# IndieHackers Scraper (`cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper`) Actor

Extract IndieHackers product data, founder stories, and revenue milestones without an API key. Perfect for market research, VC deal sourcing, and SaaS competitive analysis.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Web Data Labs](https://apify.com/cryptosignals) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 61 total users, 14 monthly users, 98.4% runs succeeded, 3 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## IndieHackers Scraper

**Breaking change in v2.0:** IndieHackers rebuilt their site and retired the search index this actor used. v2.0 scrapes the public server-rendered site instead. Lost versus v1: free-text `query` search, `numFollowers`, followers sorting, taxonomy fields (`verticals`, `revenueModels`, `funding`, `platforms`, `allTags`), real timestamps (`startDate`, `createdAt`, `publishedAt`), and `founderUserIds` (replaced by `founders[]` objects). Kept: name, tagline, description, url, websiteUrl, avatarUrl, monthlyRevenueUSD, twitterHandle, updatedAt, scrapedAt. New: `revenueIsExact`, `revenueUpdatedAt`, `postsCount`, `facebookUrl`, `claimed`, `categories[]`, `businessModels[]`, `founders[]` (username/name/role/avatar).

Extract the IndieHackers product catalog — self-reported monthly revenue, founders, taglines, categories — from the public site. No API key needed.

### What it does

Enumerates IndieHackers products two ways:

- **Listing mode (default):** scrapes the public `/products` directory slices — category, business model, revenue range, and four sort orders. Anonymous browsing is capped at roughly **18 products per filter combination** behind IndieHackers' signup wall. For the revenue sorts (`highest-revenue` / `lowest-revenue`) the site-wide slice is queried with a $10M/mo ceiling — claims above that can't be real anyway — so its 18 cards are the true revenue head rather than the usual troll-dominated mix. When `maxItems` needs more candidates than the head holds, the actor walks category top-18 slices in batches and **stops as soon as the pool covers the request** (a substring `query` filter still walks all of them — its match rate can't be estimated). If the delivered tail draws on a partial category walk, the run status says exactly what the ranking covers. Only products whose page carries a usable revenue figure are returned — implausible self-reported values (troll claims above $10M/mo) are skipped, not billed. Good for quick, fresh, filtered pulls.
- **Catalog mode** (`includeFullCatalog: true`): enumerates every product slug in the public IndieHackers sitemap (~30k products, ~8% dead) and scrapes each product page. This is the bulk-extraction path.

Each product page yields: name, tagline, description, website, avatar, self-reported monthly revenue (optionally the exact figure from the product's `/revenue` subpage), posts count, founders (username, name, role, avatar), twitter/facebook links, claimed flag, and the latest update date.

### Use cases

- **VCs & accelerators** — source bootstrapped SaaS deals with self-reported revenue traction
- **Market research** — map products by category or business model
- **Competitive analysis** — track competitors' reported revenue and update cadence
- **Lead lists** — build outreach lists of founders with public revenue

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `categories` | string\[] | Category filter (listing mode). Each category caps at ~18 results anonymously. |
| `businessModel` | string | `free`, `ads`, `commission`, `transactions`, or `subscriptions` (listing mode). |
| `minRevenue` | integer | Minimum self-reported monthly revenue (USD). Server-side in listing mode, post-parse in catalog mode. |
| `maxRevenue` | integer | Maximum monthly revenue (listing mode). |
| `sortBy` | string | `highest-revenue` (default), `lowest-revenue`, `recently-updated`, `recently-added`. |
| `includeFullCatalog` | boolean | Enumerate the full sitemap (~30k products) instead of listing slices. |
| `fetchExactRevenue` | boolean | Also fetch each product's `/revenue` subpage for the exact figure + last-updated date. 2 requests per product. |
| `maxItems` | integer | Max products to return. Default 100, max 30000. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Apify proxy settings. |

#### Legacy input mapping (v1 → v2)

Old inputs are accepted and mapped, with a warning in the run log:

| v1 input | v2 behavior |
|---|---|
| `query: "text"` | Post-fetch substring filter over name/tagline/description. Public search no longer exists upstream. |
| `sortBy: "newest"` | Mapped to `recently-added`. |
| `sortBy: "revenue"` | Mapped to `highest-revenue`. |
| `sortBy: "followers"` | Mapped to `highest-revenue` + warning — the followers metric is gone upstream. |
| `minRevenue`, `maxItems` | Unchanged. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "categories": ["ai", "productivity"],
  "minRevenue": 1000,
  "sortBy": "highest-revenue",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "fetchExactRevenue": true
}
```

### Output

Each item contains:

