Apify Automation

Apify Automation

Run Apify web scraping Actors and manage datasets directly from Claude Code. Execute crawlers synchronously or asynchronously, retrieve structured data, create reusable tasks, and inspect run logs without leaving your terminal.

Toolkit docs: claude-skills.ai/toolkits/apify

Setup

1. Add the Claude Skill MCP server to your configuration:

   https://rube.app/mcp
   

2. Connect your Apify account when prompted. The agent will provide an authentication link.
3. Browse available Actors at apify.com/store. Each Actor has its own unique input schema -- always check the Actor's documentation before running.

Core Workflows

1. Run an Actor Synchronously and Get Results

Execute an Actor and immediately retrieve its dataset items in a single call. Best for quick scraping jobs.

Tool: APIFY_RUN_ACTOR_SYNC_GET_DATASET_ITEMS

Key parameters:

• actorId (required) -- Actor ID in format username/actor-name (e.g., compass/crawler-google-places)
• input -- JSON input object matching the Actor's schema. Each Actor has unique field names -- check apify.com/store for the exact schema.
• limit -- max items to return
• offset -- skip items for pagination
• format -- json (default), csv, jsonl, html, xlsx, xml
• timeout -- run timeout in seconds
• waitForFinish -- max wait time (0-300 seconds)
• fields -- comma-separated list of fields to include
• omit -- comma-separated list of fields to exclude

Example prompt: "Run the Google Places scraper for 'restaurants in New York' and return the first 50 results"

2. Run an Actor Asynchronously

Trigger an Actor run without waiting for completion. Use for long-running scraping jobs.

Tool: APIFY_RUN_ACTOR

Key parameters:

• actorId (required) -- Actor slug or ID
• body -- JSON input object for the Actor
• memory -- memory limit in MB (must be power of 2, minimum 128)
• timeout -- run timeout in seconds
• maxItems -- cap on returned items
• build -- specific build tag (e.g., latest, beta)

Follow up with APIFY_GET_DATASET_ITEMS to retrieve results using the run's datasetId.

Example prompt: "Start the web scraper Actor for example.com asynchronously with 1024MB memory"

3. Retrieve Dataset Items

Fetch data from a specific dataset with pagination, field selection, and filtering.

Tool: APIFY_GET_DATASET_ITEMS

Key parameters:

• datasetId (required) -- dataset identifier
• limit (default/max 1000) -- items per page
• offset (default 0) -- pagination offset
• format -- json (recommended), csv, xlsx
• fields -- include only specific fields
• omit -- exclude specific fields
• clean -- remove Apify-specific metadata
• desc -- reverse order (newest first)

Example prompt: "Get the first 500 items from dataset myDatasetId in JSON format"

4. Inspect Actor Details

View Actor metadata, input schema, and configuration before running it.

Tool: APIFY_GET_ACTOR

Key parameters:

• actorId (required) -- Actor ID in format username/actor-name or hex ID

Example prompt: "Show me the details and input schema for the apify/web-scraper Actor"

5. Create Reusable Tasks

Configure reusable Actor tasks with preset inputs for recurring scraping jobs.

Tool: APIFY_CREATE_TASK

Configure a task once, then trigger it repeatedly with consistent input parameters. Useful for scheduled or recurring data collection workflows.

Example prompt: "Create an Apify task for the Google Search scraper with default query 'AI startups' and US location"

6. Manage Runs and Datasets

List Actor runs, browse datasets, and inspect run details for monitoring and debugging.

Tools: APIFY_GET_LIST_OF_RUNS, APIFY_DATASETS_GET, APIFY_DATASET_GET, APIFY_GET_LOG

For listing runs:

• Filter by Actor and optionally by status
• Get datasetId from run details for data retrieval

For dataset management:

• APIFY_DATASETS_GET -- list all your datasets with pagination
• APIFY_DATASET_GET -- get metadata for a specific dataset

For debugging:

• APIFY_GET_LOG -- retrieve execution logs for a run or build

Example prompt: "List the last 10 runs for the web scraper Actor and show logs for the most recent one"

Known Pitfalls

• Actor input schemas vary wildly: Every Actor has its own unique input fields. Generic field names like queries or search_terms will be rejected. Always check the Actor's page on apify.com/store for exact field names (e.g., searchStringsArray for Google Maps, startUrls for web scrapers).
• URL format requirements: Always include the full protocol (https:// or http://) in URLs. Many Actors require URLs as objects with a url property: {"startUrls": [{"url": "https://example.com"}]}.
• Dataset pagination cap: APIFY_GET_DATASET_ITEMS has a max limit of 1000 per call. For large datasets, loop with offset to collect all items.
• Enum values are lowercase: Most Actors expect lowercase enum values (e.g., relevance not RELEVANCE, all not ALL).
• Sync timeout at 5 minutes: APIFY_RUN_ACTOR_SYNC_GET_DATASET_ITEMS has a maximum waitForFinish of 300 seconds. For longer runs, use APIFY_RUN_ACTOR (async) and poll with APIFY_GET_DATASET_ITEMS.
• Data volume costs: Large datasets can be expensive to fetch. Prefer moderate limits and incremental processing to avoid timeouts or memory pressure.
• JSON format recommended: While CSV/XLSX formats are available, JSON is the most reliable for automated processing. Avoid CSV/XLSX for downstream automation.

Quick Reference

Part of the Claude Skills Hub