Free SKILL.md scraped from GitHub. Clone the repo or copy the file directly into your Claude Code skills directory.
npx versuz@latest install jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-plugins-saas-packs-apify-pack-skills-apify-hello-worldgit clone https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills.gitcp claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/SKILL.MD ~/.claude/skills/jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-plugins-saas-packs-apify-pack-skills-apify-hello-world/SKILL.md---
name: apify-hello-world
description: 'Run your first Apify Actor and retrieve results via apify-client.
Use when starting a new Apify integration, testing connectivity,
or learning the Actor call/dataset retrieval pattern.
Trigger: "apify hello world", "apify example", "run an apify actor",
"apify quick start", "first apify scrape".
'
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*), Bash(npx:*), Bash(node:*)
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
tags:
- saas
- scraping
- automation
- apify
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code
---
# Apify Hello World
## Overview
Run a public Actor from the Apify Store, wait for it to finish, and retrieve the scraped data. This demonstrates the fundamental call-wait-collect pattern used in every Apify integration.
## Prerequisites
- `npm install apify-client` completed
- `APIFY_TOKEN` environment variable set
- See `apify-install-auth` if not ready
## Core Pattern: Call Actor, Get Data
```typescript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
// 1. Run an Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor('apify/website-content-crawler').call({
startUrls: [{ url: 'https://docs.apify.com/academy' }],
maxCrawlPages: 5,
});
// 2. Retrieve results from the default dataset
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(`Crawled ${items.length} pages:`);
items.forEach(item => {
console.log(` - ${item.url}: ${item.text?.substring(0, 80)}...`);
});
```
## Instructions
### Step 1: Create the Script
Create `hello-apify.ts` (or `.js`) with the code above.
### Step 2: Run It
```bash
# With tsx (recommended)
npx tsx hello-apify.ts
# Or with Node.js (plain JS)
node hello-apify.js
```
### Step 3: Understand the Output
The Actor runs on Apify's cloud infrastructure. When it finishes:
- `run.id` — unique run identifier
- `run.status` — `SUCCEEDED`, `FAILED`, `TIMED-OUT`, or `ABORTED`
- `run.defaultDatasetId` — ID of the dataset containing results
- `run.defaultKeyValueStoreId` — ID of the KV store with metadata
## Popular Starter Actors
| Actor ID | Purpose | Typical Input |
|----------|---------|---------------|
| `apify/website-content-crawler` | Crawl and extract text | `{ startUrls, maxCrawlPages }` |
| `apify/web-scraper` | General-purpose scraper | `{ startUrls, pageFunction }` |
| `apify/cheerio-scraper` | Fast HTML scraper | `{ startUrls, pageFunction }` |
| `apify/google-search-scraper` | Google SERP results | `{ queries, maxPagesPerQuery }` |
## Synchronous vs Asynchronous Runs
```typescript
// SYNCHRONOUS — .call() waits for the Actor to finish (simple, blocking)
const run = await client.actor('apify/web-scraper').call(input);
// ASYNCHRONOUS — .start() returns immediately, poll later
const run = await client.actor('apify/web-scraper').start(input);
// ... do other work ...
const finishedRun = await client.run(run.id).waitForFinish();
```
## Working with Results
```typescript
// Get all items (paginated internally)
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
// Get items with pagination control
const page1 = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems({
limit: 100,
offset: 0,
});
// Download entire dataset as CSV/JSON/etc.
const buffer = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).downloadItems('csv');
// Get a named output from the key-value store
const screenshot = await client
.keyValueStore(run.defaultKeyValueStoreId)
.getRecord('screenshot');
```
## Run Configuration Options
```typescript
const run = await client.actor('apify/web-scraper').call(
input, // Actor-specific input object
{
memory: 1024, // Memory in MB (128–32768, powers of 2)
timeout: 300, // Timeout in seconds (default: Actor's setting)
build: 'latest', // Which build to use
waitSecs: 120, // Max wait for .call() (0 = don't wait)
}
);
```
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| `Actor not found` | Wrong Actor ID | Check ID at apify.com/store |
| `run.status === 'FAILED'` | Actor crashed | Check `run.statusMessage` for details |
| `run.status === 'TIMED-OUT'` | Exceeded timeout | Increase `timeout` or reduce workload |
| `Dataset is empty` | Actor produced no output | Verify input parameters; check Actor logs |
| `402 Payment Required` | Insufficient compute units | Top up at console.apify.com/billing |
## Complete Example: Scrape and Save
```typescript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
async function scrapeAndSave() {
console.log('Starting Actor run...');
const run = await client.actor('apify/website-content-crawler').call({
startUrls: [{ url: 'https://example.com' }],
maxCrawlPages: 10,
});
if (run.status !== 'SUCCEEDED') {
throw new Error(`Actor run failed: ${run.status} — ${run.statusMessage}`);
}
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
writeFileSync('results.json', JSON.stringify(items, null, 2));
console.log(`Saved ${items.length} items to results.json`);
}
scrapeAndSave().catch(console.error);
```
## Resources
- [Apify Store — Browse Actors](https://apify.com/store)
- [Run Actor via API](https://docs.apify.com/academy/api/run-actor-and-retrieve-data-via-api)
- [JS Client Examples](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs/guides/examples)
## Next Steps
Proceed to `apify-local-dev-loop` for local Actor development.