WordPress Plugin Directory Scraper

Scrape WordPress.org plugin metadata, ratings, installs, authors, tags, versions, and update signals from public searches and slugs.

Run on Apify Examples

Data fields

Field	Type	Description
`sourceType`	string	Value exported as sourceType.
`query`	string	Value exported as query.
`slug`	string	Value exported as slug.
`name`	string	Value exported as name.
`version`	string	Value exported as version.
`author`	string	Value exported as author.
`author_profile`	string	Value exported as author_profile.
`homepage`	string	Value exported as homepage.

Input preview

`queries`	Search queries
`slugs`	Plugin slugs or URLs
`maxItems`	Maximum plugin records
`perPage`	Search page size
`includeSections`	Include full section HTML
`includeTags`	Include plugin tags

API and agents

This actor can be run through Apify API, datasets, webhooks, schedules, and the official Apify MCP server.

MCP setup Actor API

Ready-to-run examples

Open a saved Apify example, adjust the input, and run the actor in your own Apify account.

View all examples

How this actor works

See example inputs, outputs, API usage, and practical limits before running this actor on Apify.

Open Apify page

Scrape structured WordPress.org plugin directory data for market research, SEO analysis, security review, agency prospecting, and competitor monitoring.

The actor collects plugin names, slugs, authors, active installs, ratings, versions, compatibility data, tags, support stats, update dates, download counts, homepages, and WordPress.org plugin URLs.

Use it when you need a repeatable dataset instead of manually opening plugin pages one by one.

What does WordPress Plugin Directory Scraper do?

WordPress Plugin Directory Scraper turns WordPress.org plugin searches and plugin slugs into clean dataset rows.

You can:

🔎 Search for plugins by keywords such as seo, security, forms, cache, or ecommerce
🔌 Fetch known plugins directly by slug, such as woocommerce or contact-form-7
📈 Compare active installs, ratings, downloads, support stats, and update freshness
🧩 Build lists of plugin vendors and plugin homepages
🛡️ Monitor compatibility signals such as tested WordPress version and required PHP version
📦 Export the results as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or through the Apify API

Who is it for?

Plugin marketers

Find competitor plugins, track ratings, monitor install counts, and discover tags used by successful products.

WordPress agencies

Research the plugin ecosystem before recommending tools to clients or auditing a website stack.

SEO analysts

Build category-level datasets for keyword, SERP, and plugin positioning research.

Security analysts

Prioritize plugins by install count, update cadence, compatibility, and support signals.

Lead generation teams

Create lists of plugin authors, vendor websites, and WordPress.org profiles for outreach workflows.

Product teams

Track market size, category saturation, and competing plugin claims across WordPress.org.

Why use this actor?

Manual plugin research is slow. WordPress.org has thousands of plugins across many categories, and the most useful signals are spread across plugin cards and plugin detail pages.

This actor helps you automate that work:

✅ Repeatable search inputs
✅ Direct slug lookups for known competitors
✅ Consistent field names
✅ Search rank captured per query
✅ Optional full description sections
✅ Low-cost HTTP-only execution
✅ No login needed for public directory data

Typical use cases

Build a list of top SEO plugins by active installs
Compare plugin ratings in a category
Find abandoned or stale plugins in a niche
Discover plugin vendor websites for partnerships
Monitor competitor versions and update dates
Export plugin directory data into BI tools
Create enrichment input for another workflow
Track tags used by high-install plugins

Input settings

Search queries

Use queries to discover plugins by keyword.

Example queries:

seo
security
woocommerce
forms
analytics
page builder
backup

Plugin slugs

Use slugs when you already know the plugin.

Examples:

woocommerce
contact-form-7
seo-by-rank-math
wordpress-seo
elementor

You can also paste WordPress.org plugin URLs.

Maximum plugin records

Use maxItems to cap the number of dataset rows.

Start small, inspect the output, then increase the limit for larger research jobs.

Search page size

Use perPage to control how many plugins the WordPress.org search API returns per page. The maximum is 100; smaller values are useful for quick tests.

