# GitHub Stars Scraper (`lulzasaur/github-stars-scraper`) Actor

Scrape GitHub repository data. Search by keyword or language, fetch specific repos. Extract star counts, forks, topics, licenses, and full repo metadata.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/github-stars-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

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 web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Stars Scraper

Scrape GitHub repository data via the public GitHub API. Search repositories by keyword or programming language, or fetch specific repos by owner/name. Extract star counts, fork counts, topics, licenses, languages, and full repository metadata.

### Modes

| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `search` | Search repos by keyword, optionally filtered by language |
| `repos` | Fetch details for specific repos by owner/name |

### Output Fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `name` | Repository name |
| `fullName` | Full name (owner/repo) |
| `description` | Repository description |
| `stars` | Star count |
| `forks` | Fork count |
| `watchers` | Watcher count |
| `openIssues` | Open issue count |
| `language` | Primary programming language |
| `topics` | Array of topic tags |
| `license` | SPDX license identifier (e.g. "MIT", "Apache-2.0") |
| `createdAt` | ISO timestamp when repo was created |
| `updatedAt` | ISO timestamp of last update |
| `homepage` | Homepage URL |
| `defaultBranch` | Default branch name |
| `size` | Repository size in KB |
| `isArchived` | Whether repo is archived |
| `isFork` | Whether repo is a fork |
| `sourceUrl` | Direct URL to the GitHub page |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp of scrape |

### Input Options

- **Mode**: `search` or `repos`
- **Search Queries**: Keywords (e.g. "machine learning", "web scraping")
- **Repository Names**: Specific repos in owner/name format (e.g. "facebook/react", "torvalds/linux")
- **Sort By**: `stars`, `forks`, or `updated`
- **Language Filter**: Filter by language (e.g. "python", "javascript", "rust")
- **Max Results**: Up to 500 per query (GitHub caps at 1000)
- **Proxy**: Optional proxy configuration

### Example Output

```json
{
  "name": "react",
  "fullName": "facebook/react",
  "description": "The library for web and native user interfaces.",
  "stars": 231000,
  "forks": 47200,
  "watchers": 231000,
  "openIssues": 950,
  "language": "JavaScript",
  "topics": ["javascript", "frontend", "react", "ui", "declarative"],
  "license": "MIT",
  "createdAt": "2013-05-24T16:15:54.000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-26T10:00:00.000Z",
  "homepage": "https://react.dev",
  "defaultBranch": "main",
  "size": 412000,
  "isArchived": false,
  "isFork": false,
  "sourceUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-04-26T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Use Cases

- **Trend Analysis**: Track which repos and topics are gaining stars
- **Technology Research**: Compare libraries in the same category
- **Competitive Intelligence**: Monitor competitors' open source activity
- **Portfolio Building**: Find top repos by language for learning
- **Market Research**: Identify popular developer tools and frameworks

### Notes

- Uses the public GitHub API (no auth required)
- Rate limit: 60 requests/hour for unauthenticated access
- The scraper automatically tracks and respects rate limits, waiting when necessary
- GitHub search API returns a maximum of 1000 results per query
- Delays between requests ensure reliable scraping within rate limits

***

### Run on Apify

This scraper runs on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur) — a full-stack web scraping and automation cloud. Sign up for a free account to get started with 30-day trial of all features.

[Try Apify free ->](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur)

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Choose 'search' to search repos by keyword, or 'repos' to fetch specific repos by owner/name.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search for (mode=search). E.g. 'web scraping', 'machine learning'.

## `repoNames` (type: `array`):

Specific repos to fetch (mode=repos). Format: owner/name. E.g. 'facebook/react', 'torvalds/linux'.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Sort order for search results.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Filter repositories by programming language (mode=search). E.g. 'python', 'javascript', 'rust'.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of repositories to return per query.

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

Optional proxy to use.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQueries": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "repoNames": [],
  "sort": "stars",
  "language": "",
  "limit": 100
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/github-stars-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/github-stars-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 '{}' |
apify call lulzasaur/github-stars-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/github-stars-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/tsJkOIaZ78eHy7cZM/builds/Vg9vwOnlMGacahA3c/openapi.json