Stack Overflow en español	programadores y profesionales de la informática
3dprinting	3D Printing	3D printing enthusiasts
ethereum	Ethereum	users of Ethereum, the decentralized application platform and smart contract enabled blockchain
latin	Latin Language	linguists, teachers, and students wanting to discuss the finer points of the Latin language
languagelearning	Language Learning	students, teachers, polyglots, and anyone interested in the techniques of second-language acquisition
retrocomputing	Retrocomputing	vintage-computer hobbyists interested in restoring, preserving, and using the classic computer and gaming systems of yesteryear
crafts	Arts & Crafts	artists and crafters
korean	Korean Language	linguists, teachers and students of the Korean language
monero	Monero	developers and users of the secure, private and untraceable cryptocurrency Monero
ai	Artificial Intelligence	people interested in conceptual questions about life and challenges in a world where "cognitive" functions can be mimicked in purely digital environment
esperanto	Esperanto Language	teachers and students of the Esperanto language
sitecore	Sitecore	developers and end users of the Sitecore CMS and multichannel marketing software
iot	Internet of Things	builders and users of networked sensors and control devices in the contexts of smart homes, industry automation, or environmental sensors
literature	Literature	scholars and enthusiasts of literature
vegetarianism	Veganism & Vegetarianism	those committed to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle and anyone interested in learning more
ukrainian	Ukrainian Language	linguists, teachers and students of the Ukrainian language
devops	DevOps	software engineers working on automated testing, continuous delivery, service integration and monitoring, and building SDLC infrastructure
bioinformatics	Bioinformatics	researchers, developers, students, teachers, and end users interested in bioinformatics
cseducators	Computer Science Educators	those involved in the field of teaching Computer Science
interpersonal	Interpersonal Skills	people looking to improve their interpersonal communication skills
iota	Iota	users of Iota, the open-source cryptocurrency for IoT that does not use a blockchain
stellar	Stellar	developers and users of Stellar and the Stellar Distributed Exchange
conlang	Constructed Languages	designers and users of artificial or invented languages, consciously developed instead of having developed naturally
quantumcomputing	Quantum Computing	engineers, scientists, programmers, and computing professionals interested in quantum computing
eosio	EOS.IO	users and developers of distributed applications built on top of the blockchain operating system, EOS.IO
tezos	Tezos	users, experts, and developers of the Tezos blockchain project
or	Operations Research	operations research and analytics professionals, educators, and students
drones	Drones and Model Aircraft	experienced flyers, pilots, and builders of drones and model aircraft
mattermodeling	Matter Modeling	materials modelers and data scientists
cardano	Cardano	users and developers of the Cardano cryptocurrency ecosystem
proofassistants	Proof Assistants	mathematicians and computer scientists who develop and use proof assistants
substrate	Substrate and Polkadot	developers building blockchains with the Substrate SDK
bioacoustics	Bioacoustics	people interested in the studies of non-human animal sounds and the impacts of sounds on animals
solana	Solana	Solana software users and developers
langdev	Programming Language Design and Implementation	designers and implementers of computer programming languages
genai	GenAI	GenAI enthusiasts and practitioners and those interested in learning more about using GenAI tools
agents.meta.stackoverflow	Stack Overflow for Agents Meta	Humans discussing StackOverflow for Agents

Examples

1. Support radar — new questions about your product with no answer yet

{ "mode": "tag", "tagged": "apify", "unanswered": "noAnswers", "sort": "creation", "fromDate": "2026-09-01", "limit": 50, "includeAnswers": 0 }

2. Problem research — recent, visible questions without an accepted answer

{ "queries": ["scrape site behind cloudflare", "rotate residential proxies node"], "fromDate": "2026-06-01", "minViews": 200, "accepted": "no", "sort": "creation", "limit": 100, "includeAnswers": 1 }

3. Competitive research — the top-voted questions on a competitor's tag this year

{ "mode": "tag", "tagged": "playwright", "sort": "votes", "sortMin": "10", "fromDate": "2026-01-01", "limit": 200, "includeAnswers": 3, "fields": ["title", "score", "viewCount", "tags", "answers", "url"] }

