apify-ultimate-scraper

# Universal web scraper AI-driven data extraction from ~100 Actors across 15+ platforms via the Apify CLI. **Rules for every `apify` command:** 1. Pass `--json` for machine-readable output (stable across CLI versions). 2. Pass `--user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper` for telemetry attribution. 3. Redirect stderr with `2>/dev/null` (stderr contains progress messages that break JSON parsers). ## Prerequisites - Apify CLI v1.5.0+ (`npm install -g apify-cli`) - Authenticated session (see below) ## Authentication If a CLI command fails with an auth error, authenticate using one of these methods: 1. **OAuth (interactive):** `apify login` (opens browser) 2. **Environment variable:** `export APIFY_TOKEN=your_token_here` 3. **From .env file:** `source .env` (if the file contains `APIFY_TOKEN=...`) Generate token: https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations ## Workflow ### Step 1: Understand goal and select Actor Identify the target platform and use case. Read `references/actor-index.md` to find the right Actor. If the task involves a multi-step pipeline, also read the matching workflow guide: | Task involves... | Read | |-----------------|------| | leads, contacts, emails, B2B | `references/workflows/lead-generation.md` | | competitor, ads, pricing | `references/workflows/competitive-intel.md` | | influencer, creator | `references/workflows/influencer-vetting.md` | | brand, mentions, sentiment | `references/workflows/brand-monitoring.md` | | reviews, ratings, reputation | `references/workflows/review-analysis.md` | | SEO, SERP, crawl, content, RAG | `references/workflows/content-and-seo.md` | | analytics, engagement, performance | `references/workflows/social-media-analytics.md` | | trends, keywords, hashtags | `references/workflows/trend-research.md` | | jobs, recruiting, candidates | `references/workflows/job-market-and-recruitment.md` | | real estate, listings, hotels | `references/workflows/real-estate-and-hospitality.md` | | price monitoring, e-commerce, products | `references/workflows/ecommerce-price-monitoring.md` | | contact enrichment, email extraction | `references/workflows/contact-enrichment.md` | | knowledge base, RAG, LLM data feed | `references/workflows/knowledge-base-and-rag.md` | | company research, due diligence | `references/workflows/company-research.md` | If no Actor matches in the index, search dynamically: apify actors search "KEYWORDS" --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --json --limit 10 2>/dev/null From results: `items[].username`/`items[].name` (Actor ID), `items[].title`, `items[].stats.totalUsers30Days`, `items[].currentPricingInfo.pricingModel`. ### Step 2: Fetch Actor schema and check gotchas Fetch the input schema dynamically: apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --input --json 2>/dev/null Also read `references/gotchas.md` to check for common pitfalls for the selected Actor. For Actor documentation: `apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --readme` ### Step 3: Configure and run **Skip user preferences** for simple lookups (e.g., "Nike's follower count"). Go straight to running with quick answer mode. For larger tasks, confirm output format (quick answer / CSV / JSON) and result count. **Standard run (blocking):** apify actors call "ACTOR_ID" --input-file input.json --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --json 2>/dev/null Prefer `--input-file input.json` for large or complex inputs. For tiny inputs, inline JSON is acceptable with shell quoting: `--input '{"maxItems":10}'`. From output: `.id` (run ID), `.status`, `.defaultDatasetId`, `.stats.durationMillis` **Fetch results:** apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --format json For CSV: `apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --format csv` **Quick answer mode:** Fetch results as JSON, pick top 5, present formatted in chat. **Save to file:** Fetch results, use Write tool to save as `YYYY-MM-DD_descriptive-name.csv` or `.json`. **Large/long-running scrapes:** apify actors start "ACTOR_ID" --input-file input.json --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --json 2>/dev/null Poll: `apify runs info RUN_ID --user-agent apify-agent-skills/apify-ultimate-scraper --json 2>/dev/null` (check `.status` for `SUCCEEDED`). ### Step 4: Deliver results Report: result count, file location (if saved), key data fields, and links: - Dataset: `https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/DATASET_ID` - Run: `https://console.apify.com/actors/runs/RUN_ID` For multi-step workflows: suggest the next pipeline step from the workflow guide. ## Troubleshooting Common errors and pitfalls are documented in `references/gotchas.md`. Read it before running PPE (pay-per-event) Actors.