ParseForge
Figshare Research Data Scraper
parseforge/figshare-scraper
OtherEducationAutomation
Scrapes Figshare research items by search, category, institution, or date. Returns title, authors, DOI, downloads, and publication date for each item.
- Total users
- 1
- Monthly active
- 0
- Total runs
- 123
- Bookmarked
- 0
- Rating
- Not rated yet
- Last modified
- 9 days ago
Overview
Figshare Research Data Scraper
Scrape Figshare research data, datasets, papers, and DOIs from any search, category, or institution. Every item comes with its title, authors, DOI, downloads, and publication date. No API key or login. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Figshare's official API requires an account and API key, and rate-limits you. This reads the public search and browse feeds directly, filtered by item type, category, institution, or publication date, and returns each match in one fixed schema.
| Who uses it | What they scrape Figshare for |
|---|---|
| Academic researchers | Gathering datasets and papers for a literature review |
| Data journalists | Finding open research data to support a story |
| University librarians | Monitoring institutional repository output |
| Startup founders | Sourcing public datasets for product development |
| Policy analysts | Tracking research output by institution or field |
What it does
This Actor collects Figshare research items by search query, category, institution, or publication date, and returns each one as a flat row.
- 🔎 Search by keyword: title, author, or free text across all public items.
- 📁 Filter by item type: dataset, paper, figure, thesis, code, and more.
- 🏛️ Institution filter: restrict results to a specific institutional repository.
- 📅 Published since: only include items published on or after a date.
- 📊 Flat output: each item is one row with title, authors, DOI, downloads, and date.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with Figshare data
📚 Build a literature review.
A PhD student searches for 'machine learning' and filters to papers published since 2022, then exports the DOIs to a reference manager.
📈 Monitor institutional output.
A university librarian runs the Actor weekly with the institution ID to track new datasets and theses deposited by faculty.
🗞️ Find data for a story.
A data journalist searches for 'climate change' and filters to datasets to locate open data for an investigation.
💡 Source datasets for a product.
A startup founder searches for 'public health' and filters to datasets to find training data for a prototype.
🔬 Track research trends.
A policy analyst filters by category and publication date to see which fields are producing the most open research.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| No API key | Uses public feeds, no registration or OAuth |
| Fixed schema | Every item returns the same fields for easy analysis |
| Flexible filters | Combine search, type, category, institution, and date |
| Export anywhere | CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for your workflow |
How it compares
This Actor offers the same core Figshare scraping as the competitor, with additional filters for institution and publication date.
| Feature | ParseForge | Figshare Research Data Scraper - Datasets, Papers & DOIs |
|---|---|---|
| Search by keyword | Yes | Yes |
| Filter by item type | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by category | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by institution | Yes | Not listed |
| Filter by publication date | Yes | Not listed |
| Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, XML | Yes | Yes |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor from a search query, category ID, institution ID, or publication date, alone or together, and filters run as each item is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"maxItems": 10,
"search": "machine learning"
}
A larger pull:
{
"maxItems": 200,
"search": "machine learning"
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.01099 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.10 |
| 1,000 results | $10.99 |
| 10,000 results | $109.90 |
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 Figshare Research Data 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 Figshare 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/figshare-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 search query and filters. If you set a category or institution ID, make sure it is valid. Also try removing the publishedSince date to see if older items exist.
Why did the run stop before reaching maxItems?
The Actor stops when there are no more matching items. Try broadening your search or removing filters.
Why are some items missing fields?
Not all Figshare items have every field, such as DOI or downloads. The Actor returns what is available.
How do I get more than 1,000,000 items?
The maximum is 1,000,000 per run. You can split your query by date or category and run multiple times.
Why is the run slow?
Figshare's public feeds may be rate-limited. Reduce maxItems or add filters to narrow the result set.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Figshare API key? | No. This Actor reads the public Figshare search and browse feeds directly, so no account or key is required. |
| What item types can I filter by? | You can filter by Figshare item type using the numeric ID: 1=Figure, 2=Media, 3=Dataset, 4=Fileset, 5=Poster, 6=Paper, 7=Presentation, 8=Thesis, 9=Code, 10=Metadata, 11=Preprint, 13=Book, 14=Chapter. |
| How do I restrict results to one institution? | Set the institutionId input to the numeric ID of the institutional repository. You can find IDs via the Figshare API documentation. |
| Can I search by author or title? | Yes, the search input accepts free text and matches across titles and descriptions, including author names. |
| What date range can I filter? | Use the publishedSince input with a YYYY-MM-DD date to include only items published on or after that date. |
| How many items can I collect per run? | Set maxItems to any number from 1 to 1,000,000. The Actor stops after reaching that count. |
| What fields are returned for each item? | Each item returns a flat row with title, authors, DOI, downloads, publication date, and other metadata. The exact fields are shown in the sample output. |
| Can I export the data? | Yes, you can export the dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform. |
| Is this legal? | This Actor only accesses publicly available data on Figshare. You are responsible for complying with Figshare's terms of service and any applicable laws. |
| How do I find a category ID? | Category IDs are listed in the Figshare API documentation at https://docs.figshare.com/#private_list_categories. |
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 Figshare, LLC. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| maxItems | integer | How many articles to collect per run. | 10 |
| search | string | Free text search across titles and descriptions. | machine learning |
| itemType | integer | Filter by Figshare item type. 1=Figure, 2=Media, 3=Dataset, 4=Fileset, 5=Poster, 6=Paper, 7=Presentation, 8=Thesis, 9=Code, 10=Metadata, 11=Preprint, 13=Book, 14=Chapter. | not set |
| categoryId | integer | Figshare category ID. See https://docs.figshare.com/#private_list_categories. | not set |
| institutionId | integer | Restrict results to an institutional repository. | not set |
| publishedSince | string | Only include items published on or after this date. | not set |
Pricing
from $8.24 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| Result Item | Charged once per result collected. | $0.00824 to $0.01099 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~figshare-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"helloWorld": 123
}' Examples
Input that runs as-is.
{
"helloWorld": 123
} Reviews
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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.