# Kickstarter Project Scraper (`crawlerbros/kickstarter-scraper`) Actor

Extract crowdfunding project data from Kickstarter like name, blurb, goal, pledged amount, backers, deadline, creator, category, country, and more. Uses the public search API for reliable results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/kickstarter-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 51 total users, 9 monthly users, 78.3% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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

## Kickstarter Project Scraper

Extract crowdfunding project data from **Kickstarter.com** — name, description, funding goal, pledged amount, backers, deadline, creator, category, country, and more. Uses the public Kickstarter search API for 100% reliable structured data.

### Features

- **31 output fields** per project — complete API data in clean flat format
- **Search by keyword** with filters for state, sort order, category
- **Pagination** — fetch up to 2000 projects per run
- **No proxy needed** — Kickstarter's public search API is accessible with Chrome TLS impersonation
- **Fast** — ~20 projects/second via the official API
- **No nulls** — every field has a typed default

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `searchQueries` | Array | Keywords to search on Kickstarter (e.g., `"smartwatch"`) |
| `state` | String | Filter by state: `any`, `live`, `successful`, `failed`, `canceled`, `submitted` (default `any`) |
| `sort` | String | Sort order: `popularity`, `newest`, `end_date`, `most_funded`, `most_backed` (default `popularity`) |
| `maxResults` | Integer | Max projects to return (default 50, max 2000) |

#### Example Input

```json
{
    "searchQueries": ["smartwatch", "board game"],
    "state": "live",
    "sort": "popularity",
    "maxResults": 100
}
```

### Output

Each project has **31 fields**:

#### Identity

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `id` | Integer | Kickstarter project ID |
| `url` | String | Project URL |
| `slug` | String | URL slug |
| `name` | String | Project name |
| `blurb` | String | Short description |

#### Funding

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `goal` | Number | Funding goal |
| `pledged` | Number | Amount pledged |
| `usdPledged` | Number | Amount pledged (USD) |
| `percentFunded` | Number | % of goal funded |
| `currency` | String | Currency code |
| `currencySymbol` | String | Currency symbol |
| `backersCount` | Integer | Number of backers |

#### Status

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `state` | String | `live`, `successful`, `failed`, `canceled`, `submitted` |
| `staffPick` | Boolean | Featured as staff pick |
| `spotlight` | Boolean | Featured in spotlight |

#### Dates

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `deadline` | String | Campaign deadline (ISO 8601) |
| `launchedAt` | String | Launch date (ISO 8601) |
| `createdAt` | String | Creation date (ISO 8601) |

#### Location & Category

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `country` | String | Country code |
| `countryName` | String | Country name |
| `location` | String | City/region |
| `category` | String | Category name |
| `categorySlug` | String | Category slug |

#### Creator & Media

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `creatorName` | String | Creator name |
| `creatorUrl` | String | Creator profile URL |
| `creatorAvatar` | String | Creator avatar image |
| `photoFull` | String | Full-size project photo |
| `photoThumb` | String | Thumbnail photo |
| `videoUrl` | String | Project video URL |

| `query` | String | Search query that matched |
| `scrapedAt` | String | ISO 8601 scrape timestamp |

#### Example Output

```json
{
    "id": 1399308374,
    "url": "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ridebeeline/beeline-moto-ii-...",
    "slug": "beeline-moto-ii-beautifully-simple-nav-for-motorcyclists",
    "name": "Beeline Moto II | Beautifully Simple Motorcycle Navigation",
    "blurb": "Easily plan, navigate and track fantastic motorcycling routes...",
    "state": "successful",
    "staffPick": true,
    "goal": 50000,
    "pledged": 516295,
    "usdPledged": 651140.5,
    "percentFunded": 1032.59,
    "currency": "GBP",
    "currencySymbol": "£",
    "backersCount": 2645,
    "deadline": "2024-03-15T11:20:01+00:00",
    "country": "GB",
    "countryName": "United Kingdom",
    "category": "Product Design",
    "creatorName": "Beeline",
    "photoFull": "https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/...",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-10T12:00:00+00:00"
}
```

### FAQ

**Q: Does this need an API key?**
No — Kickstarter's `search.json` endpoint is publicly accessible. The scraper uses Chrome TLS impersonation to bypass basic bot detection.

**Q: How many projects can I scrape per run?**
Up to 2000 per run (with pagination). For larger datasets, run multiple searches with different queries.

**Q: Can I filter by category or country?**
Filter by category by including the category name in your search query (e.g., `"board game"` or `"tabletop"`). Country filtering requires post-processing.

**Q: How fresh is the data?**
Live — each run queries the Kickstarter API directly, returning real-time project data.

### Use Cases

- **Crowdfunding market research** — track trends in product categories
- **Competitive intelligence** — monitor similar projects before launching yours
- **Investment research** — discover high-growth crowdfunded products
- **Product discovery** — find innovative projects before they go mainstream
- **Creator outreach** — identify active creators for partnerships

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Keywords to search on Kickstarter (e.g., "smartwatch", "board game").

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

Filter by project state. Use 'any' to include all states.

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

Sort order of results.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of projects to return (across all queries).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "smartwatch"
  ],
  "state": "any",
  "sort": "popularity",
  "maxResults": 3
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `projects` (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 = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "smartwatch"
    ],
    "maxResults": 3
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/kickstarter-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 = {
    "searchQueries": ["smartwatch"],
    "maxResults": 3,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/kickstarter-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "smartwatch"
  ],
  "maxResults": 3
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/kickstarter-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,crawlerbros/kickstarter-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/TR9lgadYNwLrtjHMC/builds/phTyf7uIjmQkDyFL7/openapi.json