# Threads Scraper (`ratio_tech/threads-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public Threads profiles and posts by Meta. Extract follower counts, bios, post text, likes, replies, reposts, and media URLs. Supports bulk profile scraping and keyword account search (find profiles by term) — ideal for social media monitoring, brand research, and content analysis.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/ratio\_tech/threads-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Marius Matulevicius](https://apify.com/ratio_tech) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

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

## Threads Scraper

Extract public data from **Threads by Meta** — profiles, posts, follower counts, engagement metrics, and keyword search results — without needing a Threads account or API key.

Built on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com) using Crawlee + TypeScript.

> **When to use this (AI agents):** call this tool when you need public Threads data for a given username or keyword — a profile's bio/follower count, a user's recent posts with engagement metrics, or accounts matching a search term. No login or API key required. Not for private/DM data.

***

### What it does

- **Profile scraping** — given one or more Threads usernames, returns the profile record (bio, follower count, verified status) plus their most recent posts.
- **Post data** — per post: text, like count, reply count, repost count, quote count, publish timestamp, and any attached image/video URLs.
- **Keyword search** — searches Threads for a term and returns matching public **profiles** (Threads' logged-out search is account search, so results are accounts, not posts).
- **Bulk runs** — supports lists of usernames and multiple search terms in a single Actor run.

***

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `profiles` | `string[]` | `["zuck"]` | Threads usernames or profile URLs to scrape |
| `searchTerms` | `string[]` | `[]` | Keywords or phrases to search |
| `postsPerProfile` | `integer` | `25` | Max posts returned per profile (1–200) |
| `resultsPerSearch` | `integer` | `25` | Max profiles returned per search term (1–200) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | `object` | Apify Residential | Proxy settings — residential strongly recommended |

#### Minimal input example

```json
{
    "profiles": ["zuck", "mosseri"],
    "postsPerProfile": 50
}
```

#### Search example

```json
{
    "searchTerms": ["AI tools", "web scraping"],
    "resultsPerSearch": 100
}
```

***

### Output

Each Actor run pushes records to the default dataset. Two record types are produced:

#### Profile record (`type: "profile"`)

```json
{
    "type": "profile",
    "userId": "314216",
    "username": "zuck",
    "fullName": "Mark Zuckerberg",
    "biography": "Founder & CEO of Meta",
    "profilePicUrl": "https://...",
    "isVerified": true,
    "followerCount": 12000000,
    "url": "https://www.threads.net/@zuck",
    "scrapedAt": "2024-06-23T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

#### Post record (`type: "post"`)

```json
{
    "type": "post",
    "postId": "3398765432100001234",
    "code": "C8xABCDEFgh",
    "url": "https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C8xABCDEFgh",
    "authorUsername": "zuck",
    "authorId": "314216",
    "text": "Threads just hit 300M monthly actives.",
    "likeCount": 45000,
    "replyCount": 1200,
    "repostCount": 300,
    "quoteCount": 80,
    "publishedAt": "2024-06-01T12:00:00.000Z",
    "imageUrls": [],
    "videoUrls": [],
    "scrapedAt": "2024-06-23T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

**Note on search results:** keyword search returns **profile** records (`type: "profile"`) — Threads' logged-out search matches accounts, not posts. Post records (with engagement metrics) come from profile scraping via `profiles`, not from `searchTerms`.

***

### Pricing

This Actor uses **Pay-Per-Event (PPE)** pricing:

| Event | Charged when |
|---|---|
| `profile-scraped` | A profile record is successfully scraped and saved |
| `post-scraped` | A post record is successfully scraped and saved |

Failed items and `error` records are not charged. You only pay for data you actually receive.

***

### Proxy

Threads aggressively rate-limits and blocks datacenter IPs. **Residential proxies are strongly recommended** and are the default. The Actor will not function reliably without proxy rotation.

***

### Legal & compliance notice

This Actor scrapes **publicly available data only** — profiles and posts that any visitor can read on `threads.net` without logging in. It does not access private accounts, direct messages, or any authenticated content.

**The user (buyer) bears sole responsibility** for how they use the data collected, including compliance with:

- Meta's Terms of Service and Threads Community Guidelines
- Applicable data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA, and others)
- The laws of the jurisdiction in which they operate

This tool is intended for legitimate use cases such as public research, brand monitoring, academic analysis, and journalistic investigation of public figures and public interest content. Misuse is the responsibility of the operator.

***

### FAQ

**How do I scrape Threads without an account or API key?**
Pass Threads usernames (or profile URLs) into `profiles` and run — no login required. The Actor reads the same public data any visitor sees on `threads.net`.

**Can I get follower counts and post engagement metrics?**
Yes. Each profile record includes follower count and verified status; each post record includes like, reply, repost, and quote counts, timestamps, and image/video URLs.

**How do I search Threads by keyword?**
Add terms to `searchTerms`. Threads' logged-out search is **account search**, so the Actor returns matching public **profiles** (`type: "profile"`), not posts. To get posts with engagement metrics, pass those accounts' usernames to `profiles`.

**Do I need residential proxies?**
Yes — strongly recommended and set by default. Threads aggressively rate-limits and blocks datacenter IPs, so the Actor won't run reliably without residential proxy rotation.

**What does it cost?**
Pay per event — you're billed per profile and per post successfully saved. Failed items and error records are not charged.

**Is scraping Threads legal?**
This Actor accesses only public profiles and posts — no private accounts or DMs. Content is still personal data under GDPR/CCPA — you are responsible for lawful use and for complying with Meta's Terms. See the notice above.

***

### Related Actors by Ratio Tech

Monitoring social platforms? See also:

- [Bluesky Scraper](https://apify.com/ratio_tech/bluesky-scraper) — public profiles, posts, and keyword search via the AT Protocol

# Actor input Schema

## `profiles` (type: `array`):

List of Threads usernames or profile URLs to scrape (e.g. 'zuck' or 'https://www.threads.net/@zuck'). Each profile's recent posts will be collected up to the 'postsPerProfile' limit.

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Keywords or phrases to search on Threads. Threads' logged-out search is account search, so this returns matching public PROFILES (not posts), up to the 'resultsPerSearch' limit per term.

## `postsPerProfile` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of posts to return for each scraped profile.

## `resultsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of profiles to return for each search term.

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

Apify Proxy settings. Residential proxies are strongly recommended — Threads aggressively blocks datacenter IPs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "profiles": [
    "zuck"
  ],
  "searchTerms": [],
  "postsPerProfile": 25,
  "resultsPerSearch": 25,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `errors` (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 = {
    "profiles": [
        "zuck"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("ratio_tech/threads-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 = { "profiles": ["zuck"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("ratio_tech/threads-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 '{
  "profiles": [
    "zuck"
  ]
}' |
apify call ratio_tech/threads-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fKpqYE9mL5ZNL6wMZ/builds/PdKhllljXugALYcaW/openapi.json