Openverse Media Scraper

Openverse Media Scraper

Scrape openly licensed images and audio from Openverse by search term, media type, license, source, or aspect ratio. Every result includes the direct media URL, creator, license, and source. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Openverse indexes over 800 million openly licensed images and audio files from sources like Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and NASA. This Actor searches that catalog directly and returns each match as a flat row with its media URL, title, creator, license, and source. No API key or registration is needed.

Who uses it	What they scrape Openverse for
Content creators	Find openly licensed images and audio for commercial projects without copyright risk
Market researchers	Track which openly licensed media topics and sources are growing
Data scientists	Build datasets of openly licensed media metadata for analysis
Educators	Collect openly licensed teaching materials from trusted sources

What it does

This Actor searches Openverse for openly licensed media by keyword and returns each result as a flat row with the direct media URL, title, creator, license, and source.

• 🔍 Search by keyword: query matches title, description, and tags across the Openverse catalog.
• 🎨 Media type filter: choose images or audio to narrow results.
• 📜 License filter: limit to specific license types like CC0, BY, or BY-SA.
• 🏛️ Source filter: restrict to sources like Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, or NASA.
• 📐 Aspect ratio filter: for images, select tall, wide, or square.
• 🔢 Max items control: set how many media files to collect per run, up to 1,000,000.

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

What you can do with Openverse data

🎨 Build a royalty-free image library.

A content creator searches for 'mountain landscape' with a CC0 license filter and downloads the direct URLs for a commercial project.

📊 Analyze open media trends.

A market researcher collects metadata for thousands of images tagged 'climate change' to see which sources and licenses dominate.

🎵 Gather open audio for a podcast.

A podcaster searches for 'ambient music' with an audio media type and BY license to find tracks they can use with attribution.

📚 Curate teaching resources.

An educator scrapes images from NASA and Wikimedia Commons for a lesson plan, filtering by source to ensure reliability.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
Direct media URLs	Each row includes the direct URL to the image or audio file, ready to download
License clarity	Every result includes the specific open license, so you know exactly how you can use it
Source transparency	See which platform each media file comes from, like Flickr or Wikimedia Commons
No API key	Start scraping immediately without registration or authentication

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Openverse the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	Openverse Media Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Openverse 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 with a search term and optional filters for media type, license, source, and aspect ratio. Filters are applied as the search runs so only matching media reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "query": "mountain landscape"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "query": "mountain landscape"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.01733 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.73
1,000 results	$17.33
10,000 results	$173.30

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 Openverse Media 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 Openverse 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/openverse-media-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 term and filters. A very specific query combined with restrictive license or source filters may return nothing. Try broadening your search or removing some filters.

Why are some media URLs broken?

Openverse indexes media from many sources, and occasionally a source removes a file. The URL is provided as returned by Openverse. Try another result or contact the source.

How do I download the actual media files?

This Actor returns metadata and direct URLs. Use the URLs in a separate download step, such as with a script or another Apify Actor.

Why did the run stop before reaching my maxItems?

The Actor stops when Openverse has no more results matching your query and filters. Try a broader search term or remove some filters to get more results.

Can I search in languages other than English?

Yes. Openverse supports search in multiple languages. Enter your search term in the language you need.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key to use this Actor?	No. This Actor accesses Openverse's public search endpoint directly, so no API key or registration is required.
What license information is returned?	Each result includes the specific license type, such as CC0, BY, or BY-SA, along with the license URL and version.
Can I filter by source?	Yes. Use the source filter to restrict results to specific platforms like Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, or NASA.
How many media files can I collect per run?	You can set the maximum media files from 1 to 1,000,000 per run using the maxItems input.
Does this Actor download the actual media files?	No. It returns the direct media URL for each result. You can download the files separately using the URLs.
Can I search for audio files?	Yes. Set the media type to 'audio' to search for openly licensed audio files.
What aspect ratio options are available for images?	You can filter images by tall (portrait), wide (landscape), or square aspect ratio.
Is the data returned in a consistent format?	Yes. Every result is returned as a flat row with the same fields, making it easy to export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Can I combine multiple filters?	Yes. You can combine search term, media type, license, source, and aspect ratio filters in a single run.
What sources does Openverse index?	Openverse indexes openly licensed media from many sources, including Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, NASA, and more.

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 Openverse. 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.