Use SoundCloud Charts, Search & Artist Catalog Scraper with Python

Scrape SoundCloud without an API key: global and genre New & Hot charts, keyword search with real genre filters, full artist catalogs, playlist contents, comments, followers, engagement metrics, artwork, waveform and stream metadata.

1. Choose the data you need

Review the published README for supported collection modes, examples, and limits. The recipe below uses the current published input definition.

2. Prepare a source-based input

This JSON contains published prefills and required-field defaults. Review every value for your task before running it; it is not a promise of successful collection.

{
  "artistUrls": [],
  "chartGenre": "all",
  "commentsSort": "newest",
  "includeAlbums": false,
  "includePlaylistTracks": true,
  "includePlaylists": false,
  "includeTopTracks": false,
  "includeTracks": true,
  "includeUserProfile": true,
  "includeWebProfiles": false,
  "maxItems": 2,
  "minLikeCount": 0,
  "minPlayCount": 0,
  "mode": "search",
  "relationship": "followers",
  "resolveStreamUrls": true,
  "searchGenre": "",
  "searchQueries": [
    "lofi"
  ],
  "searchType": "tracks",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "startUrls": [],
  "trackUrls": []
}

Download input.example.json and save your reviewed copy as input.json.

Field	Type	Required	Description
`mode`	string	required	Choose the intent. Keyword search, New & Hot charts, an artist catalog, specific URLs, track comments, or an artist's followers.
`searchQueries`	array	optional	One or more keywords or artist names (mode=search). Example: lofi, techno, ambient jazz.
`searchType`	string	optional	What kind of results to return (mode=search).
`chartGenre`	string	optional	Global New & Hot returns up to 100 tracks. Genre values use SoundCloud's current trending-by-genre lists (about 50 tracks each).
`searchGenre`	string	optional	Optional SoundCloud genre filter for track and playlist searches. Leave as any genre to search everything. This is a real SoundCloud filter, not a client-side guess.
`sortBy`	string	optional	How to order the rows already fetched. SoundCloud search itself is relevance-ordered, so this is a client-side sort of that result set.
`minPlayCount`	integer	optional	Drop track/playlist rows below this play count after fetching. 0 means no filter.
`minLikeCount`	integer	optional	Drop track/playlist rows below this like count after fetching. 0 means no filter.
`artistUrls`	array	optional	Artist profile URLs, usernames, or numeric user IDs. Used by artistTracks and followers modes.
`includeTracks`	boolean	optional	Include the artist's uploaded tracks.
`includeAlbums`	boolean	optional	Include the artist's albums/EPs as playlist rows.
`includePlaylists`	boolean	optional	Include the artist's playlists as playlist rows.
`includeTopTracks`	boolean	optional	Include SoundCloud's small top-tracks list for each artist.
`includeWebProfiles`	boolean	optional	Add the artist's public social/web profile links to the profile row.
`startUrls`	array	optional	Track, playlist/album, or artist URLs. Numeric track IDs are also accepted. Used by mode=byUrl.
`includePlaylistTracks`	boolean	optional	For playlist URLs, hydrate and emit every track (not just the first five).
`includeUserProfile`	boolean	optional	For artist URLs in mode=byUrl, emit the profile row before the tracks.
`trackUrls`	array	optional	Tracks whose public comments should be collected. Used by mode=comments.
`commentsSort`	string	optional	How SoundCloud should order comments.
`relationship`	string	optional	For mode=followers, collect the artist's followers or the accounts the artist follows.
`resolveStreamUrls`	boolean	optional	Add a playable signed stream URL plus protocol, preview and expiry fields. Signed URLs expire after about two hours. Turn off for large runs if you only need the stable API endpoint.
`maxItems`	integer	optional	Hard cap on dataset rows. SoundCloud search still returns at most 300 rows per query; charts and per-artist sections have their own source limits.

3. Start an Actor run

Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment. Python 3.10 or newer is sufficient; this recipe uses no third-party packages.

Execution may incur charges. Review current pricing on Apify. The request asks for a 120-second timeout and a charge limit; these settings are subject to Apify’s pricing and do not guarantee an all-inclusive spending cap.

import json
import os
import urllib.request

# Save the schema-derived example as input.json; review and edit it first.
with open("input.json", encoding="utf-8") as stream:
    actor_input = json.load(stream)

token = os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/xauSnBo64ZqngihHG/runs?timeout=120&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.50",
    data=json.dumps(actor_input).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + token, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    method="POST",
)
# This starts a potentially billable run. Do not automatically retry this POST.
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=40) as response:
    run = json.load(response)["data"]
print("Run ID:", run["id"])
print("Status:", run["status"])
# Inspect and download results in Apify Console once the run succeeds.

4. Inspect the actual results

Open the run in Apify Console and wait for a successful completion. Use the published output schema to locate results and the dataset schema to understand declared views. Missing or optional record fields must not be treated as guaranteed values.

SoundCloud tracks, artists, playlists, albums and comments - charts, search results, full artist catalogs, playlist contents, engagement metrics, creator details, artwork, waveform and stream metadata.

Questions before you run

Which inputs are required?

The published required fields are mode

What does this guide verify?

The fields, prefills, and schema links are rendered from the published build. This is a usage recipe, not a paid live extraction test. Source availability and collection results can vary.

What if the run request times out?

Check Apify Console before retrying. The first request may already have created a run. Do not automatically repeat a run-creation POST.

Open on Apify Full Actor reference

Generated from source build kzMuZBsSVkEqN6Prx and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.