Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder
Search Patch.com's hyperlocal US news by keyword, town, category, author, or tag, and browse its local events calendar or classifieds board, with date-range and distance filters.
Open in Apify Store$0.99 / 1K on Free
Short answer
Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder is an Apify Store Actor that returns 10 published output fields, including headline, town, category, author. It lists $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Free plan (pay per event), $0.49 on the Business plan. It takes 24 input settings; one is required (mode). Last updated Nov 4, 2026.
From the public Store listing and published build schema, synced 2026-11-12.What it returns
10 fields from the published dataset schema. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or read the dataset through the Apify API.
recordTypeheadlinetowncategoryauthorpublishedDateeventDateurlisBreakingNewscommentCount
Input
| Setting | Type | Required | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mode | string | Yes | search | What to fetch from Patch.com. |
| startUrls | array | No | – | mode=byUrl only. Paste Patch article, event, classified, town, category/topic, state or search URLs. Article/event/classified URLs are scraped directly; town/topic/state/search URLs are converted into the equivalent scoped query. |
| searchQuery | string | No | – | Free-text keyword to search for (mode=search; also applies to mode=events/classifieds and to scope URLs). Leave empty to browse the newest articles matching the other filters. |
| searchMatch | string | No | allWords | How multi-word searches match. "All words" requires every word anywhere in the headline/summary/topic (more results). "Exact phrase" requires the words to appear together (the old behavior). |
| authorName | string | No | – | Exact byline/reporter/poster name (required for mode=byAuthor; on any other mode it is an extra server-side filter). Copy it from this actor's `author` output field, e.g. "Eric Heyl". |
| tagName | string | No | – | Exact editorial tag (required for mode=byTag; on article modes it is an extra filter). Copy it from this actor's `tags` field, e.g. "Back To School". Only a minority of articles carry tags. |
| regionSlug | string | No | – | US state/edition to scope results to (required for mode=byTown; optional filter on every other mode). "Across America" is Patch's national edition (code US); "US Territories" is a valid Patch region with no current articles. |
| townSlug | string | No | – | Patch town/city URL slug (required for mode=byTown; requires regionSlug too). Find it in a Patch URL, e.g. patch.com/california/santamonica -> "santamonica". Example: "santamonica" (with regionSlug=california). |
| category | string | No | – | News category/topic to filter by (required for mode=byCategory; optional filter on mode=search/byTown/byAuthor/byTag). Not applicable to mode=events/classifieds -- use `classifiedCategory` for mode=classifieds instead. |
| classifiedCategory | string | No | – | Classifieds category to filter by (mode=classifieds only; a completely separate value set from `category`, which is news-only). Leave as "(any category)" to browse every classified category. |
Show the other 14 settings
| Setting | Type | Required | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sortBy | string | No | relevance | Order of results. "Nearest first" requires both `nearLat`/`nearLng` AND mode=search/byTown/byCategory/byAuthor/byTag (news); otherwise it falls back to Relevance. "Soonest event first" requires mode=events; on any other mode it also falls back to Relevance. |
| publishedAfter | string | No | – | Only include articles/events/classifieds posted to Patch on or after this date (i.e. listing date, not an event's own occurrence date -- see `eventDateAfter` for that). Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Combine with `publishedBefore` for a date range. |
| publishedBefore | string | No | – | Only include articles/events/classifieds posted to Patch on or before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Combine with `publishedAfter` for a date range. |
| eventDateAfter | string | No | – | mode=events only. Only include events occurring on or after this date (the event's own date, not when it was posted to Patch -- see `publishedAfter` for that). Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Combine with `eventDateBefore` for a date range, e.g. "what's happening this weekend". |
| eventDateBefore | string | No | – | mode=events only. Only include events occurring on or before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Combine with `eventDateAfter` for a date range. |
| nearLat | number | No | – | Latitude of a point to search near (combine with `nearLng` and `radiusMiles`). News modes only (search/byTown/byCategory/byAuthor/byTag) -- not available for mode=events/classifieds, whose Patch indexes don't expose a filterable location field. Both `nearLat` and `nearLng` must be set together; othe |
| nearLng | number | No | – | Longitude of a point to search near (combine with `nearLat` and `radiusMiles`). News modes only -- see `nearLat` description. Both `nearLat` and `nearLng` must be set together; otherwise this filter is ignored. |
| radiusMiles | integer | No | 25 | Search radius around `nearLat`/`nearLng`, in miles. News modes only -- see `nearLat` description. Ignored unless both `nearLat` and `nearLng` are set. |
| includeBodyText | boolean | No | true | Add bodyHtml (the original HTML), bodyText (readable plain text) and bodyLength to each record. Article/event/classified bodies come from Patch's own search payload, so this costs no extra request. |
| includeDetails | boolean | No | false | Fetch each record's Patch page and add gallery images/captions/credits, author avatar and points, comment/reply counts, breaking/sponsored flags, town grade/weekly views/ZIPs/timezone/county/metro, event venue/type/website, and classified contact state. One extra request per record; failed pages nev |
| maxDetails | integer | No | 100 | How many records to enrich when `includeDetails` is on. 0 means every emitted record (up to `maxItems`). Ignored when detail enrichment is off. |
| monitorMode | boolean | No | false | Emit only records whose Patch ID has not been seen by an earlier run with the same monitor key. State is stored in the actor's key-value store. |
| monitorKey | string | No | – | Optional namespace for monitor state. Give different saved tasks different keys to keep their seen-ID lists separate. Derived automatically from the mode and filters when empty. |
| maxItems | integer | No | 25 | Maximum number of articles, events or classifieds to return (1-1000). Requests above 250 are automatically split into date partitions to bypass Patch's 250-hit search-key window. |
Example input
Built from the input form's published example values and defaults.
