Overview

This node integrates with the Apify platform to run an Actor, which is a serverless program designed to perform automated tasks such as web scraping, data extraction, or automation workflows. It is useful for scenarios where you want to trigger an Actor run programmatically, customize its execution parameters, and optionally wait for the run to finish or receive notifications via webhooks. For example, you can run an Actor to scrape product data from an e-commerce site, limit the memory and timeout for the run, and get notified when the run completes.

Use Case Examples

1. Trigger an Actor to scrape data from a website with a specified memory limit and timeout.
2. Run an Actor with a maximum number of items to control cost in pay-per-result scenarios.
3. Use webhooks to get notified when the Actor run finishes or fails.

Properties

Name	Meaning
Actor ID	The identifier of the Actor to run, which can be selected from a list, provided as a URL, or entered as an ID string.
Timeout	Optional timeout for the Actor run in seconds, overriding the default run configuration.
Memory	Memory limit for the Actor run in megabytes, must be a power of 2 with a minimum of 128, overriding the default.
Max Items	Maximum number of items the Actor run should return, useful for limiting results in pay-per-result Actors.
Build	Specifies the Actor build to run, either by build tag or build number, defaulting to the latest build.
Wait For Finish	Maximum seconds to wait for the Actor run to finish; if it finishes in time, the run status will be terminal, otherwise transitional.
Webhooks	Base64-encoded JSON array defining webhooks to receive notifications about the Actor run status.
Use Custom Body	Flag to indicate whether to send a custom JSON body in the run request.
Custom Body	Custom JSON body to send with the run request if 'Use Custom Body' is enabled.

Output

JSON

• runId - The unique identifier of the Actor run.
• status - The status of the Actor run, e.g., RUNNING, SUCCEEDED, or FAILED.
• output - The output data or results produced by the Actor run, if available.
• metadata - Additional metadata about the Actor run, such as timestamps and configuration.

Dependencies

• Requires an Apify API key credential for authentication.

Troubleshooting

• Ensure the Actor ID is valid and correctly formatted; invalid IDs or URLs will cause errors.
• Timeout and memory values must be within allowed ranges; invalid values may cause the run to fail or be rejected.
• If using webhooks, ensure the Base64-encoded JSON is correctly formatted to avoid webhook registration errors.
• If 'Use Custom Body' is enabled, the custom JSON must be valid and match the expected schema for the Actor input.

Links

• Apify Webhooks Documentation - Details on how to configure and use webhooks with Apify Actor runs.