AUTOMATIONSWITCH

Apify Actors MCP

by Apify

Apify Actors as MCP tools: 6,000+ web scrapers, automation actors, and AI agents callable from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client. Hosted streamable transport at https://mcp.apify.com plus stdio via npx. Dynamic actor discovery at runtime.

1,179·7 tools·Released FEB 2025·MIT
npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server
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Apify Actors as MCP tools: 6,000+ web scrapers, automation actors, and AI agents callable from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client. Two transports: hosted streamable at mcp.apify.com and stdio via npx @apify/actors-mcp-server. Dynamic tool discovery so the agent can search Apify Store and load new actors at runtime. 84 commits on main in the last 30 days, top cadence in this batch.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

Requires authenticationAPIFY_TOKEN environment variable. Token obtained from https://console.apify.com/account/integrations.
{ "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server" ], "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>" } } } }
PrereqRequires APIFY_TOKEN from https://console.apify.com/account/integrations. Hosted alternative: connect to https://mcp.apify.com via streamable-http transport. NPM: `@apify/actors-mcp-server`. Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server" ], "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server" ], "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server" ], "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@apify/actors-mcp-server" ], "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<your-apify-token>" } } } }

7 TOOLS AVAILABLE

search-actors
Search the Apify Store catalog for actors by keyword or category
Read
fetch-actor-details
Get input schema, pricing, and metadata for a chosen actor
Read
call-actor
Invoke an actor with input parameters and wait for completion
Write
get-actor-run
Retrieve status, logs, and dataset of a specific run
Read
list-actor-runs
List recent runs for the API token
Read
get-dataset-items
Fetch items from any dataset
Read

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • 84 commits on main in the last 30 days.
  • 1,179 GitHub stars and MIT licence.
  • Hosted streamable transport at https://mcp.apify.com (no local install).
  • Dynamic actor discovery: agent finds and loads tools at runtime via search-actors then call-actor.
  • 6,000+ pre-built actors in the Apify Store cover scraping, automation, AI workflows.
  • x402 and Skyfire agentic payment support shipped in 2026 releases.
  • Tool surface filterable via --tools flag for scoped agent configurations.
Weaknesses
  • Apify pricing is per-actor consumption; agents can accrue cost via call-actor when quota checks are absent from the agent loop.
  • Hosted endpoint requires APIFY_TOKEN; treat as sensitive.
  • Dynamic discovery means the tool surface presented to the agent changes between sessions; deterministic agents pin to a fixed --tools list.
Security Notes

APIFY_TOKEN carries full Apify account permissions including billing. Scope to a least-privilege token via the Apify dashboard. The hosted MCP at mcp.apify.com sees all tool inputs; review the Apify privacy policy before sending sensitive data through actor inputs.

Best For

Agent builders who need web scraping, data extraction, or specialised automation across thousands of pre-built tools; teams that want to invoke a specific Apify Actor (e.g. apify/rag-web-browser) as a dedicated agent tool; workflows where dynamic actor discovery is part of the agent reasoning loop.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
typescript
Transport
stdiostreamable-http
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurf
License
MIT
GitHub
npm
@apify/actors-mcp-server
Last Release
@apify/actors-mcp-server (npm latest)MAY 3, 2026
First Released
FEB 1, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
1,179

// Reading this1,179 stars. 84 commits on main in the last 30 days drive the editorial weight.

// Popularity Rank
#1
Globally · #1 in Data / Analytics

// Reading thisFirst-ranked in data on commit cadence and tool surface.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 5 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Manual submission
First indexed MAY 3, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
5 directories
PulseMCP, MCP.so, Glama, Smithery, Official MCP Registry
03
Verified against
Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 3, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 5 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page4.5editorial1,179MAY 3, 2026
PulseMCP— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
MCP.so— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
Glama— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
Smithery— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
Official MCP Registry— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

// Get in touch

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