{
"mode": "search",
"searchQuery": "city council",
"searchMatch": "allWords",
"sortBy": "relevance",
"radiusMiles": 25,
"includeBodyText": false,
"includeDetails": false,
"maxDetails": 0,
"monitorMode": false,
"maxItems": 3
}Run it from code or an AI agent
The same run through the Apify API, with the example input. You need an Apify API token; the run is billed to your account at the Store price.
Python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run_input = {
"mode": "search",
"searchQuery": "city council",
"searchMatch": "allWords",
"sortBy": "relevance",
"radiusMiles": 25,
"includeBodyText": False,
"includeDetails": False,
"maxDetails": 0,
"monitorMode": False,
"maxItems": 3
}
run = client.actor("dataspryva/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder").call(run_input=run_input)
if run is None:
raise RuntimeError("The Actor run was not found.")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
print(item)pip install apify-client
JavaScript
import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" });
const input = {
"mode": "search",
"searchQuery": "city council",
"searchMatch": "allWords",
"sortBy": "relevance",
"radiusMiles": 25,
"includeBodyText": false,
"includeDetails": false,
"maxDetails": 0,
"monitorMode": false,
"maxItems": 3
};
const run = await client.actor("dataspryva/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder").call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);npm install apify-client
cURL
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/dataspryva~patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items" -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"mode":"search","searchQuery":"city council","searchMatch":"allWords","sortBy":"relevance","radiusMiles":25,"includeBodyText":false,"includeDetails":false,"maxDetails":0,"monitorMode":false,"maxItems":3}'Waits for the run and returns the dataset items (runs over 300 seconds return HTTP 408; start an async run instead).
MCP (AI agents)
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=dataspryva/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
}
}
}
}Adds this Actor as a tool in an MCP client that takes a remote server URL (Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code) through Apify's hosted MCP server. OAuth sign-in also works without the header. Clients that only start local servers can wrap the URL with npx mcp-remote.
What a run costs
The result rate falls on higher Apify plans. Each figure is the published per-result rate times the number of results.
| Apify plan | Per 1,000 | 10,000 results | 100,000 results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0.99 | $9.90 | $99 |
| Starter plan | $0.82 | $8.20 | $82 |
| Scale plan | $0.66 | $6.60 | $66 |
| Business plan | $0.49 | $4.90 | $49 |
- Every run also has a start event, charged per GB of memory (minimum one): $0.10 on Free, $0.03 on Business. At its default memory of 4 GB a run starts at $0.40 on Free. Fewer, larger runs keep this small.
- The Free plan includes $5 of monthly usage (Apify pricing, checked 2026-11-11); at the Free rate that covers at most about 5,050 results, less start events and platform usage.
- Worked example: 10,000 results in one run on the Free plan cost $10.30 ($9.90 for results + $0.40 start), plus Apify platform usage (compute), billed separately by Apify.
- Pay per event. Platform usage (compute) is billed by Apify on top of the event prices. Compare other tools in the cost estimator.
What people use it for
- find local news
- browse local events and classifieds
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Questions people ask
How much does Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder cost?
The published result rate depends on your Apify plan: $0.99 per 1,000 on Free, $0.82 per 1,000 on Starter, $0.66 per 1,000 on Scale, $0.49 per 1,000 on Business. So 10,000 results cost about $9.90 on the Free plan and $4.90 on Business, plus a start fee of $0.10 per run per GB of memory on Free. Platform usage is billed separately.
What data does Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder return?
Its published output schema lists 10 fields: recordType, headline, town, category, author, publishedDate, eventDate, url, isBreakingNews, commentCount. A listed field is not guaranteed to be filled in every row.
What input does Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder need?
Required: mode. Optional settings include startUrls, searchQuery, searchMatch, authorName, tagName, regionSlug.
How do I run Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder from Python or the API?
Use the Apify API client: in Python, ApifyClient(token).actor("dataspryva/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder").call(run_input=...), then read the run's default dataset (run.default_dataset_id); in JavaScript the same call is client.actor("dataspryva/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder").call(input). Without a client, POST the input JSON to https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/dataspryva~patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder/run-sync-get-dataset-items with your API token. Ready-to-paste code with the example input is on this page.
Sources
- Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder on Apify Store
- Published build with input and output schema (JSON)
Cite this page
Scraper Finder. "Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder." https://scraperfinder.com/catalogue/patch-com-local-news-events-and-classifieds-finder/ (data checked 2026-11-12).
Run Patch.com Local News, Events & Classifieds Finder
$0.99 per 1,000 results. Paste the example input above, set your target query, then export the dataset.