Scraping TikTok Videos by Hashtag

Raw video dataset for any TikTok hashtag or keyword. Returns full video metadata including engagement metrics and author info.

Prerequisites

APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
`startUrls`	array	Optional	`[]`	TikTok URLs — user profiles, hashtags, music pages, search, locations
`keywords`	array	Optional	`[]`	Search keywords/terms to find posts
`sortType`	string	Optional	`RELEVANCE`	Sort order for keyword results: `RELEVANCE`, `MOST_LIKED`, `DATE_POSTED`
`location`	string	Optional	—	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for regional filtering (e.g. `US`, `GB`)
`maxItems`	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum posts to return across the run
`includeSearchKeywords`	boolean	Optional	`false`	Add the matched search keyword field to each post
`customMapFunction`	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Normalize hashtag list
- [ ] Step 2: Run tiktok-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Poll for SUCCEEDED
- [ ] Step 4: Deliver video dataset

Step 2: Run the Actor

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tiktok-scraper"
Input:
{
  "keywords": ["tag1", "tag2"],
  "maxItems": 100
}

REST API fallback:

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tiktok-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords": ["tag1", "tag2"], "maxItems": 100}'

Save id as RUN_ID. Poll until status = SUCCEEDED:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" | grep '"status"'

Fetch results:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"

Step 3: Handle Edge Cases

0 results for hashtag: Hashtag may be banned on TikTok or spelled incorrectly. Try alternate spelling.
< 20 results: Hashtag may be very niche — inform user, return what is available.
Duplicate video IDs across hashtags: Deduplicate by videoId field.

Output Format

# TikTok Video Dataset: #<hashtag>
Videos collected: N | Hashtags queried: N

| Video ID | Author | Caption (truncated) | Views | Likes | Comments | Shares | Posted |
|----------|--------|---------------------|-------|-------|----------|--------|--------|
| ...      | ...    | ...                 | ...   | ...   | ...      | ...    | ...    |

Available fields: videoId, authorUsername, desc, playCount, diggCount, commentCount,
shareCount, createTime, videoUrl, musicTitle, hashtags, isAd

Troubleshooting

Banned hashtag returns 0: Some hashtags are restricted by TikTok — try parent category tag. Slow run: TikTok rate-limits heavily; maxItems: 200 is a safe cap per run.

scraping-tiktok-videos-by-hashtag