# DEV.to Scraper - Articles by Tag, Author or Top (`dami_studio/devto-scraper`) Actor

Mine one of the biggest developer communities on the web. Pull DEV.to articles by tag, by author, or by sort (top / latest / rising) and get title, description, URL, tags, author name and username, reactions, comment count, reading time, cover image, publish date - and the full body on demand.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dami\_studio/devto-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Dami's Studio](https://apify.com/dami_studio) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Developer tools, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 article returneds

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

## DEV.to Article Scraper

Scrape [DEV.to](https://dev.to) articles via the public **Forem API** — no API key, no login, no anti-bot. Filter by tag or author, choose how results are sorted, and optionally pull the full article body.

### What you get per article

`id`, `title`, `description`, `url`, `author`, `authorUsername`, `tags`, `reactions`, `comments`, `readingTimeMinutes`, `coverImage`, `publishedAt`. Turn on **Include full body** to also get `body` (markdown/HTML).

Nullable fields: `coverImage` and `publishedAt` are `null` when DEV.to does not supply them. When **Include full body** is on, `body` can be `null` for an article whose full-body fetch fails or is empty; the row is still returned (with `ok: true`) so you can see which articles were affected.

### Input

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `tag` | Only articles with this tag, e.g. `javascript`, `react`, `webdev`. Optional. |
| `username` | Only articles by this author, e.g. `ben`. Optional. |
| `sortBy` | `top` (most reactions in the last N days), `latest` (newest), or `rising`. Default `top`. |
| `topDays` | Window for `top` sorting, e.g. `7` = top of the week, `365` = top of the year. Default `7`. |
| `includeBody` | Fetch the full article body per result (extra API call each). Default off. |
| `maxItems` | How many articles to return. The actor paginates until it has this many. Default `50`. |

### Output

One dataset row per article, each with `ok: true`. Empty/no-match inputs return a single diagnostic row with `ok: false` and an `errorCode` (e.g. `NO_RESULTS`) — that diagnostic row is **not charged**, it is just an explanation that the tag/username/sort combination matched no articles.

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: you are charged once per article row returned. Diagnostic rows (`ok: false`, such as `NO_RESULTS`, `BLOCKED`, `RATE_LIMITED`, `NETWORK`) are never charged, so empty or failed runs cost you nothing.

### Proxy

No proxy is needed. The Forem API (`https://dev.to/api`) is a public, no-auth, no-anti-bot endpoint, so the default is no proxy and runs work fine without one. Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP-based rate limits on very large runs.

### Troubleshooting

If you get a single `NO_RESULTS` diagnostic row instead of articles, the tag/username/sort combination matched nothing — double-check the spelling of the `tag` or `username` (DEV.to tags are lowercase, e.g. `javascript` not `JavaScript`), or widen `topDays`. A `RATE_LIMITED` or `NETWORK` row means the API throttled or a transient network error occurred; re-run, or enable Apify Proxy for large runs. None of these diagnostic rows are charged.

### Examples

Top JavaScript articles of the last month:

```json
{ "tag": "javascript", "sortBy": "top", "topDays": 30, "maxItems": 50 }
```

Latest articles from a specific author:

```json
{ "username": "ben", "sortBy": "latest", "maxItems": 30 }
```

### Notes

Built on the documented Forem API (`https://dev.to/api`). The `top` window selects the highest-reaction articles published within the last `topDays` days. `latest` returns the newest articles; `rising` returns currently rising posts. Results are deduplicated by article id.

# Actor input Schema

## `tag` (type: `string`):

Only return articles with this DEV.to tag (e.g. "javascript", "react", "webdev"). Leave empty to not filter by tag.

## `username` (type: `string`):

Only return articles by this DEV.to author username (e.g. "ben"). Leave empty to not filter by author.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

How to order/select articles. "top" = most reactions in the last N days (see Top days), "latest" = newest first, "rising" = currently rising.

## `topDays` (type: `integer`):

When Sort by = Top, return the highest-reaction articles published within the last this many days (e.g. 7 = top of the past week, 365 = top of the past year). Ignored for Latest/Rising.

## `includeBody` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch the full article body (markdown/HTML) for each result via a second API call per article. Slower and makes more requests.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of articles to return. The actor paginates the API (100 per page) until this many are collected or the results run out.

## `notionConnector` (type: `string`):

Optional. Write each article as a page into your Notion when the run finishes. Authorize a Notion connector once in Settings → API & Integrations → MCP connectors, then pick it here. Leave empty to skip (default) — results are always saved to the dataset regardless.

## `notionParentId` (type: `string`):

Optional. The Notion data source ID of the database to write into (only used if a Notion connector is set). Leave empty to create the pages privately in your workspace instead.

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

Optional proxy for the DEV.to API requests. The public Forem API has no anti-bot, so no proxy is needed and the default is no proxy. Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP-based rate limits on very large runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "tag": "javascript",
  "sortBy": "top",
  "topDays": 7,
  "includeBody": false,
  "maxItems": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Scraped rows are stored in the default dataset (one row per result). Blocked/empty/error runs return a single uncharged diagnostic row instead.

# 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 = {
    "tag": "javascript"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dami_studio/devto-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 = { "tag": "javascript" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("dami_studio/devto-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 '{
  "tag": "javascript"
}' |
apify call dami_studio/devto-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/ME5MxjwzYdV0z8aFX/builds/9NSUM89GuqU7nhYgj/openapi.json