# Figshare Research Articles Scraper (`parseforge/figshare-articles-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Figshare research articles by keyword search and item type filter. Returns each article's title, DOI, authors, publication date, and download links as a flat row.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/figshare-articles-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations, Education
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 89.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $7.50 / 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.
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

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Figshare Research Articles Scraper

**Scrape research articles from Figshare by keyword, item type, or institution, up to a million per run.** Every article comes with its title, DOI, authors, publication date, and download links. No API key required. Export to JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML.

Figshare's own API requires authentication and pagination handling for bulk access. This Actor reads the public article feeds directly, filtered by free-text search or item type, and returns each match in one fixed schema. It is built for literature reviews, meta-research, and open-science monitoring.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Figshare for |
|---|---|
| Academic researchers | Gathering a corpus of papers and preprints on a specific topic for a systematic review. |
| Librarians | Monitoring newly published theses and presentations from a university's Figshare portal. |
| Data journalists | Collecting open datasets and associated metadata for a data-driven story. |
| R\&D analysts | Tracking code and software outputs shared by competing research groups. |

### What it does

This Actor collects Figshare research articles by keyword search and item type filter, and returns each one as a flat row.

- 🔍 **Keyword search:** Free-text search across titles, abstracts, and metadata to find relevant articles.
- 📂 **Item type filter:** Narrow results to Papers, Datasets, Theses, Preprints, Figures, Code, and more.
- 📊 **Flat structured output:** Every article is returned as a single row with a consistent set of fields, ready for analysis.
- ⚙️ **Configurable volume:** Set a maximum number of articles to collect, from a single test record up to a million.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Figshare data

**📝 Conduct a systematic literature review.**

A PhD student searches for a specific term, filters by 'Paper' and 'Preprint' item types, and collects the metadata for all matching articles to screen for inclusion in their review.

**🏛️ Monitor an institution's research output.**

A university librarian runs the Actor weekly with the institution's name as a keyword to track all newly published theses, presentations, and papers.

**📊 Find open datasets for a meta-analysis.**

A researcher searches for a medical condition keyword, filters by 'Dataset' item type, and downloads the metadata for all available open data to plan a pooled analysis.

**💻 Track shared research software.**

An R\&D analyst at a tech company searches for a specific algorithm name, filters by 'Code' item type, and monitors new public code releases from academic competitors.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Access public Figshare article metadata without registration or authentication. |
| **Consistent schema** | Get the same fields for every article, regardless of its type, simplifying your analysis. |
| **Bulk collection** | Gather up to a million articles in a single run for large-scale literature reviews. |

### How it compares

This Actor focuses on a clean, flat schema for articles with keyword and item type filtering, while other Figshare scrapers offer different field mappings or broader repository coverage.

| Feature | ParseForge | Figshare Research Scraper - Articles and Datasets | Figshare Scraper | Figshare Research Data Scraper - Datasets, Papers & DOIs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword search | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| Item type filter | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Collects article metadata | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Returns DOI | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Returns download links | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| No API key required | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Yes |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a keyword search and an optional item type filter, and set a maximum number of articles to collect. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "itemType": 0
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "itemType": 0
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.0085 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.85 |
| 1,000 results | $8.50 |
| 10,000 results | $85.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Figshare Research Articles Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/figshare-articles-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Figshare through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/figshare-articles-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your keyword search term. It may be too specific. Try a broader term or remove the keyword filter entirely to see if any articles are returned. Also, ensure your item type filter is not too restrictive.

**The Actor is running but collecting articles very slowly.**

This is normal for large searches. The Actor respects Figshare's servers. You can lower the maximum number of articles to get a smaller sample faster.

**Some fields are empty in my results.**

Not all articles on Figshare have every metadata field populated. An empty field means the author did not provide that information when uploading the article.

**I got fewer results than my maxItems setting.**

The Actor stops when it has found all matching articles on Figshare. If there are fewer matches than your limit, it will finish early. Try broadening your search terms.

**The download links in the output do not work.**

The links point to the public Figshare page for the article. If a link is broken, the article may have been made private or removed by its author since it was scraped.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Figshare account or API key to use this scraper? | No. This Actor scrapes publicly available article feeds and does not require any login, account, or API key. |
| What item types can I filter by? | You can filter by Figure, Media, Dataset, Fileset, Poster, Paper, Preprint, Thesis, Code, Metadata, Presentation, Composition, or Function. A value of 0 returns all types. |
| How many articles can I scrape in one run? | You can set the maximum number of articles from 1 up to 1,000,000. The Actor will stop when it reaches your limit or when no more matching articles are found. |
| Can I scrape articles from a specific Figshare institution portal? | Yes. Use the keyword search field to enter the institution's name. The Actor will search across all public Figshare articles and return those matching your query. |
| What data fields are returned for each article? | Each article row includes the title, DOI, authors, publication date, item type, description, and download links, among other metadata fields. The exact fields are shown in the sample output on the Actor's page. |
| Is this scraper suitable for a systematic review? | Yes. It is designed to collect a large, structured corpus of article metadata by keyword and type, which is the first step in screening literature for a systematic review. |
| What export formats are supported? | You can export your results in JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML formats directly from the Apify dataset. |
| Can I search for a specific DOI? | You can enter the DOI or part of the title in the keyword search field. The Actor will return articles whose metadata matches that text. |
| Does this Actor download the full article PDF or dataset files? | No. This Actor scrapes the article metadata and provides the public download links. It does not download the actual files. |
| How is this different from the official Figshare API? | The official API requires authentication and pagination management. This Actor handles that for you and returns results in a flat, analysis-ready format without any setup. |
| Can I run this on a schedule? | Yes. You can set up an Apify schedule to run the Actor daily, weekly, or at any custom interval to monitor for new articles matching your search. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Figshare, LLC. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

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

How many articles to collect per run.

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

Optional free-text search.

## `itemType` (type: `integer`):

Filter by Figshare item type. 0=Any, 1=Figure, 2=Media, 3=Dataset, 4=Fileset, 5=Poster, 6=Paper, 7=Preprint, 8=Thesis, 9=Code, 10=Metadata, 11=Presentation, 12=Composition, 13=Function.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "search": "",
    "itemType": 0
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/figshare-articles-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 = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "search": "",
    "itemType": 0,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/figshare-articles-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 '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "search": "",
  "itemType": 0
}' |
apify call parseforge/figshare-articles-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/figshare-articles-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/ZxmYP8cHOJye2neS0/builds/tcxhl8qZeo9poJFnu/openapi.json