# GitHub Issues Scraper (`parseforge/github-issues-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes GitHub Issues from any public repository URL. Returns each issue as a flat row with title, state, labels, assignee, body text, and timestamps. No API key required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/github-issues-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.62 / 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)

### GitHub Issues Scraper

**Scrape GitHub issues from any public repository, up to a million per run.** Each issue comes with its title, body, state, labels, author, and timestamps. No API token required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

GitHub's official API needs authentication, rate limits, and pagination code. This reads the public issues page directly, so you get a clean dataset of GitHub issues from any repository URL. Filter by state, label, or author, and export the results in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape GitHub for |
|---|---|
| Open source maintainers | Which issues are most active or stale in their repository |
| Product managers | What users are requesting or complaining about in a competitor's repo |
| Data analysts | Trends in issue volume, labels, or authors over time |
| Researchers | A dataset of issue text for NLP or community health studies |

### What it does

This Actor collects GitHub issues from a repository URL and returns each issue as a flat row.

- 🔗 **Repository URL input:** paste any public GitHub issues page, like https://github.com/facebook/react/issues
- 📊 **Flat row output:** every issue becomes one row with title, body, state, labels, author, and timestamps
- 📦 **Export formats:** download as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML
- ⚡ **High volume:** paid users can scrape up to 1,000,000 issues per run

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

### What you can do with GitHub data

**📈 Track issue trends.**

A product manager scrapes a competitor's repository weekly to see which feature requests are gaining traction.

**🧹 Clean up stale issues.**

A maintainer exports all open issues, sorts by last update, and closes ones that have been inactive for a year.

**📊 Analyze community health.**

A researcher collects issue text and labels from several repos to measure response times and sentiment.

**🔍 Find bug reports.**

A developer scrapes issues with the 'bug' label to build a prioritized fix list.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API token** | Scrape public issues without registering an app or dealing with rate limits |
| **One fixed schema** | Every issue comes back with the same fields, ready for analysis |
| **Export anywhere** | CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for your existing workflow |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets GitHub the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | GitHub Issues Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When GitHub changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a single repository URL and set the maximum number of issues to return. The scraper reads the public issues page and returns each issue as a flat row. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.004 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.40 |
| 1,000 results | $4.00 |
| 10,000 results | $40.00 |

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 [GitHub Issues Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/github-issues-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 GitHub 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/github-issues-scraper"
```

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

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that the repository URL is correct and points to a public issues page, like https://github.com/facebook/react/issues. Also ensure the repository has at least one issue.

**Why did the run stop at 10 items?**

Free users are limited to 10 items as a preview. Upgrade to a paid plan to scrape more, up to 1,000,000 issues.

**Why are some issues missing?**

The scraper reads the public issues page, which may not include pull requests. If you need pull requests, use a different tool or the GitHub API.

**Why is the run slow?**

Scraping many issues takes time because the Actor respects GitHub's rate limits. Reduce maxItems or run during off-peak hours.

**Can I scrape issues from a specific label only?**

Not yet. The current input only accepts a repository URL. You can filter the exported dataset by label after the run.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a GitHub API token? | No. This Actor reads the public issues page directly, so no authentication is required. |
| Can I scrape private repositories? | No, only public repositories are supported. Private repos require authentication that this Actor does not handle. |
| What is the maximum number of issues I can scrape? | Free users are limited to 10 issues as a preview. Paid users can scrape up to 1,000,000 issues per run. |
| What data does each issue include? | Each issue row includes the title, body, state, labels, author, and timestamps. The exact fields are shown in the sample output. |
| Can I filter issues by label or author? | The current input only accepts a repository URL and a maximum item count. Filtering by label or author is not yet supported. |
| How do I export the data? | After the run finishes, you can download the dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform. |
| Does this work with GitHub Enterprise? | No, it only works with public repositories on github.com. |
| Can I schedule regular scrapes? | Yes, you can set up a schedule in Apify to run this Actor daily, weekly, or at any interval. |
| What if the repository has more issues than my maxItems? | The Actor will stop after reaching the maxItems limit. If you need more, increase the limit up to 1,000,000 for paid users. |
| Is this an official GitHub tool? | No, this is a third-party scraper built on the Apify platform. It is not affiliated with GitHub, Inc. |

### 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 GitHub, Inc. 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

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

URL of the GitHub repository issues page (e.g., https://github.com/facebook/react/issues)

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

Free users: Limited to 10 items (preview). Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Complete dataset of all scraped records.

# 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 = {
    "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/github-issues-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 = {
    "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/github-issues-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 '{
  "repositoryUrl": "https://github.com/facebook/react/issues",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/github-issues-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/github-issues-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/oHtlyfnPgf3bhYWM7/builds/rDALUSbKqQ40nZ0iE/openapi.json