DBLP Publications Scraper

DBLP Publications Scraper

Scrape DBLP computer science publications by author, title, or keyword, up to a million per run. Each publication comes with its title, authors, venue, year, and DOI. No API key or login. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

DBLP is the largest open bibliography of computer science, with millions of papers from journals, conferences, and workshops. This Actor searches DBLP by author, title, or keyword and returns each matching publication as a flat row, ready for analysis. No API key, no login, no rate limits.

Who uses it	What they scrape DBLP for
Academic researchers	Build a literature review dataset for a specific topic or author
Data scientists	Analyze publication trends across venues and years
Librarians	Compile bibliographies for computer science courses
Recruiters	Find authors with expertise in a niche area

What it does

This Actor collects DBLP publications matching a search query and returns each one as a flat row with title, authors, venue, year, and DOI.

• 🔍 Search by query: author name, title fragment, or keyword like "deep learning" or "quantum computing".
• 📄 Flat row output: each publication is one row with title, authors, venue, year, and DOI.
• 📊 Bulk collection: set maximum publications up to 1,000,000 per run.
• 💾 Multiple export formats: CSV, JSON, Excel, and XML.

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

What you can do with DBLP data

📚 Build a literature review dataset.

A PhD student enters a research topic like "graph neural networks" and collects all matching publications to identify key papers and authors.

📈 Analyze publication trends.

A data scientist scrapes publications for a set of keywords over several years to track the rise and fall of research areas.

👥 Find experts in a niche.

A recruiter searches for an author name or a specialized keyword to locate researchers with the right expertise.

🗂️ Compile a bibliography.

A librarian collects all publications from a specific venue or author to create a reading list for a course.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	DBLP's public search is used directly, so you don't need to register or authenticate.
Structured data	Every publication is returned as a flat row with consistent fields, ready for spreadsheets or databases.
Scalable	Collect up to a million publications per run, enough for large-scale bibliometric studies.
Flexible query	Search by author, title, or keyword to target exactly the publications you need.

How it compares

This Actor focuses on searching DBLP publications by a single query and returning a flat list, while the competitors below offer additional features like scraping authors and venues separately.

Feature	ParseForge	DBLP Scraper - Publications, Authors & Venues	DBLP Computer Science Publication Search
Search by keyword	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search by author	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search by title	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Scrape authors separately	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Scrape venues separately	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Filter by year	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Filter by venue	Not listed	Not listed	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a single search query and a maximum number of publications. The query can be an author name, a title fragment, or a keyword, and the Actor returns the most relevant matches from DBLP. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "query": "deep learning",
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "query": "deep learning",
 "maxItems": 200
}

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 DBLP Publications 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 DBLP 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/dblp-publications-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 query for typos or try a broader term. DBLP's search may not return results for very specific phrases. Also ensure that the query is not empty.

Why did the run stop before reaching my maximum?

The Actor stops when there are no more matching publications on DBLP. If you expected more results, try a different query or a broader keyword.

Can I search for multiple authors at once?

No, the Actor accepts a single query string. To search for multiple authors, run the Actor multiple times with different queries or use a comma-separated list if DBLP supports it.

Why are some fields empty in the output?

DBLP may not have complete metadata for every publication. For example, some older papers may lack a DOI. Empty fields are normal and reflect the source data.

How do I get more than 1,000,000 publications?

The maximum is 1,000,000 per run. If you need more, you can split your query into smaller chunks, for example by year or venue, and run the Actor multiple times.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is DBLP?	DBLP is the largest open bibliography of computer science publications, indexing millions of papers from journals, conferences, and workshops. It is maintained by Schloss Dagstuhl and is free to use.
Do I need an API key or login?	No. This Actor uses DBLP's public search interface directly, so you don't need to register or authenticate.
What can I search for?	You can search by author name, title fragment, or keyword. For example, "deep learning", "quantum computing", or "Alan Turing".
How many publications can I collect?	You can set the maximum publications per run from 1 up to 1,000,000. The Actor will stop when it reaches that number or when there are no more matches.
What data do I get for each publication?	Each publication is returned as a flat row with fields like title, authors, venue, year, and DOI. The exact fields are shown in the sample output.
Can I export the results?	Yes, you can export the dataset in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML format from the Apify platform.
Is this Actor free?	The Actor itself is free to use on Apify. You only pay for the platform usage if you exceed the free tier limits.
How do I run this Actor?	You can run it from the Apify console by entering a query and a maximum number of publications, or you can call it via the API.
Can I schedule this Actor to run regularly?	Yes, you can set up a schedule in Apify to run the Actor at intervals, for example daily or weekly, to keep your dataset up to date.
What is the difference between this Actor and the DBLP Scraper by logiover?	This Actor focuses on searching publications by a single query and returning a flat list. The other Actor may offer additional features like scraping authors and venues separately. Check the feature comparison table for details.

🆘 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 Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for Informatics. 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.