DataCite Metadata Scraper

DataCite Metadata Scraper

Scrape research metadata from DataCite by search term, repository, publisher, or resource type, up to a million records per run. Every record returns its DOI, title, creator, publisher, publication year, and full metadata. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

DataCite's API requires you to understand its complex query syntax and pagination logic, which slows down research discovery. This Actor reads the public DataCite REST API directly, letting you search by keyword, filter by repository like Zenodo or Dryad, or target a specific DOI, and returns each matching record in one consistent flat schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape DataCite for
Research data librarians	Harvesting metadata for all datasets published by their institution's repository this quarter.
Meta-scientists	Tracking the growth of dataset publications across different repositories and disciplines.
Data journalists	Finding openly available research data behind a news story by searching for related keywords.
Repository managers	Auditing their own repository's metadata completeness and consistency against DataCite's records.

What it does

This Actor collects DataCite metadata records by search query, repository, publisher, resource type, year, or specific DOI, and returns each one as a flat row.

• 🔍 Keyword search: Find DOIs by any search term, from broad topics like 'climate' to specific project names.
• 🏛️ Repository filter: Limit results to a specific repository such as Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare, Dataverse, PANGAEA, or OSF.
• 📄 Single DOI lookup: Fetch the complete metadata for one known Digital Object Identifier.
• 📊 Faceted filtering: Narrow results by publisher name, resource type (Dataset, Software, Article, etc.), and publication year.
• ↕️ Sort control: Order results by creation date, last update, or publication year, ascending or descending.

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

What you can do with DataCite data

📚 Build a research data catalog.

A university librarian runs the Actor with their repository ID and the current year to harvest all newly registered DOIs for the institutional data portal.

📈 Analyze open data trends.

A meta-science researcher searches for 'cancer genomics' across all repositories, filters by Dataset, and exports five years of records to chart publication growth.

🔎 Find data behind a paper.

A data journalist enters a specific DOI from a journal article to retrieve the underlying dataset's title, creators, and repository link for a fact-checking piece.

🛠️ Audit repository metadata.

A Dryad administrator filters by their repository ID and the Text resource type to check how many records are missing abstracts before a metadata cleanup sprint.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
Consistent flat schema	Nested DataCite metadata is flattened into one predictable row per record, ready for analysis.
No API key needed	Uses the public DataCite REST API with no registration, no OAuth, and no rate-limit headaches.
Bulk export ready	Download up to a million records directly to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML in one run.
Precision filtering	Combine repository, publisher, resource type, and year to zero in on exactly the records you need.

How it compares

This Actor offers faceted filtering by repository, publisher, resource type, and year, while the competitor focuses on a simpler keyword and DOI search.

Feature	ParseForge	DataCite DOI Scraper - Research Metadata Search
Keyword search	Yes	Yes
Single DOI lookup	Yes	Yes
Filter by repository	Yes	Not listed
Filter by publisher	Yes	Not listed
Filter by resource type	Yes	Not listed
Filter by publication year	Yes	Not listed
Sort order control	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a search term, a specific DOI, or a combination of repository, publisher, resource type, and year filters, and each filter is applied as the API is queried so only matching records reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "query": "climate"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "query": "climate"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.0075 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.75
1,000 results	$7.50
10,000 results	$75.00

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 DataCite Metadata 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 DataCite 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/datacite-metadata-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 is not too narrow, and that your filters do not conflict. For example, a repository filter combined with a publisher that does not deposit there will return zero records. Try broadening one filter at a time.

The Actor returns fewer records than my maxItems setting.

This is normal when the total number of matching records in DataCite is smaller than your limit. The Actor stops when it has exhausted all available results for your query.

My single DOI lookup returns an empty dataset.

Ensure the DOI is entered in the correct format, such as 10.5281/zenodo.1234567. If the DOI is valid but still returns nothing, it may not be indexed in DataCite or may be restricted.

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

The Actor respects DataCite's rate limits and paginates through results. For very large harvests, consider running it with a narrower filter or a smaller maxItems limit and chaining multiple runs.

Some records have missing fields in the output.

DataCite metadata completeness varies by repository and record. If a field like 'abstract' or 'subject' is empty, the original DOI registration did not include it. This is not an error in the Actor.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a DataCite API key or account?	No. This Actor uses the public DataCite REST API, which does not require authentication, registration, or an API key.
What metadata fields does each record include?	Each record returns the DOI, title, creator names, publisher, publication year, resource type, repository, and additional metadata such as descriptions and subjects, all flattened into a single row.
Can I search for a specific DOI?	Yes. Enter the full DOI in the DOI input field, and the Actor will fetch only that record, ignoring all other filters.
How many records can I collect in one run?	You can set the maximum records up to 1,000,000 per run. The Actor will stop when it reaches that limit or when no more matching records exist.
Which repositories can I filter by?	You can filter by Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare, Dataverse, PANGAEA, OSF, Zenodo.org, or the general DataCite repository.
What resource types are available?	The Actor supports filtering by Dataset, Software, Article, Text, Image, Video, Audio, Collection, Event, Physical Object, Service, and Other.
Can I combine filters, like repository and year?	Yes. All filters work together. For example, you can search for Dataverse datasets published in 2023 by a specific publisher.
How do I sort the results?	Use the Sort dropdown to order results by creation date, last update, or publication year, in either ascending or descending order.
What export formats are supported?	You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML directly from the Apify platform.
Is this Actor suitable for a full DataCite harvest?	Yes, but for a complete harvest of all DataCite records, run it with a broad search term and a high maxItems limit. Be mindful of the run time for very large sets.

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 DataCite e.V. 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.