# Product Hunt Scraper — RSS & GraphQL (`mattdef/producthunt-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Product Hunt products for startup research, product discovery, and market analysis. Free RSS mode (no auth) gets 50 latest products. GraphQL mode with developer token unlocks votes, topics, makers, rankings and more.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/mattdef/producthunt-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Matthieu Cast](https://apify.com/mattdef) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 product scrapeds

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

### Product Hunt Scraper

Scrape Product Hunt products for startup research, product discovery, and market analysis.

#### Modes

| Mode | Auth | Data | Max Items | Best For |
|------|:----:|------|:---------:|----------|
| **RSS** (default) | ❌ None | Name, tagline, author, dates, URLs | 50 | Quick discovery, monitoring |
| **GraphQL** | ✅ Token | + votes, topics, website, makers, description | 500 | Deep analysis, lead gen |

#### Use Cases

- 🚀 **Startup discovery** — Find trending new products daily
- 📊 **Market research** — Analyze product categories and trends
- 🎯 **Lead generation** — Find makers and their contact info
- 📈 **Competitive analysis** — Track competitors' launches
- 🔍 **Deal sourcing** — Identify promising startups for acquisition

#### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Mode | Description |
|-----------|:----:|-------------|
| `mode` | All | `rss` (free) or `graphql` (requires token) |
| `developerToken` | GraphQL | Your PH developer token |
| `maxItems` | All | Max products to fetch (1-500) |
| `topic` | GraphQL | Filter by topic slug (e.g., `artificial-intelligence`) |
| `postedAfter` | GraphQL | Filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `postedBefore` | GraphQL | Filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `sortBy` | GraphQL | `VOTES`, `NEWEST`, `FEATURED_AT`, or `RANKING` |

#### Getting a Developer Token (GraphQL mode)

1. Go to https://www.producthunt.com/v2/oauth/applications
2. Create a new application
3. Copy your developer token
4. Paste it in the `developerToken` field

#### Output

Each product contains:

**RSS mode:**

```json
{
  "id": "1187442",
  "name": "Pennen",
  "tagline": "One quiet handwritten page a day. No feed, no AI.",
  "slug": "pennen",
  "author": "Ishaan Rawat",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-03T14:30:43-07:00",
  "url": "https://www.producthunt.com/products/pennen",
  "source": "rss"
}
```

**GraphQL mode (additional fields):**

```json
{
  "votesCount": 42,
  "commentsCount": 12,
  "reviewsCount": 3,
  "reviewsRating": 4.5,
  "website": "https://pennen.app",
  "dailyRank": 1,
  "weeklyRank": 5,
  "monthlyRank": 23,
  "yearlyRank": 156,
  "topics": [{"name": "Productivity", "slug": "productivity"}],
  "makers": [{"name": "John", "username": "john", "headline": "Builder", "twitterUsername": "john", "followersCount": 1200, "websiteUrl": "https://john.dev"}],
  "thumbnail": {"url": "...", "type": "image"},
  "description": "Full product description...",
  "source": "graphql"
}
```

#### Technical Details

- **RSS mode**: Uses ProductHunt's public Atom feed (no authentication required)
- **GraphQL mode**: Uses ProductHunt's official GraphQL API v2
- **No browser automation**: Direct HTTP requests, fast and reliable
- **Rate limiting**: Built-in delays between paginated requests

#### Limitations

- RSS mode: Limited to 50 latest products, no vote counts
- GraphQL mode: Requires developer token, rate-limited by ProductHunt
- ProductHunt API must not be used for commercial purposes without permission

# Actor input Schema

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

RSS mode works without authentication. GraphQL mode requires a developer token and provides enriched data (votes, topics, website).

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

Your Product Hunt developer token. Get one at https://www.producthunt.com/v2/oauth/applications. Only required for GraphQL mode.

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

Maximum number of products to fetch. RSS mode: max 50 (latest products). GraphQL mode: up to 500.

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

Filter products by topic slug. Examples: artificial-intelligence, saas, developer-tools, productivity, design. Leave empty for all topics.

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

Only fetch products posted after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty for no filter.

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

Only fetch products posted before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty for no filter.

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

How to sort results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "rss",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "sortBy": "VOTES"
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("mattdef/producthunt-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 = {}

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

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/kzcld8x7GTGpHQAwj/builds/DBv4f0yw5hXQkpPfl/openapi.json