# Product Hunt Scraper — RSS & GraphQL (`mattdef/producthunt-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Product Hunt products for startup research, product discovery, and market analysis. Free RSS mode (no auth) gets 50 latest products. GraphQL mode with developer token unlocks votes, topics, makers, rankings and more.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/mattdef/producthunt-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Matthieu Cast](https://apify.com/mattdef) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Lead generation
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 product scrapeds

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

### Product Hunt Scraper

Scrape Product Hunt products for startup research, product discovery, and market analysis.

#### Modes

| Mode | Auth | Data | Max Items | Best For |
|------|:----:|------|:---------:|----------|
| **RSS** (default) | ❌ None | Name, tagline, author, dates, URLs | 50 | Quick discovery, monitoring |
| **GraphQL** | ✅ Token | + votes, topics, website, makers, description | 500 | Deep analysis, lead gen |

#### Use Cases

- 🚀 **Startup discovery** — Find trending new products daily
- 📊 **Market research** — Analyze product categories and trends
- 🎯 **Lead generation** — Find makers and their contact info
- 📈 **Competitive analysis** — Track competitors' launches
- 🔍 **Deal sourcing** — Identify promising startups for acquisition

#### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Mode | Description |
|-----------|:----:|-------------|
| `mode` | All | `rss` (free) or `graphql` (requires token) |
| `developerToken` | GraphQL | Your PH developer token |
| `maxItems` | All | Max products to fetch (1-500) |
| `topic` | GraphQL | Filter by topic slug (e.g., `artificial-intelligence`) |
| `postedAfter` | GraphQL | Filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `postedBefore` | GraphQL | Filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `sortBy` | GraphQL | `VOTES`, `NEWEST`, `FEATURED_AT`, or `RANKING` |

#### Getting a Developer Token (GraphQL mode)

1. Go to https://www.producthunt.com/v2/oauth/applications
2. Create a new application
3. Copy your developer token
4. Paste it in the `developerToken` field

#### Output

Each product contains:

**RSS mode:**

```json
{
  "id": "1187442",
  "name": "Pennen",
  "tagline": "One quiet handwritten page a day. No feed, no AI.",
  "slug": "pennen",
  "author": "Ishaan Rawat",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-03T14:30:43-07:00",
  "url": "https://www.producthunt.com/products/pennen",
  "source": "rss"
}
```

**GraphQL mode (additional fields):**

```json
{
  "votesCount": 42,
  "commentsCount": 12,
  "reviewsCount": 3,
  "reviewsRating": 4.5,
  "website": "https://pennen.app",
  "dailyRank": 1,
  "weeklyRank": 5,
  "monthlyRank": 23,
  "yearlyRank": 156,
  "topics": [{"name": "Productivity", "slug": "productivity"}],
  "makers": [{"name": "John", "username": "john", "headline": "Builder", "twitterUsername": "john", "followersCount": 1200, "websiteUrl": "https://john.dev"}],
  "thumbnail": {"url": "...", "type": "image"},
  "description": "Full product description...",
  "source": "graphql"
}
```

#### Technical Details

- **RSS mode**: Uses ProductHunt's public Atom feed (no authentication required)
- **GraphQL mode**: Uses ProductHunt's official GraphQL API v2
- **No browser automation**: Direct HTTP requests, fast and reliable
- **Rate limiting**: Built-in delays between paginated requests

#### Limitations

- RSS mode: Limited to 50 latest products, no vote counts
- GraphQL mode: Requires developer token, rate-limited by ProductHunt
- ProductHunt API must not be used for commercial purposes without permission

# Actor input Schema

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

RSS mode works without authentication. GraphQL mode requires a developer token and provides enriched data (votes, topics, website).

## `developerToken` (type: `string`):

Your Product Hunt developer token. Get one at https://www.producthunt.com/v2/oauth/applications. Only required for GraphQL mode.

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

Maximum number of products to fetch. RSS mode: max 50 (latest products). GraphQL mode: up to 500.

## `topic` (type: `string`):

Filter products by topic slug. Examples: artificial-intelligence, saas, developer-tools, productivity, design. Leave empty for all topics.

## `postedAfter` (type: `string`):

Only fetch products posted after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty for no filter.

## `postedBefore` (type: `string`):

Only fetch products posted before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave empty for no filter.

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

How to sort results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "rss",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "sortBy": "VOTES"
}
```

# 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("mattdef/producthunt-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("mattdef/producthunt-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 mattdef/producthunt-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,mattdef/producthunt-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/kzcld8x7GTGpHQAwj/builds/DBv4f0yw5hXQkpPfl/openapi.json