# IMDb Scraper - Movies, Ratings & Cast, No API Key (`dami_studio/imdb-scraper`) Actor

Search IMDb and export films, series and people - ratings, vote counts, year, genre, runtime, cast and cover art. One query returns the whole result set in clean JSON. No IMDb account, no API key, no scraping infrastructure to run. Built for media catalogues, recommendation engines and research.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dami\_studio/imdb-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Dami's Studio](https://apify.com/dami_studio) (community)
- **Categories:** Integrations, AI, Other
- **Stats:** 7 total users, 4 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

$2.50 / 1,000 item 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

## IMDb Search Scraper

Search IMDb for movies, TV shows and people using IMDb's **own public suggestion API** — the same endpoint that powers the autocomplete in IMDb's search box. No API key, no login, no scraping HTML.

Give it a query like `breaking bad` or `tom hanks` and get back clean, structured rows: the IMDb id, title/name, type, year, the "stars / known for" line, the poster/headshot image, and the canonical `imdb.com` URL.

### What you get per result

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `id` | IMDb id, e.g. `tt0903747` (title), `nm0000158` (person), `co...` (company). |
| `kind` | `title`, `person`, `company`, or `other` — derived from the id prefix. |
| `title` | The title or person name. |
| `category` | IMDb's type label, e.g. `feature`, `TV series`, `video game`, `video`. Null for people. |
| `year` | Release year (titles). Null when not applicable. |
| `yearRange` | Run span for series, e.g. `2008-2013`. Null when not applicable. |
| `starsOrKnownFor` | Main cast for a title, or the "known for" line for a person (e.g. `Producer, Cast Away (2000)`). |
| `rank` | IMDb popularity rank (lower = more popular). |
| `image` | Poster / headshot URL. Null when IMDb has no image. |
| `url` | Canonical IMDb URL: `imdb.com/title/{id}/` or `imdb.com/name/{id}/`. |

### Input

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| `query` | A single search term — a movie, show, or person name. |
| `queries` | An array of terms searched in one run; results are merged and de-duplicated by id. Use this to get more than ~8 results. |
| `type` | `all` (default), `titles` (ids starting `tt`), or `people` (ids starting `nm`). |
| `maxItems` | Cap on the number of de-duplicated rows returned (default 50). |

#### Important: no pagination

The IMDb suggestion API returns a **fixed ~8 results per query** and has **no pagination**. If you set `maxItems` higher than that, the actor simply returns what's available (and logs it). To get more results, pass several related terms in `queries` — each is fetched separately and the rows are de-duplicated by IMDb id.

### Output

One dataset row per de-duplicated result, flagged `ok: true`. Pricing is pay-per-result — you are only charged for genuine result rows. Nothing is charged for:

- empty/invalid input (a single `ok: false` row with `errorCode: "BAD_INPUT"`),
- no results for the query (`NO_RESULTS`),
- rate limits or network errors (`RATE_LIMITED` / `NETWORK`).

#### Proxy

The suggestion API is a public, no-auth endpoint with no anti-bot, so **no proxy is required** and the default runs without one (saving proxy credits). Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP rate limits at very high volume.

#### Troubleshooting

- Got a `NO_RESULTS` row with `type` set? The suggestion API may have returned only other kinds (e.g. all titles when you asked for people). Try `type: "all"`.
- Want more than ~8 rows? That's the API's per-query cap — add more terms to `queries`.

### Examples

```json
{ "query": "breaking bad", "maxItems": 10 }
```

```json
{ "query": "tom hanks", "type": "people" }
```

```json
{ "queries": ["inception", "the matrix"], "type": "titles" }
```

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

A single thing to search IMDb for — a movie, TV show or person name, e.g. "breaking bad" or "tom hanks". For several searches at once, use the "queries" field below instead (or as well).

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Run several searches in one go — one request per term, results merged and de-duplicated by IMDb id. Use this to get more than the ~8 results a single query returns (the suggestion API has no pagination). Example: \["inception", "the matrix"]. If both "query" and "queries" are set, all are searched.

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

Which kinds of results to keep: "all" (titles + people + companies), "titles" (movies/shows only, IMDb ids starting tt), or "people" (cast/crew only, ids starting nm).

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

Maximum number of de-duplicated rows to return across all queries. NOTE: a single query returns a fixed ~8 results (the suggestion API has no pagination); to get more, add more terms to "queries". If maxItems exceeds what's available, the actor just returns what it found.

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

Optional. Write each item 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. IMDb's suggestion API is a public, no-auth JSON endpoint with no anti-bot, so no proxy is needed and the default routes traffic directly (saving proxy credits). Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP rate limits when running very high volumes.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "breaking bad",
  "queries": [],
  "type": "all",
  "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 = {
    "query": "breaking bad"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dami_studio/imdb-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 = { "query": "breaking bad" }

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

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zzLRlLMSAcfTDIYOS/builds/Y0ZtM8tdfYmAle0He/openapi.json