```json
{
  "productId": "nomad-list",
  "name": "Nomads.com",
  "tagline": "The best cities to live and work remotely for digital nomads",
  "description": "To accelerate the freedom of global movement enabled by remote work",
  "url": "https://www.indiehackers.com/product/nomad-list",
  "websiteUrl": "https://nomads.com",
  "avatarUrl": "https://storage.googleapis.com/indie-hackers.appspot.com/product-avatars/nomad-list/200x200.webp",
  "monthlyRevenueUSD": 35000,
  "revenueIsExact": true,
  "revenueUpdatedAt": "2024-05-07",
  "postsCount": 2,
  "twitterHandle": "levelsio",
  "facebookUrl": null,
  "founders": [{"username": "levelsio", "name": "Pieter Levels", "role": "Founder", "avatarUrl": "..."}],
  "claimed": false,
  "categories": ["travel"],
  "businessModels": [],
  "updatedAt": "2025-03-09",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-22T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Field notes:

- `monthlyRevenueUSD` — self-reported by founders; `null` when unreported or implausible (troll values above $10M/mo are rejected). Abbreviated on the product page (`$14K` → 14000, `$2.6MM` → 2600000); exact when `fetchExactRevenue` hits the `/revenue` subpage (`revenueIsExact: true`, plus `revenueUpdatedAt`). In revenue-sorted listing runs, products with no usable revenue figure are omitted entirely.
- `categories` / `businessModels` — populated only for products discovered through a filtered listing slice; product pages carry no taxonomy markup.
- `updatedAt` — latest milestone post date, not a record-modified timestamp.
- `claimed` — `false` when the page shows IndieHackers' "not been claimed" placeholder.
- v1 fields `numFollowers`, `startDate`, `createdAt`, `publishedAt`, `founderUserIds`, `verticals`, `revenueModels`, `funding`, `platforms`, `allTags` — **removed**; no public source exists.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: you only pay for product rows actually delivered to the dataset. No fixed cost, no compute charges. Dead product pages and filter misses are never billed.

### Reliability

The actor fails loudly instead of returning empty success when IndieHackers is unreachable, blocked, or the markup drifts — a run that can't reach the site ends FAILED, not SUCCEEDED-0. In catalog mode a named key-value store caches the sitemap inventory for 7 days.

### Notes

- Data comes from indiehackers.com public pages. Revenue is whatever founders voluntarily disclosed — many report nothing, and self-reported figures are unverified.
- Anonymous listing slices cap at ~18 products each; use `includeFullCatalog` for bulk extraction.
- Respect the data: don't spam founders or scrape for malicious purposes.

### ⭐ Leave a Review

If this actor saved you time, a quick [review on the Apify Store](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper) helps other developers find it. Takes 30 seconds and means a lot.

***

*Found this actor useful? [Leave a review](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper#reviews) - it helps a lot. Something broken? Report it on the [Issues tab](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper/issues).*

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Restrict to these IndieHackers categories (listing mode). Note: anonymous browsing is capped at ~18 products per category behind IndieHackers' signup wall.

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

Filter by business model (listing mode).

## `minRevenue` (type: `integer`):

Only products reporting at least this monthly revenue. In listing mode this is a server-side filter; in catalog mode it filters parsed results. 0 = no minimum.

## `maxRevenue` (type: `integer`):

Only products reporting at most this monthly revenue (listing mode). 0 = no maximum.

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

Listing-mode sort. In catalog mode only 'recently-updated' has an effect (sitemap lastmod). The 'legacy' values exist only for backwards compatibility with v1 callers and are mapped to the current sorts.

## `includeFullCatalog` (type: `boolean`):

Enumerate every product slug from the IndieHackers sitemap (~30k URLs, ~8% dead) instead of the capped listing. Required for bulk extraction.

## `fetchExactRevenue` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch each product's /revenue subpage for the exact self-reported figure and its last-updated date. Doubles requests per product.

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

Maximum number of products to return.

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

Apify proxy settings. Datacenter IPs worked in testing; residential fallback is automatic if Cloudflare blocks.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [],
  "businessModel": "",
  "minRevenue": 0,
  "maxRevenue": 0,
  "sortBy": "highest-revenue",
  "includeFullCatalog": false,
  "fetchExactRevenue": false,
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": []
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (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": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cryptosignals/indiehackers-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": 5 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cryptosignals/indiehackers-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": 5
}' |
apify call cryptosignals/indiehackers-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,cryptosignals/indiehackers-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/YbHw9fGcnLEgbpftn/builds/nHX5365ER6PdTpPi5/openapi.json