Wayback Machine: scrapers and the official API, compared

Archived snapshots, capture dates, status codes, MIME types and archived page text from the Wayback Machine.

Short answer

Wayback Machine's official Wayback Machine APIs (Availability, CDX Server, Memento) is public and free (no API key is required for public captures); start there for single lookups, and use a scraper when you need many snapshots in one run. For most Wayback Machine jobs, start with Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor: it covers 1 of 6 core fields (title) at $0.99 per 1,000 results on Apify's Free plan. The top published score for Wayback Machine goes to Wayback Machine Scraper by alaudinburki (70 of 100), a Store tool from another publisher, listed for reference.

From published Store listings, output schemas and the official documentation. Checked 2026-11-09. How the ranking works.

Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor: inputs, code and cost Open in Apify Store

1 catalogue Actor 8 other Store tools Official API: Public API Lowest rate $0.50 per 1K

Route map

Each line is one way to get Wayback Machine data; each stop is a field you probably need. Green lines are catalogue Actors, ranked by the published formula.

1 Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor 19 output fields, pay per event 1 of 6 core fields
$0.99 / 1K
+ 8 other Store tools, combined Reference only 2 of 6 core fields
from $0.50 / 1K
API Wayback Machine APIs (Availability, CDX Server, Memento) Public API fields not compared

Stops are fields. A ring means the field is in that route's published output schema; no ring means the line passes without it. Bold labels are the core fields for this website, the rest are fields that differ between routes. A white capsule means every data line stops there. The red line is the official API; its field coverage is not compared. A crossed red line means there is no open official API.

Catalogue Actors for Wayback Machine

Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor

Pull the Wayback Machine's capture history for any URL, host, or domain with timestamps, status codes, MIME types, and optional archived page text.

1/6 core fields 19 output fields $0.99 per 1K Open in Apify Store

Field matrix: who returns what

Every tool with a published output schema, against the 6 fields most Wayback Machine jobs need. A dot means the field name appears in the schema; rows can still leave it empty.

Which tools return each core Wayback Machine field, from published output schemas
Tool	original	archive	status	mime	capture	title	Fields
Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor	–	–	–	–	–	●	1/6
Wayback Machine ScraperReference only, by alaudinburki	●	–	–	–	–	–	1/6
Internet Archive & Wayback Machine ScraperReference only, by cloud9_ai	–	–	–	–	–	●	1/6
Wayback Machine Archive ScraperReference only, by andok	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/6
Wayback Machine ExtractorReference only, by caulleonard	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/6
Wayback Machine Snapshots ScraperReference only, by seemuapps	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/6
Wayback Machine ScraperReference only, by ryanclinton	–	–	–	–	–	●	1/6
Wayback Machine ScraperReference only, by hipersoft	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/6
Wayback Machine URL ExtractorReference only, by logiover	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/6
Tools returning it	1	0	0	0	0	3

Field dictionary: the exact keys

The same core field has a different key in each Actor's output. Map these before you merge datasets; a dash means the published schema has no matching key. Need a field that is not listed here, such as email? Search every Wayback Machine Actor by field.

Output keys for each core Wayback Machine field in the top catalogue Actors
Core field	Wayback Machine Snapshot…
original	–
archive	–
status	–
mime	–
capture	–
title	title

All 9 tools, scored

Catalogue Actors link to their detail pages; the score (0 to 100) is the published formula, identical for every tool. Other Store tools follow in their own table, for reference. Price is the published primary-result rate per 1,000 (the Free-plan rate where the price is tiered; higher Apify plans pay less); start events and platform usage are excluded.

Catalogue Actors for Wayback Machine, ranked by the published method
		Sample fields
61	Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor Catalogue Actor, pay per event	title, originalUrl, archiveDate	19	$0.99	3 runs, too few to rate	Nov 2026

Other Store tools, for reference

Scored with the same published formula and listed for comparison only; this site does not link or recommend them.

Other Store tools for Wayback Machine, for reference
		Sample fields
70	Wayback Machine Scraper Reference only, by alaudinburki	original, capturedAt, snapshotUrl	9	$0.50	98% of 53 runs	Nov 2026
68	Internet Archive & Wayback Machine Scraper Reference only, by cloud9_ai	title, identifier, creator	7	$1.50	100% of 30 runs	Oct 2026
67	Wayback Machine Archive Scraper Reference only, by andok	snapshotCount, latestSnapshot, checkedAt	5	$1.00	100% of 1,381 runs	Oct 2026
65	Wayback Machine Extractor Reference only, by caulleonard	original_url, mimetype, statuscode	6	$0.50	86% of 91 runs	Jul 2026
64	Wayback Machine Snapshots Scraper Reference only, by seemuapps	archivedAt, originalUrl, snapshotUrl	8	$1.00	100% of 30 runs	Nov 2026
62	Wayback Machine Scraper Reference only, by ryanclinton	headline, queryUrl, originalUrl	70	$3.50	100% of 850 runs	Nov 2026
59	Wayback Machine Scraper Reference only, by hipersoft	originalUrl, isoDate, statusCode	7	$2.00	97% of 31 runs	Nov 2026
48	Wayback Machine URL Extractor Reference only, by logiover	capturedAt, digest, domain	8	$5.00	95% of 803 runs	Nov 2026

Official API route

Wayback Machine APIs (Availability, CDX Server, Memento)

The Internet Archive documents a Wayback Availability JSON API, the Wayback CDX Server API at web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx for querying and filtering captures, and Memento protocol support.

