Collectors · App stores

iTunes Search API in Python

Apple catalog search — apps, podcasts, music, movies, ebooks — per storefront. One POST from Python with query, rows back as JSON with 32 fields, $0.0004 per delivered result. No proxies or parsers to maintain.

Get an API key See the collector

A Python requests snippet that posts { — A Python requests call to the itunes_search collector returns one dict per result, at $0.0004 each.

First call

Install, call, read the rows.

pip install requests

The only dependency.

import os, requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/itunes_search/run",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"},
    json={
        "query": "<query>",
    },
    timeout=120,
)
r.raise_for_status()
run = r.json()["payload"]
print(run["count"], "rows,", run["cost"]["usd"], "USD")
for row in run["results"]:
    print(row.get("kind"), row.get("name"), row.get("artist"), row.get("genre"))

Python: one Apple iTunes search run, printing kind, name, artist, genre

The key comes from an environment variable, never from the code. The run answers in the same request when it finishes in time; payload.results holds the rows and payload.cost what they cost.

Request parameters

What the collector takes.

Input of the Apple iTunes search collector
Parameter	Type	Required	Meaning
`query`	string	yes	Search terms.
`media`	string	no	Which catalog to search.
`country`	string	no	2-letter country (default us).
`max_results`	integer	no	How many results to deliver at most (1–50). You pay only for delivered results.

Response fields

32 fields per result.

Fields of each row (result)
Field	Type	What it holds
`rank`	integer	1-based position.
`kind`	string, nullable	Result kind (software, podcast…).
`name`	string	Track/collection name.
`artist`	string, nullable	Artist or seller.
`genre`	string, nullable	Primary genre.
`price`	number, nullable	Storefront price.
`currency`	string, nullable	Price currency.
`rating`	number, nullable	Average user rating.
`ratings_count`	integer, nullable	Rating count.
`release_date`	string, nullable	Release date.
`artwork`	string, nullable	Artwork URL.
`url`	string, nullable	Store link.
`id`	string, nullable	Apple's id for the result (track id; collection id for albums and audiobooks).
`artist_id`	string, nullable	Apple artist/developer id.
`artist_url`	string, nullable	Artist page on the store.
`collection`	string, nullable	Album / show / collection name.
`collection_id`	string, nullable	Apple collection id.
`genres`	string[]	All genres listed for the result.
`collection_price`	number, nullable	Price of the whole album/collection.
`duration_seconds`	integer, nullable	Length of the track, episode or movie.
`track_count`	integer, nullable	Episodes in the podcast / tracks on the album.
`track_number`	integer, nullable	Position of the track on its album.
`explicit`	boolean, nullable	Explicit-content flag.
`content_rating`	string, nullable	Content advisory (Clean, Explicit, 12+…).
`feed_url`	string, nullable	Podcasts: the show's RSS feed.
`preview_url`	string, nullable	Music/movies: 30-second preview clip.
`bundle_id`	string, nullable	Apps: bundle id.
`seller`	string, nullable	Apps: seller name.
`version`	string, nullable	Apps: current version.
`description`	string, nullable	Apps, movies, ebooks: description (trimmed).
`storefront`	string, nullable	Storefront country code as Apple states it (USA, ITA…).
`artwork_large`	string, nullable	600px artwork.

Add ?format=csv to the runs endpoint to get the same rows as CSV.

Long runs

Run in the background, then poll.

A run that needs more time can go to the background: send "async": true, get 202 with the run id, and poll the runs endpoint until the status is done. Reading a run is free.

import os, time, requests

H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"}
r = requests.post("https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/itunes_search/run", headers=H,
                  json={**{"query":"<query>"}, "async": True}, timeout=30)
run_id = r.json()["payload"]["run_id"]
while True:
    run = requests.get(f"https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/runs/{run_id}", headers=H, timeout=30).json()["payload"]
    if run["status"] in ("done", "failed"):
        break
    time.sleep(5)
print(run["status"], run["count"])

Python: background run and polling

Errors

What can come back, and what is billed.

Collector run errors
Status	Meaning	Billed
`400`	The input does not match the collector (`payload.errors`)	No
`401`	Missing or wrong API key	No
`402`	Balance and free credit do not cover the run: top up	No
`422`	The input can never resolve; retrying the same input cannot help	No
`424`	The run failed at the source (blocked, timed out, layout changed); safe to retry	No
`429`	Rate limit or a per-account brake; wait for `Retry-After`	No

Only delivered rows are billed: a run that delivers nothing costs nothing.

Price

$0.0004 per delivered result.

What Apple iTunes search rows cost at list price
Rows	Cost
1	$0.0004
1,000	$0.40
10,000	$4.00

Up to 50 results per run; split larger jobs into several runs. The $2 free credit every month covers about 5,000 results. No subscription; paid tiers lower the unit price. All collector prices: collector pricing.

Before you run it

Questions developers ask

Is there a free Apple iTunes search API?

Every account gets $2 of free usage each month, about 5,000 results of this collector at $0.0004 each, with no card.

Do I have to handle proxies, retries or blocks?

No. The collector runs on our network and handles them; a run blocked at the source returns 424 and is not billed.

How many rows can one run return?

Up to 50 results per run (the max_results input, where the collector has one).

Can an AI agent run it?

Yes: the MCP server exposes it as the run_collector tool, with the same input and price. See the MCP server.

Run it on the free credit.

Create an API key, export it as QD_API_KEY and run the example. $0.0004 per delivered result, no subscription.

Get an API key iTunes Search API