Zenodo Research Records Scraper

Zenodo Research Records Scraper

Scrape Zenodo research records by search term or resource type, up to a million per run. Every record returns its title, DOI, authors, publication date, and file metadata. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Zenodo's REST API requires pagination handling and rate-limit awareness for large-scale research analysis. This Actor reads the public record feeds directly, filtered by free-text query or resource type, and returns each match in one consistent schema. It is built for researchers, data librarians, and meta-science analysts who need structured access to CERN's open repository without writing API clients.

Who uses it	What they scrape Zenodo for
Meta-science researchers	Mapping the volume and types of open research output across disciplines.
University librarians	Building an institutional bibliography of all datasets and papers deposited by their faculty.
Data journalists	Finding publicly funded research datasets on a specific topic for an investigation.
Research software engineers	Discovering software packages archived with a DOI for citation in their own tools.

What it does

This Actor collects Zenodo research records by search term and resource type, and returns each one as a flat row with its DOI, authors, title, and file metadata.

• 🔍 Free-text search: pass any query string, from broad terms like 'climate' to specific phrases like 'CRISPR gene editing', and the Actor retrieves matching records.
• 📂 Resource type filter: narrow results to publications, datasets, software, posters, presentations, images, videos, lessons, or physical objects.
• 📊 Flat row output: each record lands as one row with its DOI, title, authors, publication date, resource type, access rights, and file metadata, ready for analysis.

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

What you can do with Zenodo data

📈 Map open science output.

A meta-science researcher runs a broad query like 'machine learning' filtered by 'dataset' to count how many open datasets exist in that field and track growth over time.

📚 Build an institutional bibliography.

A university librarian searches for their institution's name in the author field to collect every Zenodo deposit by their faculty into a single CSV for the annual research report.

🔬 Find datasets for a literature review.

A PhD candidate searches for 'Parkinson's disease' filtered by 'dataset' to locate supplementary data they can re-analyze for their systematic review.

💾 Discover citable software.

A research software engineer searches for 'simulation' filtered by 'software' to find tools with DOIs they can cite in their own paper's methods section.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Reads Zenodo's public feeds directly, no registration or OAuth flow required.
Fixed schema	Every record, whether a dataset, paper, or software entry, arrives in the same flat structure.
Bulk export	Collect up to a million records per run and export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

How it compares

Three other Zenodo scrapers exist on Apify. This Actor focuses on search-based discovery by query and resource type, while others add record-ID lookup, community filtering, or access-rights filtering.

Feature	ParseForge	Zenodo Scraper · Research Records, DOIs, Authors & Files	Zenodo Records Scraper - Research Dataset Search	Zenodo Scraper
Free-text search query	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resource type filter	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Fetch by record ID or DOI	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Access rights filter	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
Community filter	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Yes
File metadata in output	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a free-text search query and a resource type filter, alone or together, and filtering runs as each record 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: $0.0085 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$0.85
1,000 results	$8.50
10,000 results	$85.00

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

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Zenodo Research Records 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 Zenodo 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/zenodo-records-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 search query is spelled correctly and is not too narrow. Try a broader term first, then add the resource type filter. Also confirm that Zenodo itself returns results for the same query in a browser.

The Actor stopped before reaching my maxItems limit.

This happens when Zenodo has no more matching records. Your query and filter combination may return fewer total records than your limit. Try broadening the query or removing the resource type filter.

Some records are missing fields I expected.

Zenodo records vary by resource type and how the depositor filled them in. A software entry may lack an author field that a publication has. The Actor returns whatever metadata Zenodo provides for each record.

The run is taking a long time.

Large maxItems values mean more HTTP requests. The Actor respects Zenodo's rate limits. Reduce maxItems or narrow your query to speed up the run.

I need file download links but do not see them.

File metadata including download URLs is included in each record. Look for the files array in your output. If a record has no files, the depositor may have only created a metadata entry without uploading data.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a Zenodo account or API key to use this Actor?	No. This Actor reads Zenodo's public record feeds directly. No registration, API key, or OAuth flow is required.
What data fields does each record include?	Each record returns its DOI, title, authors, publication date, resource type, access rights, description, version, language, and file metadata such as filenames, sizes, and download links.
Can I filter by resource type?	Yes. The resource type dropdown lets you limit results to publications, datasets, software, posters, presentations, images, videos, lessons, physical objects, or other.
How many records can I collect in one run?	You can set the maximum up to 1,000,000 records per run. The Actor stops when it reaches your limit or when Zenodo has no more matching records.
Can I search for a specific phrase or keywords?	You can pass any free-text query, including multi-word phrases like 'deep learning for climate modeling'. The query is forwarded to Zenodo's search engine.
Does this Actor download the actual files from Zenodo?	No. It collects the metadata for each record, including file names, sizes, and download URLs. You can use those URLs to download files separately if needed.
What export formats are supported?	You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML directly from the Apify platform.
Is this Actor suitable for a systematic review or meta-analysis?	Yes. The fixed schema and bulk export make it straightforward to collect structured metadata for hundreds or thousands of records and import them into your analysis tool.
Can I combine a search query with a resource type filter?	Yes. Set both the query and the resource type, and the Actor returns only records that match both criteria.
Does this Actor handle Zenodo communities or specific record IDs?	This Actor focuses on search-based discovery by query and resource type. For fetching records by community, record ID, or DOI, consider one of the other Zenodo scrapers on Apify.

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 CERN. 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.