# Snap Store Scraper - Linux App Metadata & Downloads (`klondikeking/snap-store-scraper`) Actor

Extract Snap Store app metadata, publisher info, ratings, architecture support, and download data using the official Snapcraft API. Fast, reliable, and no authentication required.

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

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 snap 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

## Snap Store Scraper — Linux App Metadata & Publisher Analytics

Extract Snap Store app metadata, publisher information, ratings, architecture support, and download data using the official Snapcraft API. This Actor delivers structured data for every snap published in the Ubuntu Snap Store, covering over 7,000 applications.

Whether you are researching Linux app ecosystems, monitoring competitor distribution, or building a directory of open-source tools, this scraper gives you clean, structured data with no authentication required.

### Use Cases

- **App Store Research** — Analyze the Linux desktop application landscape, identify trending snaps, and track publisher activity.
- **Competitive Intelligence** — Monitor which apps are published in the Snap Store, their update frequency, and publisher verification status.
- **Security & Compliance Auditing** — Review snap confinement levels, license information, and architecture support for enterprise deployments.
- **Developer Analytics** — Build dashboards of snap popularity, version history, and publisher reputation across the Linux ecosystem.

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `searchQuery` | String | No | Keyword to filter snaps by name or description (e.g., "docker", "node", "database") |
| `maxItems` | Number | No | Maximum snaps to extract (1-1000, default: 100) |
| `sortBy` | String | No | Sort order: `relevance` (default), `popularity`, `name`, `published`, `updated` |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Object | No | Proxy configuration for requests |

### Output

The Actor outputs a dataset with the following fields for each snap:

```json
{
  "packageName": "node-red",
  "title": "node-red",
  "summary": "Low-code programming for event-driven applications",
  "description": "Node-RED is a flow based programming application...",
  "publisher": "Node-RED-Team",
  "developerName": "Node-RED-Team",
  "developerValidation": "verified",
  "version": "3.1.0",
  "license": "Apache-2.0",
  "confinement": "strict",
  "architecture": ["amd64"],
  "channel": "stable",
  "base": "core22",
  "iconUrl": "https://dashboard.snapcraft.io/site_media/appmedia/2017/01/nr-hex_1.png",
  "website": "https://nodered.org",
  "contact": "https://discourse.nodered.org/",
  "datePublished": "2017-01-10T21:57:20.914708Z",
  "lastUpdated": "2023-10-19T11:23:14.151165+00:00",
  "ratingsAverage": 0.0,
  "binaryFilesize": 46067712,
  "private": false,
  "snapId": "lwGTfxA0S0e61kiyMAuXQkq6Tvni0dYm",
  "revision": 883,
  "content": "application"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: $0.001 per snap extracted. You only pay for the data you retrieve.

### Limitations

- The Snapcraft API returns public snap data only. Private snaps are excluded.
- Ratings are sparse — many snaps have not been rated yet (`ratingsAverage` may be `0.0` or `null`).
- The API does not expose download counts directly. Popularity is inferred from sort order.
- Architecture support is reported by the publisher and may not reflect all available builds.

### FAQ

**Q: Do I need a Snap Store account to use this scraper?**
A: No. The scraper uses the public Snapcraft API with no authentication required.

**Q: Can I filter by architecture or confinement level?**
A: The API does not support direct filtering by architecture or confinement. You can filter the output dataset after extraction.

**Q: How often is the data updated?**
A: The Snapcraft API reflects live Store data. Snap metadata updates as soon as publishers publish new revisions.

### Changelog

- **v1.0.0** — Initial release. Search, sort, and extract snap metadata via the Snapcraft API.

# Actor input Schema

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

Optional keyword to search apps by name or description (e.g., node, docker, database)

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

Maximum number of apps to extract (1-1000)

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

Sort order for results

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

Configure proxy settings for the scraper

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "node",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "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 = {
    "searchQuery": "node",
    "maxItems": 10,
    "sortBy": "relevance",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("klondikeking/snap-store-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 = {
    "searchQuery": "node",
    "maxItems": 10,
    "sortBy": "relevance",
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("klondikeking/snap-store-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 '{
  "searchQuery": "node",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call klondikeking/snap-store-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fnRvtlPiBB7hPQc2n/builds/tdhywB6ct5NfuNzWi/openapi.json