> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lindy.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Apify

> Run Apify Actors to automate web scraping, data processing, and other tasks using pre-built containerized programs

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    <video src="https://lindy-docs-content.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/Human%20in%20Loop.mp4" width="600" autoPlay muted loop playsInline style={{ display: 'block', width: '100%', borderRadius: '16px' }} />
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## Overview

Apify Actors are lightweight, containerized programs that automate tasks like web scraping, data processing, and workflows. Perfect for:

* **Web scraping** — extract data from websites using pre-built scrapers
* **Data processing** — transform and analyze data with specialized tools
* **Automation tasks** — run complex workflows with thousands of available Actors

[Apify offers 6,000+ pre-built Actors](https://apify.com/actors) that handle everything from social media scraping to data transformation, so you don't have to build scrapers from scratch.

## Run Actor Action

* **What it does**: Executes a selected Apify Actor with the specified configuration to perform web scraping, data processing, or other automated tasks.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/lindyai/VHBHJwXMXFd-cbnu/lindy-brand-assets/apify.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=VHBHJwXMXFd-cbnu&q=85&s=c17e9753f539fff508faab6b9b29fc80" alt="Run Actor action configuration" width="1856" height="1004" data-path="lindy-brand-assets/apify.png" />
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### Inputs

* **Actor**: Select the specific Apify Actor you want to run from the available options
* **Variable inputs**: After selecting an Actor, you'll see additional input fields specific to that Actor's requirements

### Outputs

* **Results**: The data or output returned by the Actor (varies by Actor type)

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Actor Selection">
    * Browse the Apify Store to find Actors for your specific needs
    * Check Actor documentation for required inputs and configuration
    * Test with small datasets before running large scraping jobs
    * Verify Actor reliability and recent updates
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Performance & Costs">
    * Monitor Actor runtime and resource usage
    * Use appropriate Actor tiers based on your data volume needs
    * Set reasonable timeouts for long-running scraping tasks
    * Consider rate limits when scraping multiple websites
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Data Management">
    * Review Actor output format before integration
    * Store results in variables or context for further processing
    * Clean and validate scraped data before use
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Perplexity Search" href="/skills/web-browsing/perplexity" icon="browser">
    Research and gather information before scraping
  </Card>

  <Card title="Context Management" icon="database" href="/skills/lindy-utilities/context">
    Store scraped data for your agent's memory
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set Variables" icon="database" href="/skills/lindy-utilities/set-variables">
    Save Actor results for use in other workflow steps
  </Card>

  <Card title="Parallel Browsing" href="/skills/web-browsing/parallel" icon="browser">
    Alternative web research and data enrichment
  </Card>
</CardGroup>