4. RAG corpus — accepted answers for a curated list of questions

{ "mode": "questions", "questionIds": ["https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11227809/why-is-processing-a-sorted-array-faster-than-processing-an-unsorted-array", "231767"], "includeAnswers": 3, "answerBodyMaxLength": 0 }

5. Docs monitoring on a non-programming site — questions linking to your domain

{ "site": "askubuntu", "url": "*.example.com*", "sort": "activity", "limit": 50 }

6. Ecosystem sizing — tag stats with synonyms and related tags

{ "mode": "tagInfo", "tags": ["langchain", "llamaindex", "openai-api"], "includeRelatedTags": true }

Output

One item per question (or per user / tag in those modes). Example (trimmed):

{
  "id": 79275765,
  "site": "stackoverflow",
  "siteUrl": "https://stackoverflow.com",
  "title": "The specified selector is not loading in Apify",
  "body": "I'm trying to scrape ... \n```\nawait page.waitForSelector('.price');\n```\n...",
  "score": 0,
  "viewCount": 84,
  "answerCount": 0,
  "isAnswered": false,
  "hasAcceptedAnswer": false,
  "acceptedAnswerId": null,
  "tags": ["javascript", "web-scraping", "apify"],
  "createdAt": "2024-12-12T15:56:52.000Z",
  "lastActivityAt": "2024-12-12T16:10:01.000Z",
  "lastEditAt": null,
  "closedAt": null,
  "closedReason": null,
  "bountyAmount": null,
  "isProtected": false,
  "isLocked": false,
  "owner": { "userId": 13613227, "displayName": "pcrocks", "reputation": 41, "userType": "registered", "link": "https://stackoverflow.com/users/13613227/pcrocks" },
  "answers": [
    { "id": 79275901, "score": 2, "accepted": true, "createdAt": "2024-12-12T17:02:11.000Z", "lastActivityAt": "2024-12-12T17:02:11.000Z", "body": "The selector is rendered client-side ...", "owner": { "userId": 1, "displayName": "…", "reputation": 1200, "userType": "registered", "link": "…" }, "url": "https://stackoverflow.com/a/79275901" }
  ],
  "comments": [ { "id": 139800001, "score": 1, "createdAt": "…", "body": "Which crawler class are you using?", "owner": { "…": "…" }, "url": "…" } ],
  "url": "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79275765/the-specified-selector-is-not-loading-in-apify",
  "shareUrl": "https://stackoverflow.com/q/79275765",
  "query": "apify",
  "sourceUrl": "https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/questions/no-answers?site=stackoverflow&page=1&pagesize=50&filter=…",
  "fetchedAt": "2026-09-13T06:31:12.512Z"
}

Field	Type	Meaning
id	integer	Question id (stable; unique together with site)
site, siteUrl	string	API site parameter and its base URL
title, body	string	Title (entities decoded); body as plain text, code blocks kept as ``` fences, truncated to bodyMaxLength
score, viewCount, answerCount	integer	Votes, views, answers
isAnswered, hasAcceptedAnswer, acceptedAnswerId	boolean / integer	isAnswered is the site's definition (accepted or score ≥ 1 answer)
tags	string[]	Tags
createdAt, lastActivityAt, lastEditAt, closedAt	ISO date	Timestamps (UTC)
closedReason, bountyAmount, isProtected, isLocked	mixed	Moderation state
owner	object	Asker: userId, displayName, reputation, userType, link
answers	object[]	Up to includeAnswers, accepted first then by score: id, score, accepted, createdAt, lastActivityAt, body, owner, url, (comments)
comments	object[]	Only with includeComments
url, shareUrl	string	Canonical and short link
query	string	The query / tag list that produced the item (null for questions mode)
sourceUrl, fetchedAt	string	API request that returned the item (key redacted) and fetch time

users items: id, displayName, reputation, badges {gold, silver, bronze}, location, websiteUrl, isEmployee, reputationChangeYear/Month, createdAt, lastAccessAt, url, query. tagInfo items (one per tag that exists; unknown tags are not items and are not charged — they are listed in SUMMARY.notFound): id/name, found, questionCount, synonyms, hasSynonyms, isModeratorOnly, isRequired, lastActivityAt, related [{name, count}], url.

