Pexels Stock Image Scraper

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Extract rich stock photo search results from Pexels with a keyword or a working Pexels search URL. Collect titles, alt text, image links, photographer details, flattened reaction and badge data, colors, tags, dimensions, and search context in a clean dataset that is ready for research, content pipelines, and cataloging.

Features

• Keyword or URL input — Start from a simple keyword or from an existing Pexels photo search URL
• Rich photo output — Collect photo metadata, photographer details, image variants, tags, colors, reaction counts, badge counts, and publication dates
• Failure diagnosis path — When requests fail, the actor reads its API discovery notes and retries diagnostic request patterns before giving up
• Pagination support — Continue through multiple result pages until your target count is reached
• Filter-aware scraping — Reuse filters already present in a working Pexels search URL
• Clean dataset items — Null values are removed before items are stored

Use Cases

Content Research

Build reference sets for blogs, social campaigns, landing pages, and creative briefs. Keep the image metadata alongside the source links so your team can review options quickly.

Visual Trend Monitoring

Track what kinds of photos appear for seasonal, commercial, or topical searches. Use tags, colors, and photographer metadata for broader analysis.

Asset Discovery

Collect batches of relevant image candidates for newsletters, presentations, and creative production workflows. Start from one search URL and expand through multiple pages.

Dataset Building

Create structured image-search datasets for downstream scoring, deduplication, enrichment, or reporting. Export results in JSON, CSV, Excel, and other supported formats.

Input Parameters

Output Data

Each dataset item can contain:

Usage Examples

Search by Keyword

Use a simple keyword and collect the first 20 image results:

{
"keyword":"summer",
"results_wanted":20
}

Use a Pexels Search URL

Start from a working Pexels search page:

{
"url":"https://www.pexels.com/search/summer/",
"results_wanted":30,
"max_pages":3
}

Continue from a Later Page with Filters

Resume from a later page and keep the same search style:

{
"url":"https://www.pexels.com/search/summer/?page=2&orientation=vertical",
"results_wanted":40,
"max_pages":4
}

Sample Output

{
"id":8455817,
"type":"photo",
"slug":"color-flipflops-on-the-sand",
"title":"Color Flipflops on the Sand",
"description":"Vibrant flip flops stand in the sand against a clear blue sky, symbolizing a perfect summer beach day.",
"alt":"Vibrant flip flops stand in the sand against a clear blue sky, symbolizing a perfect summer beach day.",
"photo_url":"https://www.pexels.com/photo/color-flipflops-on-the-sand-8455817/",
"download_page_url":"https://www.pexels.com/photo/8455817/download/",
"download_image_url":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/8455817/pexels-photo-8455817.jpeg?cs=srgb&dl=pexels-rdne-8455817.jpg&fm=jpg",
"large_image_url":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/8455817/pexels-photo-8455817.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1440",
"width":4442,
"height":6663,
"aspect_ratio":0.6666666666666666,
"license":"Pexels",
"publish_at":"2021-06-23T22:00:45.455Z",
"tags":[
"beach",
"summer",
"vacation"
],
"colors":[
"#008b8b",
"#00bfff",
"#cd5c5c"
],
"photographer_name":"RDNE Stock project",
"photographer_slug":"rdne",
"photographer_location":"Los Angeles",
"photographer_hero":false,
"photographer_active_hero":false,
"photographer_badges":[],
"photographer_badges_count":0,
"reactions_emotional_count":0,
"reactions_technical_count":0,
"reactions_stylistic_count":0,
"search":{
"query":"summer",
"locale":"en-us",
"page":1,
"total_photo_results":5186
}
}

Tips for Best Results

Start with Real Search URLs

• Use a working Pexels photo search URL when you already know the page and filters you want
• Keep the URL focused on photo search pages, not videos or user pages

Keep QA Runs Fast

• Use results_wanted: 20 for quick verification runs
• Increase max_pages only when you need deeper pagination

Use Filters Deliberately

• Pass orientation, size, or color only when they matter to your use case
• If your URL already contains filters, the actor can reuse them automatically

Proxy Usage

• Start without a proxy for small runs
• Enable Apify Proxy if you need more stable access at scale

Integrations

Connect your dataset with:

• Google Sheets — Review image candidates in spreadsheets
• Airtable — Build searchable asset tables
• Make — Send new results into automated workflows
• Zapier — Trigger downstream actions from completed runs
• Webhooks — Deliver results to your own services

Export Formats

• JSON — For APIs, apps, and enrichment pipelines
• CSV — For spreadsheet review
• Excel — For stakeholder reporting
• XML — For custom integrations

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use either a keyword or a URL?

Yes. The actor supports both. A keyword-only run is useful for simple searches, while a URL keeps existing search filters and page context.

Does the actor support paginated runs?

Yes. It keeps requesting additional result pages until it reaches results_wanted, the search ends, or max_pages is reached.

Will null fields be stored?

No. Dataset items are cleaned before storage so null values are removed.

Can I start from page 2 or page 3?

Yes. Use the page input or provide a Pexels search URL that already includes a page query parameter.

Does it support video or user search URLs?

No. This actor is focused on Pexels photo search results.

What happens if I provide both url and keyword?

The actor can reuse the URL context while applying the provided keyword as the active search query.

Support

For issues or feature requests, use the Apify Console for the actor.

Resources

• Apify Documentation
• Apify API Reference
• Apify Schedules

Legal Notice

This actor is intended for lawful data collection and research workflows. Users are responsible for complying with Pexels terms, platform rules, and applicable laws when collecting and using data.