# Stack Overflow Questions Scraper (`lulzasaur/stackoverflow-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Stack Overflow questions via the SE API. Search by keyword or tag, fetch by ID. Get scores, answers, views, tags, owner info, and full question bodies.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/stackoverflow-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 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

## Stack Overflow Questions Scraper

Scrape Stack Overflow questions and answers via the official Stack Exchange API v2.3. Search by keyword, filter by tag, or fetch specific question IDs. Extract scores, answer counts, view counts, tags, owner info, and full HTML question bodies.

### Modes

| Mode | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `search` | Search questions by keyword and/or tag |
| `questions` | Fetch specific questions by their numeric IDs |

### Output Fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `questionId` | Numeric question ID |
| `title` | Question title |
| `body` | Full question body (HTML) |
| `tags` | Array of tag strings |
| `score` | Net upvotes minus downvotes |
| `answerCount` | Number of answers |
| `viewCount` | Total views |
| `isAnswered` | Whether question has an accepted or upvoted answer |
| `acceptedAnswerId` | ID of accepted answer (if any) |
| `owner` | Object with `name`, `reputation`, `link` |
| `creationDate` | ISO timestamp when question was created |
| `lastActivityDate` | ISO timestamp of last activity |
| `link` | Direct URL to the question |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp of scrape |

### Input Options

- **Mode**: `search` or `questions`
- **Search Queries**: Keywords to search (e.g. "python async", "react hooks")
- **Tags**: Filter by SO tags (e.g. "javascript", "python")
- **Question IDs**: Specific question IDs to fetch (e.g. "11227809")
- **Sort By**: `relevance`, `votes`, `creation`, or `activity`
- **Max Results**: Up to 500 per query
- **Proxy**: Optional proxy configuration

### Example Output

```json
{
  "questionId": 11227809,
  "title": "Why is processing a sorted array faster than processing an unsorted array?",
  "body": "<p>Here is a piece of C++ code...</p>",
  "tags": ["java", "c++", "performance", "cpu-architecture", "branch-prediction"],
  "score": 27145,
  "answerCount": 26,
  "viewCount": 1621534,
  "isAnswered": true,
  "acceptedAnswerId": 11227902,
  "owner": {
    "name": "GManNickG",
    "reputation": 503000,
    "link": "https://stackoverflow.com/users/87234"
  },
  "creationDate": "2012-06-27T13:51:36.000Z",
  "lastActivityDate": "2026-04-20T10:00:00.000Z",
  "link": "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11227809",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-04-26T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Use Cases

- **Research**: Find top questions by technology or topic
- **Trend Analysis**: Track which tags and topics are most active
- **Knowledge Base**: Build datasets of Q\&A content for training or reference
- **Competitor Analysis**: Monitor questions about specific libraries or frameworks
- **Developer Insights**: Analyze reputation, voting patterns, and answer rates

### Notes

- Uses the public Stack Exchange API v2.3 (no auth required)
- API quota: 300 requests/day per IP (sufficient for most use cases)
- Responses are automatically decompressed (gzip)
- Results are deduplicated by question ID across multiple queries

***

### Run on Apify

This scraper runs on the [Apify platform](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur) — a full-stack web scraping and automation cloud. Sign up for a free account to get started with 30-day trial of all features.

[Try Apify free ->](https://apify.com/?fpr=lulzasaur)

# Actor input Schema

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

Choose 'search' to search questions by keyword/tag, or 'questions' to fetch specific question IDs.

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

Keywords to search for (mode=search). E.g. 'python async', 'react hooks'.

## `tags` (type: `array`):

Filter by Stack Overflow tags (mode=search). E.g. 'python', 'javascript'.

## `questionIds` (type: `array`):

Specific question IDs to fetch (mode=questions). E.g. '11227809'.

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

Sort order for search results.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of questions to return per query.

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

Optional proxy to use.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "searchQueries": [
    "javascript async await"
  ],
  "tags": [],
  "questionIds": [],
  "sort": "relevance",
  "limit": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `csv` (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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/stackoverflow-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 = {}

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

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lulzasaur/stackoverflow-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/KVVsPzZ8wvzQYtQ0d/builds/PI4kCx2XC0urhDiss/openapi.json