Optional fields

Enable optional fields when you need more detail:

includeTags adds plugin tags
includeRatingsBreakdown adds rating counts by star level
includeSections adds larger full-text HTML sections
locale requests a WordPress.org locale when supported

Verified public examples

Ready-to-run Apify Store examples verified in post-publish QA:

Example input

{
  "queries": ["seo", "security"],
  "slugs": ["woocommerce", "contact-form-7"],
  "maxItems": 50,
  "perPage": 50,
  "includeTags": true,
  "includeRatingsBreakdown": true,
  "includeSections": false,
  "locale": "en_US"
}

Example output

{
  "sourceType": "query",
  "query": "seo",
  "rank": 1,
  "slug": "seo-by-rank-math",
  "name": "Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings",
  "version": "1.0.273",
  "author": "Rank Math SEO",
  "author_profile": "https://profiles.wordpress.org/rankmath/",
  "homepage": "https://rankmath.com/",
  "requires": "6.7",
  "tested": "7.0",
  "requires_php": "7.4",
  "rating": 96,
  "ratings_count": 7453,
  "active_installs": 4000000,
  "downloaded": 185207621,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-30 11:48am GMT",
  "added": "2018-11-19",
  "plugin_url": "https://wordpress.org/plugins/seo-by-rank-math/"
}

How to scrape WordPress plugins

Open the actor on Apify.
Add one or more search queries.
Add direct plugin slugs if you have known targets.
Set maxItems to the number of plugin records you need.
Keep optional full sections disabled for quick market scans.
Run the actor.
Download the dataset or connect it to your workflow.

Tips for better results

Use specific category terms for focused lists.
Use broad terms such as seo or security for market mapping.
Add known competitor slugs to guarantee they appear in the dataset.
Keep includeSections disabled unless you need long descriptions or changelogs.
Run the same query on a schedule to monitor changes over time.
Combine active_installs, rating, and last_updated to prioritize plugins.

Scheduling and monitoring

You can schedule this actor on Apify to monitor plugin categories daily, weekly, or monthly.

Useful scheduled workflows include:

Weekly competitor install and rating snapshots
Monthly plugin category exports
Security watchlists for high-install plugins
Agency reports on recommended plugin categories
Vendor lead list refreshes

Integrations

This actor works with common Apify integrations:

Google Sheets for lightweight research tables
Make or Zapier for lead workflows
Webhooks for alerts when a run finishes
Apify datasets API for BI pipelines
Cloud storage exports for archives
Other Apify actors for enrichment

API usage

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });

const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper').call({
  queries: ['seo'],
  slugs: ['woocommerce'],
  maxItems: 25,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])

run = client.actor('fetch_cat/wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper').call(run_input={
    'queries': ['security'],
    'maxItems': 25,
})

items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items)

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"queries":["seo"],"maxItems":25}'

MCP integration

Use Apify MCP to make this actor available to AI assistants.

Claude Code

claude mcp add apify-wordpress-plugins "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper"

Claude Desktop

Add an MCP server configuration that points to:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper

Example JSON configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-wordpress-plugins": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/wordpress-plugin-directory-scraper"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Example MCP prompts

Example prompts you can ask after connecting the MCP server:

"Use the WordPress Plugin Directory Scraper tool to find the top WordPress SEO plugins and compare active installs and ratings."
"Run the scraper for security plugins, then build a list with plugin authors and homepages."
"Use the actor to check whether the slugs woocommerce, wordpress-seo, and contact-form-7 are recently updated."
"Create a CSV-ready dataset of WooCommerce extension competitors using the Apify WordPress plugin scraper."

Export formats

After a run completes, Apify lets you export data as:

JSON
CSV
Excel
XML
RSS
HTML table

You can also read the dataset through the Apify API.

Limits and caveats

The actor returns public directory metadata.
It does not log in to WordPress.org.
It does not install, audit, or execute plugin code.
Active install counts are directory estimates.
Some plugin fields may be missing when WordPress.org does not provide them.
Full sections can be large and may increase dataset size.

Legality and responsible use

This actor extracts publicly available plugin directory metadata. You are responsible for using the data lawfully and respecting WordPress.org terms, privacy rules, and applicable regulations.

Do not use exported data for spam, abusive automation, or misleading outreach.

Troubleshooting

Why did I get fewer records than `maxItems`?

The source may have fewer results for your query, or duplicate plugins may have been skipped across multiple queries and slugs.

Why is a field empty?

Some plugins do not provide every field. For example, a homepage, PHP requirement, screenshot list, or support statistic can be absent.

Should I enable full sections?

Enable includeSections only when you need long descriptions, changelogs, installation notes, or FAQ sections. For market scans, keep it disabled.

Can I scrape reviews?

This first version focuses on plugin metadata. Review scraping is a separate workflow and may be added later as a different dataset shape.

Support

If a run fails or a plugin field looks incorrect, open an issue on Apify and include:

Input JSON: the exact actor input you used.
Expected output: the plugin records or fields you expected to receive.
Actual output: the dataset rows, missing fields, error message, or run log excerpt you received.
Reproducible public URL: a WordPress.org plugin page or search URL that demonstrates the issue, plus the Apify run URL or run ID.

Summary

WordPress Plugin Directory Scraper gives marketers, agencies, analysts, and product teams a fast way to turn public WordPress.org plugin directory data into structured datasets.