Actions11
- Actor Actions
- Actor Task Actions
- Actor Run Actions
- Dataset Actions
- Key-Value Store Actions
Overview
This node integrates with the Apify platform to run a specified Actor and retrieve its dataset output. Actors on Apify are serverless programs designed for web scraping, automation, and data extraction tasks. This node is useful when you want to programmatically trigger an Actor run with custom input parameters and then collect the resulting data for further processing or analysis within your workflow.
Common scenarios include:
- Running a web scraper Actor to extract product prices from an e-commerce site and then processing the scraped data.
- Triggering an automation Actor that collects social media posts based on certain keywords and analyzing the results.
- Executing data extraction workflows with dynamic inputs and retrieving the structured dataset output.
Practical example:
You configure the node to run a specific Actor that scrapes news headlines, provide JSON input to specify the news category, optionally set memory and timeout limits, and then receive the scraped headlines as JSON output for downstream use.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Actor Source | Choose whether to select the Actor from your recently used Actors or browse the Apify Store. Options: "Recently Used Actors", "Apify Store Actors". |
| Actor | The Actor to run. Can be selected from a list of Actors, specified by URL, or directly by Actor ID. |
| Input JSON | JSON object specifying the input for the Actor run. If left empty, the Actor uses its default input configuration. |
| Timeout | Optional timeout in seconds for the Actor run. If not set, the Actor's default timeout applies. |
| Memory | Memory limit for the Actor run in megabytes. Options range from 128 MB up to 32 GB. Default is 1024 MB (1 GB). |
| Build Tag | Specifies which build tag of the Actor to run (e.g., "latest"). If empty, the default build configuration is used. |
| Authentication | Select the authentication method to use for connecting to Apify. Options: "API Key" or "OAuth2". |
Output
The node outputs the dataset produced by the executed Actor run in the json field of the output items. This dataset typically contains an array of JSON objects representing the extracted or processed data from the Actor execution.
If the Actor produces binary data, it would be available in the binary output fields, but this node primarily focuses on JSON dataset output.
Dependencies
- Requires access to the Apify platform via an API key or OAuth2 authentication.
- Properly configured credentials must be set up in n8n to authenticate requests to Apify.
- Network connectivity to Apify services is necessary.
Troubleshooting
- Invalid Actor ID or URL: Ensure the Actor identifier is correct and accessible with your credentials. Use the provided validation patterns to avoid malformed IDs or URLs.
- Timeouts: If the Actor run exceeds the specified timeout, the run may be aborted. Adjust the timeout property accordingly or leave it unset to use the Actor’s default.
- Memory Limits: Setting too low memory may cause the Actor to fail if it requires more resources. Increase the memory limit if runs fail due to resource constraints.
- Authentication Errors: Verify that the API key or OAuth2 token is valid and has sufficient permissions.
- Empty Dataset: If the Actor completes successfully but returns no data, check the input JSON and Actor configuration to ensure it produces output.