Universal web 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:

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.