data.gov.uk Datasets Scraper

data.gov.uk Datasets Scraper

Scrape UK government datasets from data.gov.uk by search term, topic, publisher, or format, up to a million per run. Every dataset comes with its title, description, publisher, licence, and direct file links. No API key or registration. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Finding open data from the UK government means browsing data.gov.uk page by page, or writing code against the CKAN API. This Actor reads the public dataset listings directly. Feed it a search term, a topic like Health or Transport, a publisher name, or a file format, and it returns matching datasets in one fixed schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape data.gov.uk for
Open data researchers	Build a catalogue of all CSV datasets published by a specific government department.
Policy analysts	Monitor newly published datasets on a topic like Crime and justice for weekly reports.
Data journalists	Find machine-readable data on government spending to support an investigation.
Commercial data teams	Pull all GEOJSON mapping files from UK public bodies into a single inventory.

What it does

This Actor collects dataset listings from data.gov.uk by search query, topic, publisher, format, or direct URL, and returns each one as a flat row.

• 🔍 Search by keyword: Filter datasets with a free-text search term like 'economics' or 'air quality'.
• 🏛️ Filter by publisher: Narrow results to a specific organisation, such as 'Office for National Statistics'.
• 📂 Filter by topic: Select from official categories including Health, Education, Environment, and Transport.
• 📄 Filter by format: Request only CSV, JSON, GEOJSON, ZIP, or other specific file types.
• 📜 Licence filter: Restrict results to datasets with an Open Government Licence (OGL) only.
• 🔄 Sort order: Retrieve results by relevance or by most recently updated.

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

What you can do with data.gov.uk data

📊 Build a departmental data inventory.

A government analyst runs the Actor with publisher set to 'Department for Transport' and format set to 'CSV' to list every machine-readable dataset their department offers.

📰 Feed a newsroom data pipeline.

A data journalist scrapes all datasets under the 'Government spending' topic weekly, sorted by recency, to spot new transparency releases.

🗺️ Collect UK geospatial data.

A GIS specialist filters by format 'GEOJSON' and 'SHP' across all topics to maintain a master index of UK public mapping data.

📈 Track open data publication trends.

A researcher runs the Actor monthly with no filters, capturing the full catalogue to measure how many datasets each publisher adds over time.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key needed	Reads the public data.gov.uk search pages, no registration or OAuth.
Fixed flat schema	Every dataset row has the same columns, ready for analysis or a database.
Bulk extraction	Pull up to a million datasets in one run on a paid plan.
OGL-aware	Option to keep only datasets with the permissive Open Government Licence.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on data.gov.uk with native topic, publisher, and format filters, while the alternatives below either target different sources or offer broader CKAN portal support.

Feature	ParseForge	Data.gov.uk Scraper - Low-cost	CKAN Open Data Scraper
Native data.gov.uk topic filter	Yes, 11 official topics	Not listed	Not listed
Publisher name filter	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
File format filter (CSV, JSON, GEOJSON, etc.)	Yes, 14 formats	Not listed	Not listed
Open Government Licence (OGL) filter	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Scrapes any CKAN portal beyond data.gov.uk	No, data.gov.uk only	Not listed	Yes
Direct dataset URL input	Yes	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a direct data.gov.uk URL or from search filters like topic, publisher, and format, 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:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "searchQuery": "economics",
  "sort": "best"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "searchQuery": "economics",
  "sort": "best"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.075 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$7.50
1,000 results	$75.00
10,000 results	$750.00

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 data.gov.uk Datasets 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 data.gov.uk 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/data-gov-uk-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 term or publisher name is spelled exactly as it appears on data.gov.uk. Also, try broadening your filters: remove the format or topic filter to see if any datasets match the remaining criteria.

The Actor stops after 10 datasets but I need more.

Free Apify accounts have a limit of 10 items per run. Upgrade to a paid plan and increase the maxItems setting to continue scraping up to 1,000,000 datasets.

I pasted a startUrl but the Actor is ignoring my search filters.

The startUrl and the search filters are mutually exclusive. If you provide a startUrl, the Actor scrapes that URL directly and ignores searchQuery, publisher, topic, and format. Clear the startUrl field to use filters.

The OGL filter is not returning any datasets.

Not all datasets on data.gov.uk carry the Open Government Licence. Try running without the OGL filter first to see what licences are available, then re-run with the filter if OGL datasets exist for your query.

Some datasets show a format I did not filter for.

A single dataset listing can contain multiple resources in different formats. The Actor returns the dataset if any of its resources match your format filter.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key for data.gov.uk?	No. This Actor reads the public search and listing pages. You do not need to register an application or obtain a key.
Can I scrape a specific publisher's datasets?	Yes. Use the Publisher filter and enter the exact name, for example 'Office for National Statistics'. The Actor will return only datasets from that organisation.
What file formats can I filter by?	You can filter by CSV, ESRI REST, GEOJSON, HTML, JSON, KML, PDF, SHP, WFS, WMS, XLS, XML, ZIP, or Other. Leave the filter empty to get all formats.
How do I get only datasets with an Open Government Licence?	Check the 'Open Government Licence (OGL) Only' box in the input. The Actor will drop any dataset that does not carry the OGL.
Can I scrape a single dataset page instead of search results?	Yes. Paste the full data.gov.uk dataset URL into the startUrl field. The Actor will extract that one dataset's metadata.
What is the maximum number of datasets I can scrape?	Free Apify users are limited to 10 datasets per run. Paid users can set maxItems up to 1,000,000.
Does this Actor download the actual data files?	No. It scrapes the dataset listings and returns the metadata plus the direct download URLs. You can use those URLs in another step to fetch the files.
Can I sort results by the most recently updated datasets?	Yes. Set the Sort By option to 'recent'. The default is 'best', which sorts by relevance to your search term.
What topics are available in the filter?	The full list is Business and economy, Crime and justice, Education, Environment, Government, Government spending, Health, Mapping, Society, Towns and cities, and Transport.
Can I combine a search term with a topic filter?	Yes. You can set a searchQuery and a topic at the same time. The Actor will return datasets that match both conditions.

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 data.gov.uk. 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.