Arch Linux Official Packages Scraper

Arch Linux Official Packages Scraper

Scrape Arch Linux official packages by name, keyword, or repository, up to a million per run. Every package comes with its version, description, dependencies, and upstream URL. No API key or authentication. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Arch Linux's package search on the web is built for humans, not for bulk analysis. This Actor reads the official package database directly, letting you pull structured data on every package in core, extra, or multilib, filtered by a search keyword or a single repository. You get a clean dataset of package metadata without writing a single line of code.

Who uses it	What they scrape Arch Linux Official Packages for
Linux system administrators	Audit which packages are available in the official repos before a system upgrade.
DevOps engineers	Build a dependency graph of official packages for container image hardening.
Security researchers	Track package versions across repositories to identify outdated or vulnerable software.
Software packagers	Check naming conventions and dependencies of existing official packages before submitting a new one.

What it does

This Actor collects Arch Linux official packages by search query or repository and returns each one as a flat row with its version, description, and upstream details.

• 🔍 Search by keyword: find every package whose name or description matches a term like firefox, linux, or gcc.
• 📦 Filter by repository: limit results to core, extra, multilib, or their testing counterparts.
• 📊 Structured output: each row is a flat record with version, description, upstream URL, and dependencies, ready for analysis.

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

What you can do with Arch Linux Official Packages data

📋 Audit repository contents.

A sysadmin runs the Actor with repo set to core to get a full list of packages and their versions before planning a server update.

🔗 Map package dependencies.

A DevOps engineer scrapes all packages in extra and feeds the dependency lists into a graph database to identify shared libraries.

🛡️ Monitor for outdated software.

A security researcher runs the Actor weekly with a keyword like kernel and compares the returned versions against known CVE databases.

📝 Research packaging conventions.

A packager searches for python- packages to see how existing official packages structure their PKGBUILD metadata before writing a new one.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Reads the public package index directly, no registration or authentication.
Fixed schema	Every package returns the same fields, so your downstream scripts never break.
Bulk collection	Pull up to a million packages in a single run for large-scale analysis.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on the official Arch Linux repositories, while the AUR Scraper covers community-maintained packages. The ConanCenter Scraper targets a different package ecosystem entirely.

Feature	ParseForge	AUR Scraper	ConanCenter Scraper
Official Arch Linux repositories (core, extra, multilib)	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Filter by repository	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Package version and description	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dependency lists	Yes	Not listed	Yes
Upstream URL	Yes	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a package name keyword, a repository filter, or both together, and set a maximum number of packages so only the records you need land in your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "searchQuery": "firefox",
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "searchQuery": "firefox",
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

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 to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Arch Linux Official Packages Scraper.
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 (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Arch Linux Official Packages through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/archlinux-packages-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 your search query matches a real package name or keyword. If you are filtering by repository, try setting it to All Repositories first to confirm the package exists.

The Actor returns fewer packages than I expected.

Make sure maxItems is set high enough. If you are using a repository filter, that repository may have fewer packages than you estimated.

Some packages are missing their upstream URL.

Not every package in the official repositories lists an upstream URL. The field will be empty when the Arch Linux maintainers have not provided one.

The run takes a long time for a large maxItems value.

Collecting hundreds of thousands of packages requires many page reads. Reduce maxItems or narrow your search query to speed up the run.

I see a package in the web search but the Actor did not find it.

Confirm you are searching the same repository. The web search may include the AUR or other sources that this Actor does not cover.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Does this scrape the AUR or only the official repositories?	This Actor scrapes only the official Arch Linux repositories: core, extra, multilib, and their testing variants. For the Arch User Repository, use a dedicated AUR scraper.
What fields does each package row contain?	Each row includes the package name, version, description, repository, upstream URL, and dependency information. The exact field list is shown in the sample output on the Actor's page.
Can I search for multiple keywords at once?	The search query input accepts a single keyword or package name. To collect packages for multiple terms, run the Actor once per term and merge the datasets.
How do I get every package from a single repository?	Leave the search query empty, select the repository you want from the dropdown, and set maxItems high enough to cover the repository's package count.
Does this Actor require an Arch Linux system to run?	No. It runs entirely on the Apify platform and reads the public web interface of the Arch Linux package database.
What output formats are supported?	You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify console or via the API.
Is there a rate limit I should worry about?	The Actor reads the official package index at a respectful pace. If you need millions of records, the platform handles the pacing automatically.
Can I schedule this to run daily?	Yes. Use Apify's built-in scheduler to run the Actor on a cron expression and get fresh package data as the repositories update.
Does it return package sizes or install footprints?	The Actor returns the metadata available on the package search page. If the web interface shows installed size, it will appear in the output; otherwise it is not available.
What is the difference between core, extra, and multilib?	Core contains packages required for a base Arch Linux system. Extra holds everything else officially supported. Multilib provides 32-bit libraries for 64-bit systems.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection 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 Arch Linux. 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.