# Reddit Scraper (`crawlerbros/reddit-scraper`) Actor Scrape entire subreddits with this crawler. Returns the posts in a subreddit along with their title, text, scores and timestamps etc. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/reddit-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Automation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 669 total users, 96 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 12 bookmarks - **User rating**: 4.54 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $5.00 / 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. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. 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 ## Reddit Subreddit Scraper An Apify Actor for scraping posts from Reddit subreddits using browser automation with Playwright. ### Features - 🎯 Scrape multiple subreddits in a single run - 📊 Extract comprehensive post data (title, author, score, comments, etc.) - 🔄 Support for different sorting methods (hot, new, top, rising, controversial) - ⏰ Time filters for "top" and "controversial" posts - 📦 No authentication required for public subreddits - 💾 Data saved in structured JSON format - 🌐 Browser automation bypasses API restrictions - 🔄 Automatic pagination support ### Input Parameters The actor accepts the following input parameters: | Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | | ------------ | ------- | -------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `subreddits` | array | Yes | `["python"]` | List of subreddit names to scrape (without 'r/' prefix) | | `maxPosts` | integer | No | `25` | Maximum number of posts to scrape from each subreddit (1-1000) | | `sort` | string | No | `"hot"` | How to sort posts: `hot`, `new`, `top`, `rising`, or `controversial` | | `timeFilter` | string | No | `"day"` | Time filter for 'top'/'controversial': `hour`, `day`, `week`, `month`, `year`, `all` | #### Example Input ```json { "subreddits": ["islamabad", "pakistan", "programming"], "maxPosts": 50, "sort": "hot", "timeFilter": "day" } ```` ### Output Fields The actor extracts the following data for each post: #### Subreddit Information - `subreddit` - Subreddit name (e.g., "islamabad") - `subreddit_prefixed` - Subreddit name with r/ prefix (e.g., "r/islamabad") #### Post Content - `post_id` - Unique post ID (e.g., "1kql1t5") - `post_name` - Full post name in Reddit format (e.g., "t3\_1kql1t5") - `title` - Post title - `author` - Username of the post author - `selftext` - Text content preview (first 1000 chars, for self posts only) #### Engagement Metrics - `score` - Post score/karma (upvotes minus downvotes) - `num_comments` - Number of comments on the post #### Links - `url` - URL of the linked content (external URL or permalink for self posts) - `permalink` - Direct link to the Reddit post #### Metadata - `domain` - Domain of the linked content (e.g., "self.islamabad" for text posts) - `is_self_post` - Boolean indicating if it's a text post (true) or link post (false) - `link_flair` - Post flair/tag text (if any) - `thumbnail_url` - URL of the post thumbnail image (if any) #### Timestamps - `created_utc` - Unix timestamp when the post was created - `created_at` - ISO 8601 formatted datetime (e.g., "2025-05-19T19:40:28") #### Flags - `is_stickied` - Boolean indicating if the post is stickied/pinned - `is_locked` - Boolean indicating if the post is locked (no new comments) - `is_nsfw` - Boolean indicating if the post is marked as NSFW (over 18) #### Example Output ```json { "subreddit": "islamabad", "subreddit_prefixed": "r/islamabad", "post_id": "1kql1t5", "post_name": "t3_1kql1t5", "title": "Everyone's always asking what to do in Islamabad - I made a list", "author": "hafmaestro", "selftext": "Note: I have not mentioned normal restaurants and cafes...", "score": 595, "num_comments": 101, "url": "https://old.reddit.com/r/islamabad/comments/1kql1t5/...", "permalink": "https://old.reddit.com/r/islamabad/comments/1kql1t5/...", "domain": "self.islamabad", "is_self_post": true, "link_flair": "Islamabad", "thumbnail_url": null, "created_utc": 1747683628, "created_at": "2025-05-19T19:40:28", "is_stickied": false, "is_locked": false, "is_nsfw": false } ``` ### Usage #### Local Development 1. **Install dependencies**: ```bash pip install -r requirements.txt playwright install chromium ``` 2. **Set up input** in `storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json`: ```json { "subreddits": ["python"], "maxPosts": 25, "sort": "hot" } ``` 3. **Run the actor**: ```bash python -m src ``` 4. **Check results** in `storage/datasets/default/` #### On Apify Platform 1. **Push to Apify**: - Login to Apify CLI: `apify login` - Initialize: `apify init` (if not already done) - Push to Apify: `apify push` 2. **Or manually upload**: - Create a new actor