apify-sdk-integration

Apify SDK Integration

Add Apify Actor execution to an existing application. This skill covers the apify-client package for JS/TS and Python, plus the REST API for other languages.

When to Use This Skill

• Adding web scraping or automation to an existing app
• Calling Apify Actors programmatically from application code
• Building a product that uses Apify as a backend service
• Integrating Actor results into a data pipeline

Critical: Package Naming

apify-client is the API client for calling Actors from your app. apify is the SDK for building Actors (wrong package for this use case).

Always install apify-client. Never install apify for integration work.

Prerequisites

The user needs an APIFY_TOKEN. Direct them to Console > Settings > Integrations at https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations to create one. If they don't have an account: https://console.apify.com/sign-up (free, no credit card).

Store the token securely — environment variable or secrets manager, never hardcoded.

Finding the Right Actor

Before writing integration code, find the Actor that fits the user's needs. Use the MCP tools if available:

• search-actors — search the Apify Store by keyword
• fetch-actor-details — get the Actor's input schema, output format, and pricing

Alternatively, browse https://apify.com/store. Append .md to any Actor's Store URL to get its docs in markdown.

JavaScript / TypeScript

Install

npm install apify-client

Synchronous Execution (wait for results)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });

const run = await client.actor('apify/web-scraper').call({
    startUrls: [{ url: 'https://example.com' }],
    maxPagesPerCrawl: 10,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

.call() blocks until the Actor finishes. Use for short-running Actors (under a few minutes).