# Kaggle Datasets Scraper (`parseforge/kaggle-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Kaggle dataset listings by search term, tag, file type, license, or size. Returns one flat row per dataset with title, URL, size, votes, and optional full description and version history.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/kaggle-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Developer tools, Education
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 11 total users, 4 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $9.00 / 1,000 dataset records

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?

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

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner-v4.webp)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Kaggle Datasets Scraper

**Scrape Kaggle datasets by search, tag, file type, or license, up to a million per run.** Every dataset comes with its title, URL, size, votes, and optional full description and version history. No API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Kaggle's official API needs an account, a key, and rate limits you. This reads the public dataset catalogue directly, filtered by search term, tag, file type, license, or size, and returns each match in one fixed schema. It works for market research, ML dataset discovery, and competitive analysis.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Kaggle for |
|---|---|
| Data scientists | Find ready-made datasets for model training and benchmarking |
| Market researchers | Track which public datasets companies and researchers publish |
| ML engineers | Build a pipeline of candidate datasets for a new project |
| Competitive analysts | Monitor dataset releases by topic, license, or file format |

### What it does

This Actor collects Kaggle dataset listings by search term, tag, file type, license, or size, and returns each one as a flat row.

- 🔎 **Search and filters:** free-text search plus tag, file type, license, and size range filters.
- 📊 **Sort orders:** hottest, most votes, recently updated, most active, or recently published.
- 📝 **Full descriptions:** optional fetch of the dataset detail page for long-form description, tags, and version history.
- 📦 **Flat output:** one row per dataset with title, URL, size, votes, and more, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

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

### What you can do with Kaggle data

**📈 Track dataset trends.**

A market researcher runs the scraper weekly with a tag like 'finance' and sortBy 'hottest' to see which datasets are gaining traction.

**🧠 Build a training data shortlist.**

An ML engineer searches for 'computer vision' with fileType 'csv' and minSize 1000000 to find candidate datasets for a new model.

**🔍 Monitor competitor data releases.**

A competitive analyst filters by license 'cc' and tag 'nlp' to track what open datasets competitors are publishing.

**📚 Audit dataset availability.**

A data governance lead runs a search for a specific term and includes full descriptions to review what data is publicly available.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Scrape Kaggle's public catalogue without registering an app or managing tokens |
| **Flexible filters** | Combine search, tag, file type, license, and size to narrow results |
| **Rich metadata** | Get title, URL, size, votes, and optional full description and version history |
| **Scalable** | Collect up to a million datasets per run |

### How it compares

This actor competes directly with the Kaggle Datasets Scraper, which also searches Kaggle's public dataset catalogue and returns metadata with optional full descriptions and version history.

| Feature | ParseForge | Kaggle Datasets Scraper |
|---|---|---|
| Search by keyword | Yes | Yes |
| Filter by tag | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by file type | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by license | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by size range | Yes | Not listed |
| Sort orders | Yes | Not listed |
| Full description and version history | Yes | Yes |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a search term, tag, file type, license, and size range, alone or together, and filters run as each dataset is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

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

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.012 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.20 |
| 1,000 results | $12.00 |
| 10,000 results | $120.00 |

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 [Kaggle Datasets Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/kaggle-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 Kaggle 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/kaggle-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 filters. If you set a search term, tag, file type, license, or size range that is too restrictive, no datasets may match. Try removing filters one by one to see which one is blocking results.

**Why is the run slow?**

The includeDescription option fetches each dataset's detail page, which adds one request per record. Disable it if you only need listing metadata, or reduce maxItems.

**Why are some fields null?**

Fields like description, tags, and versions are only populated when includeDescription is true. If it is false, those fields stay null by design.

**Can I scrape a specific dataset by URL?**

This scraper is designed for search and filter-based discovery, not direct URL scraping. Use the search term or tag to find the dataset you need.

**Why did I get fewer results than maxItems?**

The scraper returns all datasets that match your filters, up to maxItems. If there are fewer matches, you will get fewer results.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Kaggle account or API key? | No. The scraper reads Kaggle's public dataset catalogue directly, so no login or key is required. |
| Can I filter by file type or license? | Yes. Use the fileType and license inputs to restrict results to datasets containing CSV, JSON, SQLite, or BigQuery files, or shared under Creative Commons, GPL, Open Database, or other licenses. |
| What does the 'includeDescription' option do? | When enabled, the scraper fetches each dataset's detail page to populate the full description, tags, and version history. It costs one extra request per record, so disable it for faster runs if you only need the listing metadata. |
| How many datasets can I scrape in one run? | You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000. The actual number returned depends on how many datasets match your filters. |
| Can I sort the results? | Yes. Use sortBy to order by hottest, most votes, recently updated, most active, or recently published. |
| What is a tag slug? | Kaggle tags are short identifiers like 'classification', 'finance', or 'computer vision'. You can find valid slugs on Kaggle's datasets page. |
| Does the scraper download the dataset files? | No. It collects metadata about the datasets, not the files themselves. To download files, you would need a separate step. |
| Can I filter by dataset size? | Yes. Use minSize and maxSize to set a range on the dataset's total uncompressed size in bytes. |
| What output formats are supported? | The scraper returns data in Apify's standard formats: CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML. |
| Is this legal? | The scraper only reads publicly available information from Kaggle's catalogue. You are responsible for complying with Kaggle's terms of service and any applicable laws. |

### 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 Kaggle 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

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

Free-text query against dataset titles, descriptions, and tags. Leave blank to browse without a keyword (use sortBy / fileType to control discovery).

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

How many datasets to collect per run.

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

Order results by Kaggle's built-in sort orders.

## `fileType` (type: `string`):

Restrict results to datasets containing the chosen file format. 'all' returns every format.

## `license` (type: `string`):

Restrict results to datasets shared under the chosen license. 'all' returns every license.

## `tag` (type: `string`):

Filter by a Kaggle tag slug (for example: 'classification', 'finance', 'computer vision', 'nlp', 'health'). Leave blank for no tag filter. See https://www.kaggle.com/datasets for valid tag slugs.

## `minSize` (type: `integer`):

Lower bound on the dataset's total uncompressed size in bytes.

## `maxSize` (type: `integer`):

Upper bound on the dataset's total uncompressed size in bytes.

## `includeDescription` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch the dataset detail endpoint for each record to populate description, tags, and versions. When false, those fields stay null and the run is faster.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "sortBy": "hottest",
  "fileType": "all",
  "license": "all",
  "includeDescription": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `datasets` (type: `string`):

Complete dataset with every Kaggle dataset record and all metadata fields.

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Overview of Kaggle datasets with key fields displayed in a table.

# 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
};

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

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

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/kaggle-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/RLXl2LYq9nzycfAYL/builds/OzKsq5cSkQphS6eeh/openapi.json