# Craigslist Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/craigslist-scraper`) Actor

Scrape listings from Craigslist — for sale, housing, jobs, gigs, and services. Filter by city, category, and keyword. Extracts post title, price, location, description, images, post date, and attributes from any of 700+ Craigslist subdomains.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/craigslist-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 95.2% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

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

## Craigslist Scraper

Scrape listings from Craigslist — for sale, housing, jobs, gigs, and services. Supply one or more Craigslist search/category URLs as input; the scraper visits each listing page and extracts structured post data.

### Features

- Scrape any Craigslist category across all 700+ subdomains (sfbay, nyc, chicago, london, and more)
- Extracts: post title, price, description, post date, location, attributes, images, and post ID
- Works with any search filter URL — keyword, category, neighborhood
- Respects `maxItems` to cap output size for sampling or budget control
- Server-rendered HTML — fast and lightweight (no browser required)

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `startUrls` | Array | Craigslist search URLs to scrape. Each URL is one search result page. |
| `maxItems` | Integer | Maximum records to scrape (0 = unlimited). Default: 0. |

#### Example Input

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss" },
    { "url": "https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/jjj?query=software+engineer" }
  ],
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

#### Finding the right URL

1. Visit [craigslist.org](https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites) and choose your city
2. Navigate to the category you want (e.g. "for sale", "jobs", "housing")
3. Optionally add keywords or filters using Craigslist's search box
4. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar — paste it into `startUrls`

### Output

Each record in the dataset represents one Craigslist post:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `post_id` | Unique 10-digit Craigslist post ID |
| `url` | Full URL of the post |
| `title` | Post title |
| `price` | Asking price (e.g. "$195") |
| `description` | Full post body text |
| `post_date` | Date and time the post was published |
| `location` | City/neighborhood from the post |
| `listing_location` | Location shown in the search results |
| `attributes` | Additional attributes (condition, make, model, etc.) |
| `images` | Comma-separated list of image URLs |
| `category` | Craigslist category label |
| `scraped_at` | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was scraped |

#### Example Output Record

```json
{
  "post_id": "7932671587",
  "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/pts/d/aptos-1963-corvette-stingray-fuel-door/7932671587.html",
  "title": "1963 Corvette Stingray Fuel Door",
  "price": "$195",
  "description": "For all 1963 Corvette Stingrays Coupe or Convertible...",
  "post_date": "2026-05-06 21:34",
  "location": null,
  "listing_location": "Aptos",
  "attributes": "condition: excellent\nmake / manufacturer: Chevrolet Corvette",
  "images": "https://images.craigslist.org/00m0m_kAZboEDqSKq_0CI0hR_600x450.jpg",
  "category": "auto parts",
  "scraped_at": "2026-06-05T08:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Notes

- Craigslist search pages display up to ~360 listings per page (the full result set in one load)
- Listings without images will have `images: null`
- Posts without a displayed price will have `price: null`
- The `location` field comes from the post detail page map; `listing_location` is from the search result card

### Legal

Use responsibly and in accordance with [Craigslist's Terms of Use](https://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use). Intended for personal research, lead generation, and market analysis.

# Actor input Schema

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

Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler.

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

Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

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

Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you.

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

Leave empty for a fresh crawl. To CONTINUE a previous run where it stopped — without paying again for records you already received — paste the `resumeCursor` value from that run's Output (the run's OUTPUT key). Resume promptly: the previous run's data expires with your account's retention window (free tier: your ~10 most recent runs).

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

List of Craigslist search URLs to scrape (e.g. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss for Bay Area for-sale listings). Each URL is one search result page.

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

Maximum number of listing detail records to scrape (0 = unlimited)

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss"
        }
    ],
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/craigslist-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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss" }],
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/craigslist-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 '{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/sss"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call jungle_synthesizer/craigslist-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/llXfKGToDLmNKjQId/builds/ANuS4cIgRy3MtKcSN/openapi.json