ParseForge
Slashdot Scraper
parseforge/slashdot-scraper
News & mediaDeveloper toolsOther
Scrapes Slashdot tech news stories by section. Returns each story as a flat row with title, author, date, source link, comment count, and department tag.
- Total users
- 2
- Monthly active
- 1
- Total runs
- 101
- Bookmarked
- 0
- Rating
- Not rated yet
- Last modified
- 9 days ago
Overview
Slashdot Scraper
Scrape Slashdot tech news stories from any section, up to a million per run. Every story comes with its title, author, date, comment count, and source link. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.
Slashdot is the original technology news aggregator, but its feed is built for reading, not for analysis. This actor reads the public story feeds from any Slashdot section directly and returns each match in one fixed schema, so you can track what the tech community is talking about without writing a parser.
| Who uses it | What they scrape Slashdot for |
|---|---|
| Tech market researchers | Which enterprise technologies are gaining traction in the Slashdot community this quarter. |
| PR and communications teams | How a product launch or company announcement is being received by the Slashdot audience. |
| Developer relations managers | Which open-source projects and developer tools are generating the most discussion. |
| Competitive intelligence analysts | When competitors are mentioned in Slashdot stories and what the community says about them. |
What it does
This Actor collects Slashdot stories by section and returns each one as a flat row.
- 📰 Section filtering: choose from Main, Technology, Science, Apple, Ask Slashdot, Idle, Developers, Linux, Games, Hardware, or Your Rights Online.
- 🔢 Volume control: set a maximum number of stories per run, from a single article up to one million.
- 📅 Fresh data every run: each execution pulls the current stories from the live Slashdot feed, so your dataset always reflects the latest news.
Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.
What you can do with Slashdot data
📈 Track tech news trends.
A market researcher scrapes the Technology and Science sections daily to chart which topics Slashdot readers are engaging with most.
📣 Monitor brand mentions.
A PR manager runs the Actor on the Main section each morning, filtering for their company name to catch every Slashdot story that references them.
🛠️ Follow developer tools.
A developer advocate scrapes the Developers and Linux sections weekly to see which programming languages and infrastructure projects are being discussed.
🎮 Watch gaming coverage.
A gaming industry analyst scrapes the Games section before a major conference to understand which titles and hardware are top of mind for the Slashdot audience.
Why choose this scraper
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| No API registration | Reads the public Slashdot feeds directly. No OAuth, no app setup, no rate-limit headaches. |
| Fixed flat schema | Every story arrives with the same fields, so your pipeline never breaks on a missing column. |
| Any section | Scrape Main, Developers, Linux, Hardware, Science, and every other Slashdot section from one Actor. |
| Runs on Apify | Schedule it, call it via API, or chain it with other Actors. Storage, proxies, and retries are built in. |
How it compares
Two other Apify Actors also scrape Slashdot. Here is how they compare on the capabilities a buyer would evaluate.
| Feature | ParseForge | SlashDot Crawler | Slashdot Scraper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section filtering | Yes, all 11 Slashdot sections | Yes, all sections | Yes, all sections |
| Configurable max items per run | Yes, 1 to 1,000,000 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full article body text | No, metadata only | Yes, detailed article content | Not listed |
| Popularity indicators | Yes, comment count | Yes | Yes, comment counts |
| Source links | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Department tags | Yes, section name | Yes | Yes |
Configure the run
Drive the Actor from any Slashdot section and set a maximum story count. Filters run as each story is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.
A first run with the defaults:
{
"maxItems": 10
}
A larger pull:
{
"maxItems": 200
}
Pricing
Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.
| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $2.10 |
| 1,000 results | $21.00 |
| 10,000 results | $210.00 |
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
- Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
- Open the Slashdot 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 Slashdot 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/slashdot-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 you selected a valid section. If the section is correct, Slashdot may have temporarily changed its feed structure. Try running the Actor again after a few minutes. If the problem persists, check the Actor's log for any error messages.
Why are some stories missing?
The Actor collects stories from the public feed for the section you selected. If a story was removed from the feed or pushed off the page by newer stories before your run, it will not appear. Increase your run frequency to catch stories sooner.
Why did the run stop before reaching my maximum story count?
The Actor stops when it has collected all available stories in the selected section, even if that number is lower than your maximum. Slashdot sections show a finite number of stories. Try a different section or run again later when new stories have been posted.
Why are comment counts zero for some stories?
Slashdot stories sometimes appear in the feed before any comments have been posted. The comment count reflects the number at the moment the Actor reads the story. Run the Actor again later to capture updated counts.
Why did I get blocked or receive an error?
The Actor uses reasonable request rates, but aggressive scraping can trigger rate limiting. If you are running many concurrent executions, reduce the frequency or spread them out. Apify's proxy rotation can also help avoid IP-based blocks.
FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a Slashdot account or API key? | No. This Actor reads the public Slashdot story feeds directly. You do not need to register an app, obtain an API key, or log in. |
| Which Slashdot sections can I scrape? | All of them: Main, Technology, Science, Apple, Ask Slashdot, Idle, Developers, Linux, Games, Hardware, and Your Rights Online. Select one section per run. |
| How many stories can I collect in one run? | You set the maximum. The Actor can collect anywhere from a single story up to one million stories per run, depending on what is available in the selected section. |
| What data fields does each story include? | Each row includes the story title, author, publication date, comment count, source link, and the section it came from. The exact fields are shown in the sample output on the Actor's page. |
| Can I scrape multiple sections at once? | One section per run. To collect from multiple sections, run the Actor once per section, either sequentially or in parallel using Apify's scheduling or API. |
| Does this Actor scrape the full body text of each article? | No. It collects the story metadata from the Slashdot feed: title, author, date, comment count, source link, and section. The full article body lives on the external source site, not on Slashdot. |
| Can I filter stories by keyword or date? | The Actor collects stories from the selected section and stops when it reaches your maximum count. For keyword or date filtering, you can apply those filters to the resulting dataset after the run completes. |
| How often should I run this Actor? | Slashdot updates its story feeds throughout the day. Running the Actor once or twice daily is usually enough to capture new stories. You can schedule it in Apify to run automatically. |
| What output formats are supported? | You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML directly from the Apify platform. |
| Is this Actor affiliated with Slashdot? | No. This is an unofficial scraper built on Apify. It reads publicly available feeds and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Slashdot Media, LLC. |
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 Slashdot Media, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| section | string (11 options) | Slashdot section to scrape stories from. | main |
| maxItems | integer | Maximum number of stories to collect per run. | 10 |
Pricing
from $19.00 per 1,000 results
| Charged for | What it is | Price each |
|---|---|---|
| result | Single result in the default dataset. | $0.019 to $0.021 |
Tiered: the lower figure is the price on a higher Apify plan. Billing and the free credit live on Apify.
API
One POST returns the dataset directly. Same shape for every scraper in the library, so swapping the slug is the only change.
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/parseforge~slashdot-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$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.