# DuckDuckGo Images Scraper (`searchapi/duckduckgo-images-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes image search results from DuckDuckGo Images. Extracts image URL, thumbnail, alt text, dimensions, format, file size, dominant color, source domain, favicon, creator, license, and more.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/searchapi/duckduckgo-images-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Search API](https://apify.com/searchapi) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.99 / 1,000 duckduckgo images scraper results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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

## DuckDuckGo Images Scraper

Scrapes image search results from DuckDuckGo Images. Extracts image URL, thumbnail, alt text, dimensions, format, file size, dominant color, source domain, favicon, creator, license, and more.

### What this Actor collects

The Actor converts DuckDuckGo Images results into one clean JSON record per image, including original and thumbnail URLs, dimensions, format, source page and domain, publication metadata when available, applied filters, and search provenance.

- Uses the input limits and filters below to control the crawl.
- Stores source-backed fields defined by the 40-field dataset schema.
- Omits optional fields when the source does not expose a value instead of writing nulls or fabricated placeholders.

### Use cases

- Visual research
- Image-source discovery
- Media and asset enrichment

### Input

Provide input in JSON. Fields marked required must be supplied. The Default / example column shows a schema default when one exists; otherwise it shows a documented prefill or fixture value.

| Field | Type | Required | Default / example | Description |
| --- | --- | :---: | --- | --- |
| `query` | string | Yes | `"cats"` | The search query for DDG image search. |
| `maxItems` | integer | No | `100` | Maximum number of images to scrape. |
| `region` | string | No | `"us-en"` | DDG region code (e.g. us-en, uk-en, de-de). |
| `size` | string | No | `""` | Filter by image size. |
| `color` | string | No | `""` | Filter by dominant color. |
| `type` | string | No | `""` | Filter by image type. |
| `layout` | string | No | `""` | Filter by image aspect ratio. |
| `license` | string | No | `""` | Filter by usage license. |
| `safeSearch` | string | No | `"moderate"` | Safe search setting. |
| `maxRequestRetries` | integer | No | `2` | Retries for transient navigation failures and rate limits. |
| `navigationTimeoutSecs` | integer | No | `45` | Maximum time in seconds for each search navigation. |
| `headless` | boolean | No | `true` | Run Firefox without a visible window. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | No | `{"useApifyProxy":true}` | Proxy settings. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "query": "artificial intelligence",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "region": "us-en",
  "safeSearch": "moderate"
}
```

### Output

The default dataset contains one item per image result. The following are the most useful fields; dimensions, format, dates, and other media metadata appear only when supplied by the source response.

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `position` | integer | Position |
| `thumbnail` | string | Thumbnail |
| `title` | string | Title |
| `imageUrl` | string | Image URL |
| `imageWidth` | integer | Image Width |
| `imageHeight` | integer | Image Height |
| `fileFormat` | string | File Format |
| `sourceDomain` | string | Source Domain |
| `sourceUrl` | string | Source URL |
| `searchQuery` | string | Search Query |
| `region` | string | Region |
| `safeSearch` | string | Safe Search |
| `scrapedAt` | string | Scraped At |
| `type` | string | Record Type |
| `query` | string | Query |
| `resultType` | string | Result Type |

<details>
<summary>All 40 declared dataset fields</summary>

`type`, `resultType`, `position`, `page`, `title`, `titleHtml`, `alt`, `caption`, `imageUrl`, `thumbnailUrl`
`thumbnail`, `imageWidth`, `imageHeight`, `width`, `height`, `aspectRatio`, `sourceUrl`, `hostPageUrl`, `sourceDomain`, `domain`
`sourceTitle`, `sourceFavicon`, `fileFormat`, `fileSizeBytes`, `discoveredAt`, `publishedAt`, `publishedAtRaw`, `relativeTime`, `colorDominant`, `searchUrl`
`searchQuery`, `query`, `region`, `market`, `country`, `language`, `safeSearch`, `appliedFilters`, `scrapedAt`, `searchMetadata`

</details>

#### Example dataset item

This compact example is taken from local Actor storage. Long text and nested collections are shortened for documentation only.

```json
{
  "position": 1,
  "thumbnail": "https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th/id/OIP.4OEXlgSo030JWa8WUpS_UAHaE8?r=0&pid=Api",
  "title": "iAsk Student · ai",
  "imageUrl": "https://incubator.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/artificial-intelligence-new-technology-science-futuristic-abstract-human-brain-ai-technology-cpu-central-processor-unit-chipse…",
  "imageWidth": 1500,
  "imageHeight": 1000,
  "fileFormat": "jpeg",
  "sourceDomain": "iask.ai",
  "sourceUrl": "https://iask.ai/q?q=ai",
  "searchQuery": "artificial intelligence",
  "region": "us-en",
  "safeSearch": "moderate"
}
```

### Related Actors

- [Duck.ai Guest Answers Scraper](https://apify.com/searchapi/duckduckgo-ai-answers-scraper)
- [DuckDuckGo Autocomplete Scraper](https://apify.com/searchapi/duckduckgo-autocomplete-scraper)
- [DuckDuckGo Bangs Directory Scraper](https://apify.com/searchapi/duckduckgo-bangs-directory-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

The search query for DDG image search.

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

Maximum number of images to scrape.

## `region` (type: `string`):

DDG region code (e.g. us-en, uk-en, de-de).

## `size` (type: `string`):

Filter by image size.

## `color` (type: `string`):

Filter by dominant color.

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

Filter by image type.

## `layout` (type: `string`):

Filter by image aspect ratio.

## `license` (type: `string`):

Filter by usage license.

## `safeSearch` (type: `string`):

Safe search setting.

## `maxRequestRetries` (type: `integer`):

Retries for transient navigation failures and rate limits.

## `navigationTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum time in seconds for each search navigation.

## `headless` (type: `boolean`):

Run Firefox without a visible window.

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

Proxy settings.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "cats",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "region": "us-en",
  "size": "",
  "color": "",
  "type": "",
  "layout": "",
  "license": "",
  "safeSearch": "moderate",
  "maxRequestRetries": 2,
  "navigationTimeoutSecs": 45,
  "headless": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Structured image results and source metadata from DuckDuckGo Images.

# 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 = {
    "query": "cats",
    "region": "us-en",
    "maxRequestRetries": 2,
    "navigationTimeoutSecs": 45,
    "headless": true,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("searchapi/duckduckgo-images-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 = {
    "query": "cats",
    "region": "us-en",
    "maxRequestRetries": 2,
    "navigationTimeoutSecs": 45,
    "headless": True,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("searchapi/duckduckgo-images-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 '{
  "query": "cats",
  "region": "us-en",
  "maxRequestRetries": 2,
  "navigationTimeoutSecs": 45,
  "headless": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call searchapi/duckduckgo-images-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/UahJCNkTNpYhZaao2/builds/SVw4wywZNmyXhnqye/openapi.json