The key-value store record SUMMARY holds { mode, site, items, requests, quotaRemaining, quotaMax, duplicatesSkipped, notFound, notFoundCount, invalidQuestionIds, failures, stoppedEarly, shortQueries, units, unitsCompleted, unitsNotReached, warnings, status, delivered, stoppedBy }. notFound lists unknown tags (tagInfo), question / user ids the site did not return and user names with no match; failures lists API errors per query or request ({unit, error}); stoppedEarly says why the requests stopped (throttled IP, used-up quota, refused key); stoppedBy is limit (your max cost per run), timeout or aborted when the run was cut short.

Use it from code / agents

Apify API (curl):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/yadroo~stackexchange-search/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"mode":"tag","tagged":"apify","unanswered":"noAnswers","sort":"creation","limit":20}'

JavaScript (apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('yadroo/stackexchange-search').call({ queries: ['hono middleware vercel'], includeAnswers: 2, limit: 10 });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

Python (apify-client):

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(token)
run = client.actor("yadroo/stackexchange-search").call(run_input={"mode": "questions", "questionIds": ["11227809"], "includeAnswers": 3})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items

MCP: add https://mcp.apify.com to Claude, Cursor or any MCP client and the actor is available as the tool yadroo/stackexchange-search; the input schema above is what the agent sees.

Pricing

Pay per event: $0.001 per run start + $0.002 per item (question, user or tag). Bronze −10 %, Silver −20 %, Gold and above −30 % on the item price; the start event is the same on every plan; platform usage is included.

A run that saves nothing because of a bad input, an unknown site or a throttled IP fails and costs only the start fee. Ids, names and tags the site does not have are listed in SUMMARY.notFound and are not charged. The run never charges more than your max cost per run: it stops there with the status "Stopped at your spending limit: N rows delivered".

Typical runs: 20 questions with answers ≈ $0.041 · a 200-question tag feed ≈ $0.401 · a daily 50-question support radar ≈ $0.101/day.

Limits & FAQ

• Quota. 300 requests/day per IP without a key; the Apify IP is shared, so pass a key for anything scheduled. One request = up to 100 questions with answers and comments.
• Freshness. Live data from the official Stack Exchange API 2.3; the API itself caches for ~60 s.
• Blocks & errors. The actor sleeps for the API-requested backoff and retries transient 5xx/503 errors twice. An error that concerns one query or one batch of ids (e.g. a bad parameter) is listed in SUMMARY.failures and the run goes on with the next one. On throttle_violation, a used-up quota or a refused key it stops asking; what was saved is kept (SUCCEEDED, status "Stopped early after N item(s): …"). Missing ids and unknown tags are listed in SUMMARY.notFound, not returned as (charged) items.
• Run size and timeout. Rows are saved page by page. A run reads about one page of 100 questions per second, so maxItems 10,000 takes 100 requests and a couple of minutes — a third of the keyless daily quota. Near the run timeout the actor stops starting requests and ends SUCCEEDED with "Stopped before the run timeout: N rows saved"; after a platform migration it continues without saving or charging a row twice.
• OR-tags. The API only supports AND on tagged; run one input per tag or use queries.
• Search relevance. /search/advanced matches title and body; very short or generic queries return many results — combine with tagged, fromDate, minViews.
• Answer count. includeAnswers caps the embedded answers; answerCount always reflects the true total.
• Content licence. Posts are CC BY-SA; keep attribution (url, owner.link) when you reuse the text.
• Roadmap. Per-answer comment pagination, bounties feed (/questions/featured), and OAuth access_token for inbox / private data if there is demand.

---

Made by Yadroo. Related actors: hackernews-search · github-repo-intel · npm-package-intel · pypi-package-intel · google-news-search