ParseForge
BitMEX Instruments Scraper
parseforge/bitmex-instruments-scraper
BusinessDeveloper toolsAutomation
Scrapes BitMEX instruments by type and quote currency. Returns each instrument as a flat row with symbol, type, volume, open interest, and last price.
- Total users
- 1
- Monthly active
- 0
- Total runs
- 114
- Bookmarked
- 0
- Rating
- Not rated yet
- Last modified
- 12 days ago
Overview
BitMEX Instruments Scraper
Scrape BitMEX instruments, perpetual swaps, futures, and spot pairs, up to a million per run. Every instrument comes with its symbol, type, quote currency, volume, open interest, and last price. No API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
BitMEX's official API needs authentication and rate limits you. This reads the public instrument list directly, filtered by type and quote currency, sorted by volume, open interest, or price, and returns each match in one fixed schema.
| Who uses it | What they scrape BitMEX for |
|---|---|
| Crypto traders | Which perpetual swaps have the highest open interest right now |
| Market analysts | How futures volume compares across USD and USDT pairs |
| Quant researchers | A clean dataset of all active instruments for backtesting |
| Risk managers | Which spot pairs are most liquid for hedging |
What it does
This Actor collects BitMEX instruments by type and quote currency, and returns each one as a flat row.
- 🔍 Type filter: perpetual swaps, futures, or spot, or all at once.
- 💱 Quote currency filter: USD or USDT, or all pairs.
- 📊 Sorting: by 24h volume, open interest, last price, or symbol.
- 📦 Bulk export: up to 1,000,000 instruments per run to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with BitMEX data
📈 Track market activity.
A trader runs the Actor daily with type=perpetual and sortBy=volume24h to see which swaps are most active.
🔎 Compare quote currencies.
An analyst filters by USD and USDT separately to compare futures liquidity across the two.
🧪 Build a research dataset.
A quant collects all spot instruments sorted by symbol for a clean backtesting universe.
⚠️ Monitor open interest.
A risk manager sorts by openInterest to spot crowded trades in perpetual swaps.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| No API key | Public data, no registration or authentication |
| Flexible filters | Type and quote currency, alone or together |
| Sorted output | By volume, open interest, price, or symbol |
| Fixed schema | Every instrument in the same flat row |
How it compares
No other Store actor targets BitMEX the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.
| BitMEX Instruments Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When BitMEX changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor from instrument type and quote currency filters, and sorting runs as instruments are read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"maxItems": 10,
"sortBy": "volume24h"
}
A larger pull:
{
"maxItems": 200,
"sortBy": "volume24h"
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.034 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $3.40 |
| 1,000 results | $34.00 |
| 10,000 results | $340.00 |
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
- Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
- Open the BitMEX Instruments Scraper.
- Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
- 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 BitMEX 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/bitmex-instruments-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 instrumentType to spot but there are no spot instruments with the selected quote currency, the result will be empty. Try clearing filters or setting maxItems higher.
Why is the output missing some fields?
The Actor returns all fields for each instrument. If a field is empty, it may not be applicable to that instrument type. For example, open interest may be zero for some spot pairs.
Can I get more than 1,000,000 instruments?
The maximum is 1,000,000 per run. If you need more, split your request by type or quote currency and run multiple times.
Why does sorting by volume not match the website?
The Actor sorts by the 24h volume field from the public API. The website may use a different time window or display format.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is an instrument on BitMEX? | An instrument is a tradable contract, such as a perpetual swap, futures contract, or spot pair. Each has a symbol like XBTUSD. |
| Do I need a BitMEX API key? | No. This Actor reads the public instrument list, so no authentication or API key is required. |
| Can I filter by quote currency? | Yes. Use the quoteCurrency input to select USD, USDT, or all. |
| How many instruments can I collect? | Up to 1,000,000 per run, controlled by the maxItems input. |
| Can I sort the results? | Yes. Sort by 24h volume, open interest, last price, or symbol. |
| What export formats are supported? | CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML. |
| Does this include delisted instruments? | No. Only currently active instruments are returned. |
| Is the data real-time? | The Actor fetches the latest public data at the time of the run. It does not stream live updates. |
| Can I schedule this Actor? | Yes. Use Apify's scheduler to run it hourly, daily, or on any cron schedule. |
| What is the difference between perpetual and futures? | Perpetual swaps have no expiry date, while futures contracts expire at a set date. Both are returned by this Actor. |
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 HDR Global Trading Limited. 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.
Input
| Field | Type | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| instrumentType | string (4 options) | Filter instruments by type. Leave empty for all. | not set |
| quoteCurrency | string (3 options) | Filter pairs by quote currency. Leave empty for all. | not set |
| maxItems | integer | How many instruments to collect per run. | 10 |
| sortBy | string (4 options) | Sort results by this field | volume24h |
Pricing
from $25.50 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| result | Single result in the default dataset. | $0.0255 to $0.034 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~bitmex-instruments-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"helloWorld": 123
}' Examples
Input that runs as-is.
{
"helloWorld": 123
} Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first.
Issues
We build and maintain this scraper, so a problem with it comes to us. Report it on the Apify listing and the thread stays attached to the scraper where the next person can find it: open an issue.
Broken and urgent, or you would rather not post in public? Write to parseforge@protonmail.com and it reaches the people who wrote it.