on Apify platform - Upload all files including `Dockerfile`, `requirements.txt`, and `.actor/` directory 3. **Configure and run**: - Set input parameters in the Apify console - Click "Start" to run the actor - Download results from the dataset tab ### Technical Details #### Browser Automation - Uses **Playwright** with Chromium browser - Scrapes `old.reddit.com` for better compatibility and simpler HTML structure - Implements anti-detection measures: - Custom User-Agent headers - Disabled automation flags - Browser fingerprint masking #### Features - **Automatic pagination**: Clicks "next" button to load more posts - **Smart selectors**: Multiple fallback CSS selectors for reliability - **Error handling**: Screenshots saved on errors for debugging - **Rate limiting**: Built-in delays between requests #### Performance - Headless browser mode for efficiency - Optimized page load strategy (`domcontentloaded`) - Configurable wait times and timeouts ### Limitations - Only works with public subreddits - Cannot scrape private or restricted communities - Browser automation is slower than direct API calls but more reliable - Selftext preview limited to first 1000 characters ### Dependencies - `apify>=2.1.0` - Apify SDK for Python - `playwright~=1.40.0` - Browser automation framework - `beautifulsoup4~=4.12.0` - HTML parsing library ### Troubleshooting #### Timeout Issues If you encounter timeout errors: - Check the debug screenshots in the key-value store - Increase timeout values in the code - Verify the subreddit exists and is public #### No Posts Found - Verify the subreddit name is correct (without 'r/' prefix) - Check if the subreddit has posts for the selected sort method - Review logs for detailed error messages ### License This actor is provided as-is for scraping public Reddit data in accordance with Reddit's terms of service. ### Notes - This scraper uses browser automation to access Reddit's public web interface - Always respect Reddit's robots.txt and terms of service - Use responsibly and avoid overwhelming Reddit's servers - Consider implementing additional rate limiting for large-scale scraping - The actor works best with the Apify platform's infrastructure # Actor input Schema ## `subreddits` (type: `array`): List of subreddit names to scrape (without 'r/' prefix) ## `maxPosts` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of posts to scrape from each subreddit ## `sort` (type: `string`): How to sort posts in the subreddit ## `timeFilter` (type: `string`): Time filter when sorting by 'top' or 'controversial' ## Actor input object example ```json { "subreddits": [ "python", "programming", "webdev" ], "maxPosts": 25, "sort": "hot", "timeFilter": "day" } ``` # 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 = { "subreddits": [ "python" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/reddit-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 = { "subreddits": ["python"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/reddit-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 '{ "subreddits": [ "python" ] }' | apify call crawlerbros/reddit-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/reddit-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Reddit Scraper", "description": "Scrape entire subreddits with this crawler. Returns the posts in a subreddit along with their title, text, scores and timestamps etc.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "oC7cNt1NVbhFWoyzZ" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~reddit-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-reddit-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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~reddit-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-reddit-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~reddit-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-reddit-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "required": [ "subreddits" ], "properties": { "subreddits": { "title": "Subreddits", "type": "array", "description": "List of subreddit names to scrape (without 'r/' prefix)", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxPosts": { "title": "Maximum posts per subreddit", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of posts to scrape from each subreddit", "default": 25 }, "sort": { "title": "Sort posts by", "enum": [ "hot", "new", "top", "rising", "controversial" ], "type": "string", "description": "How to sort posts in the subreddit", "default": "hot" }, "timeFilter": { "title": "Time filter (for 'top' and 'controversial' sort)", "enum": [ "hour", "day", "week", "month", "year", "all" ], "type": "string", "description": "Time filter when sorting by 'top' or 'controversial'", "default": "day" } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```