Price. Free; no API key is required for public captures.

Limits. Rate limits are not published. The CDX server documents result limits and pagination for large queries.

Official documentation

Terms and personal data

Archived pages remain the content of their original owners; follow the Internet Archive terms and keep request rates modest. This is general information, not legal advice.

Read Wayback Machine's terms. Keep to public data, do not bypass logins or access controls, and check whether personal data is involved before you collect it. The can-I-scrape checklist walks through it.

How to start

Open Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor and start from its default input; its Actor page has the full example input and code.
Set the Wayback Machine search, profile, listing or URL you need and a result limit.
Run it and export the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel, or call it from the Apify API.

Call Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor from code

The example input uses the Actor's published defaults; set your own Wayback Machine query before you run it. You need an Apify API token.

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run_input = {
    "mode": "closest",
    "url": "apify.com",
    "urls": [],
    "matchType": "exact",
    "statusCodes": [],
    "excludeStatusCodes": [],
    "mimeTypes": [],
    "excludeMimeTypes": [],
    "collapseBy": "none",
    "sortDirection": "earliest",
    "targetDate": "2024-01-01",
    "enrichWithContent": False,
    "maxContentFetch": 0,
    "maxContentChars": 500000,
    "includeHeadings": False,
    "maxItems": 1,
    "detectChanges": False
}

run = client.actor("dataspryva/wayback-machine-snapshot-history-and-archived-text").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": "closest",
    "url": "apify.com",
    "urls": [],
    "matchType": "exact",
    "statusCodes": [],
    "excludeStatusCodes": [],
    "mimeTypes": [],
    "excludeMimeTypes": [],
    "collapseBy": "none",
    "sortDirection": "earliest",
    "targetDate": "2024-01-01",
    "enrichWithContent": false,
    "maxContentFetch": 0,
    "maxContentChars": 500000,
    "includeHeadings": false,
    "maxItems": 1,
    "detectChanges": false
};

const run = await client.actor("dataspryva/wayback-machine-snapshot-history-and-archived-text").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~wayback-machine-snapshot-history-and-archived-text/run-sync-get-dataset-items"   -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"mode":"closest","url":"apify.com","urls":[],"matchType":"exact","statusCodes":[],"excludeStatusCodes":[],"mimeTypes":[],"excludeMimeTypes":[],"collapseBy":"none","sortDirection":"earliest","targetDate":"2024-01-01","enrichWithContent":false,"maxContentFetch":0,"maxContentChars":500000,"includeHeadings":false,"maxItems":1,"detectChanges":false}'

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/wayback-machine-snapshot-history-and-archived-text",
      "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.

Questions people ask

What is the cheapest catalogue Actor for Wayback Machine data?

Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor lists $0.99 per 1,000 results (pay per event), with 19 fields in its published output schema. Start events and platform usage are billed separately. Checked 2026-11-09.

Which Wayback Machine scraper returns the most core fields?

Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor covers 1 of the 6 core Wayback Machine fields this page tracks (original, archive, status, mime, capture, title), based on its published output schema.

Does Wayback Machine have an official API?

Public API: The Internet Archive documents a Wayback Availability JSON API, the Wayback CDX Server API at web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx for querying and filtering captures, and Memento protocol support. Free; no API key is required for public captures.

Is it legal to scrape Wayback Machine?

It depends on what you collect and how. Archived pages remain the content of their original owners; follow the Internet Archive terms and keep request rates modest. Read Wayback Machine's terms (https://archive.org/about/terms) before you collect, and check whether personal data is involved. This is general information, not legal advice.

More on Wayback Machine

Wikipedia1 Actor
Similarweb1 Actor
Google Search4 Actors

Sources

Data checked 2026-11-09

Cite this page

Scraper Finder. "How to get Wayback Machine data." https://scraperfinder.com/sites/wayback-machine/ (data checked 2026-11-09).

Highest-scoring catalogue Actor

Wayback Machine Snapshot History & Archived Text Extractor: 1 of 6 core fields, $0.99 per 1,000 results, score 61. The highest score overall is 70 (Wayback Machine Scraper, a Store tool from another publisher); both are in the table above.

Open in Apify Store