# Hex.pm Package Scraper - Elixir Package Metadata & Downloads (`klondikeking/hex-pm-scraper`) Actor

Extract package metadata from Hex.pm including versions, downloads, licenses, dependencies, and release history. Perfect for Elixir ecosystem research and dependency analysis.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/klondikeking/hex-pm-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Pierrick McD0nald](https://apify.com/klondikeking) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 package extracteds

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

## Hex.pm Package Scraper — Elixir Package Metadata & Downloads

Extract comprehensive metadata from Hex.pm, the official package manager for the Elixir programming language. This Actor fetches package names, descriptions, versions, download statistics, licenses, release history, dependency configurations, and source links. Perfect for Elixir ecosystem research, dependency analysis, package discovery, and market intelligence.

### Use Cases

- **Elixir Ecosystem Research** — Analyze the Hex.pm package landscape, identify trending packages, and study the growth of the Elixir and Phoenix framework communities.
- **Dependency Analysis** — Collect dependency strings (mix.exs, rebar.config, erlang.mk) to understand how packages are consumed and to build dependency graphs.
- **Package Discovery** — Build curated lists of Elixir packages by category, license, or popularity for research, teaching, or technology scouting.
- **Market Intelligence** — Track download trends, release velocity, and package adoption to identify rising stars and mature libraries in the Elixir ecosystem.
- **Security Auditing** — Identify packages with security advisories and review ownership information to assess supply chain risk.

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `packageNames` | Array | Yes | List of Hex.pm package names to scrape (e.g., phoenix, ecto, absinthe). Leave empty to scrape all packages. |
| `maxItems` | Number | No | Maximum packages to scrape (default: 100, 0 for unlimited). |
| `includeDetails` | Boolean | No | Fetch additional details from individual package API endpoint (owners, security advisories). |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Object | No | Proxy configuration. Apify proxy included by default. |

### Output

The Actor outputs a dataset with the following fields:

```json
{
  "name": "phoenix",
  "description": "Productive. Reliable. Fast. A productive web framework that does not compromise speed or maintainability.",
  "latestVersion": "1.7.21",
  "latestStableVersion": "1.7.21",
  "licenses": "MIT",
  "downloadsAll": 28476532,
  "downloadsRecent": 11429301,
  "downloadsWeek": 28402,
  "downloadsDay": 4021,
  "repository": "hexpm",
  "htmlUrl": "https://hex.pm/packages/phoenix",
  "docsUrl": "https://phoenixframework.org/",
  "releaseCount": 47,
  "firstReleaseDate": "2014-08-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
  "latestReleaseDate": "2026-06-15T00:00:00.000000Z",
  "hasDocs": true,
  "sourceLinks": "{\"GitHub\":\"https://github.com/phoenixframework/phoenix\",\"Website\":\"https://phoenixframework.org/\"}",
  "owners": "chrismccord, josevalim",
  "mixDep": "{:phoenix, \"~> 1.7\"}",
  "rebarDep": "{phoenix, \"1.7.21\"}",
  "erlangMkDep": "dep_phoenix = hex 1.7.21",
  "insertedAt": "2014-08-01T00:00:00.000000Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-15T00:00:00.000000Z"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: $0.001 per package extracted.

### Limitations

- Scraping all Hex.pm packages may take significant time. Use `maxItems` to limit scope.
- The Hex.pm API is public and rate-limited to approximately 100 requests per minute. The Actor respects this by using built-in retry logic.
- Some packages may have missing fields (e.g., no source links, no owners) which will be returned as empty strings or zero values.
- The `includeDetails` option requires one additional API call per package, which increases run time.

### FAQ

**Q: Can I scrape all Hex.pm packages at once?**
A: Yes. Leave `packageNames` empty and set `maxItems` to 0. This will fetch all packages. Consider using a higher compute tier for large runs.

**Q: How do I find package names?**
A: Package names are the exact Hex.pm identifiers (e.g., `phoenix`, not `phoenix framework`). You can find them on hex.pm or by running the Actor with an empty `packageNames` list to discover them.

**Q: What is the difference between `includeDetails` true and false?**
A: When `includeDetails` is true, the Actor visits each package's detail API endpoint to collect owners and other extended metadata. When false, it only uses the list endpoint data (faster but less data).

### Changelog

- **v1.0.0** — Initial release. Scrape Hex.pm package metadata including versions, downloads, licenses, dependencies, and release history.

# Actor input Schema

## `packageNames` (type: `array`):

List of Hex.pm package names to scrape (e.g., phoenix, ecto, absinthe). Leave empty to scrape all packages.

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

Maximum number of packages to scrape. Use 0 for unlimited.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

If enabled, fetches additional details from the individual package API endpoint (owners, security advisories). If disabled, only uses the list endpoint data.

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

Configure proxy for scraping. Apify proxy is included by default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "packageNames": [
    "phoenix",
    "ecto",
    "absinthe"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "includeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `stats` (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 = {
    "packageNames": [
        "phoenix",
        "ecto",
        "absinthe"
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "includeDetails": true,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("klondikeking/hex-pm-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 = {
    "packageNames": [
        "phoenix",
        "ecto",
        "absinthe",
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "includeDetails": True,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("klondikeking/hex-pm-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 '{
  "packageNames": [
    "phoenix",
    "ecto",
    "absinthe"
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "includeDetails": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call klondikeking/hex-pm-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/pgBozyPVp655ho8IM/builds/pvaiZcUgSb2dLvvAv/openapi.json