TheCocktailDB Drink Recipes Scraper

TheCocktailDB Drink Recipes Scraper

Scrape cocktail recipes from TheCocktailDB by name, ingredient, category, or glass type. Each drink comes with its full ingredient list, measures, instructions, and image URL. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

TheCocktailDB is a free, community-built database of drink recipes, but browsing it manually or wiring up its API takes time. This Actor reads the public drink feeds directly, letting you search by cocktail name or filter by ingredient, category, glass type, or alcoholic content. It returns every matching recipe in one consistent row, ready for your spreadsheet or app.

Who uses it	What they scrape TheCocktailDB for
Bartenders and mixologists	Build a personal recipe book filtered by the spirits and glassware they have on hand.
App developers	Populate a cocktail app or website with a structured, searchable drink database.
Content creators	Gather a batch of themed recipes for a blog post, newsletter, or social media series.
Data analysts	Analyze ingredient co-occurrence and recipe patterns across thousands of drinks.

What it does

This Actor collects cocktail recipes from TheCocktailDB by search term or filter, and returns each drink as a flat row with its name, ingredients, measures, instructions, glass type, and image URL.

• 🔎 Search by name: Find drinks whose names match your search term, like margarita or daiquiri.
• 🍸 Browse by category: Filter drinks by category such as Cocktail, Shot, or Ordinary Drink.
• 🥃 Browse by glass type: Get every recipe served in a specific glass, like Highball glass or Martini glass.
• 🍋 Browse by ingredient: Pull all drinks that contain a particular ingredient, such as Vodka, Gin, or Lime juice.
• 🍹 Browse by alcoholic content: Separate alcoholic drinks from non-alcoholic ones with a single filter.
• 🎲 Random drinks: Fetch a random selection of recipes for discovery or inspiration.
• 📋 List endpoints: Retrieve the full list of available categories, glasses, or ingredients for reference.

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

What you can do with TheCocktailDB data

📖 Build a custom cocktail menu.

A bar manager filters by Gin and Cocktail glass to pull every gin-based cocktail recipe, then picks the ones that fit the seasonal menu.

📱 Populate a cocktail app.

A mobile developer runs the Actor in byCategory mode for Ordinary Drink and Cocktail to seed the app's database with hundreds of structured recipes.

📊 Analyze recipe trends.

A data enthusiast scrapes the full list of ingredients, then cross-references them with drink counts to find the most common spirit and mixer pairings.

🎲 Generate a random drink night.

A home bartender uses random mode to pull 20 surprise recipes, prints the cards, and hosts a tasting party.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key needed	TheCocktailDB's public feeds are read directly, so you skip registration and rate-limit headaches.
One fixed schema	Every drink lands in your dataset with the same columns, whether it came from a search, a category, or a random pull.
Full recipe detail	Each row includes the drink name, all ingredients with their measures, preparation instructions, glass type, and an image URL.
Flexible output	Download your results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or push them straight to a database or API.

How it compares

This Actor covers the same TheCocktailDB source as the two competitors below, with a few extra modes for listing reference data and a higher configurable item limit.

Feature	ParseForge	TheCocktailDB Drink Recipe Scraper	TheCocktailDB - Cocktail & Drink Recipe Scraper
Search by drink name	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browse by ingredient	Yes	Not listed	Yes
Browse by glass type	Yes	Not listed	Yes
List all categories, glasses, ingredients	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Random drink mode	Yes	Not listed	Not listed
Configurable max items up to 1,000,000	Yes	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a search term or a filter value, set the mode, and cap the total number of drinks returned per run. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "mode": "search",
 "query": "margarita"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "mode": "search",
 "query": "margarita"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.01333 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.33
1,000 results	$13.33
10,000 results	$133.30

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 TheCocktailDB Drink Recipes 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 TheCocktailDB 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/thecocktaildb-drinks-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 query matches the selected mode. For example, margarita works in search mode, but in byCategory mode you need a valid category name like Cocktail. Run List all categories first to see the exact names.

The Actor returns fewer drinks than my maxItems setting.

TheCocktailDB may have fewer matching drinks than your limit. The Actor collects every available result and stops. Try a broader query or a different mode.

I get an error when using a filter mode.

Filter modes expect exact values. Use the List modes to get the correct spelling for categories, glasses, and ingredients, then copy one of those values into the query field.

The image URL is broken or missing.

Some drinks in TheCocktailDB may not have an image. The Actor returns whatever URL the database provides. If the field is empty, the drink has no image in the source.

Can I combine filters, like category and ingredient at the same time?

The Actor applies one mode per run. To combine filters, run the Actor once per mode and merge the datasets afterward, or use the search mode with a term that appears in both the name and the ingredient list.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key to scrape TheCocktailDB?	No. This Actor reads the public feeds from TheCocktailDB directly. You do not need to register an app or obtain an API key.
What data does each scraped drink include?	Each row contains the drink name, category, glass type, alcoholic flag, a list of ingredients with their measures, preparation instructions, and a link to the drink's image.
Can I search by ingredient?	Yes. Set the mode to Browse by ingredient and enter an ingredient name like Vodka or Mint as the query. The Actor returns every drink that uses it.
How do I get only non-alcoholic drinks?	Choose the Browse by alcoholic/non-alcoholic mode and set the query to Non alcoholic. The Actor filters the results accordingly.
Can I list all available categories or glasses?	Yes. Use the List all categories, List all glasses, or List all ingredients modes. They return the reference lists TheCocktailDB uses for filtering.
How many drinks can I scrape in one run?	You set the limit with the Maximum drinks field, anywhere from 1 to 1,000,000. The Actor stops once it reaches that count or exhausts the matching results.
What output formats are supported?	You can export your dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform, or use the API to push the data to a webhook or cloud storage.
Does the Actor handle pagination automatically?	Yes. It follows TheCocktailDB's result pages behind the scenes and collects every matching drink until your Maximum drinks limit is reached.
Can I run this on a schedule?	Yes. Apify's scheduler lets you run the Actor hourly, daily, or weekly to keep your drink database fresh with any new recipes added to TheCocktailDB.
Is the image downloaded or the URL?	The Actor returns the image URL for each drink. You can pair it with an Apify image downloader or fetch the images in your own application.

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 TheCocktailDB. 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.