---
name: Apify Actor Router
slug: apify-actor-router
category: Automation
description: Apify Actor Router helps an agent choose an Apify Actor, build valid input, run it, and retrieve the results. Use it when automating tasks through Apify Actors or the Apify CLI and MCP tools.
github: "https://github.com/apify/awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/_template"
language: Python
stars: 248
forks: 61
install: "npx degit https://github.com/apify/awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/_template ~/.claude/skills/_template"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/_template
source_path: skills/_template/SKILL.md
collection_size: 14
category_size: 1648
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/apify/awesome-skills"
added: 2026-09-02T05:21:11.151Z
last_synced: 2026-09-02T05:21:11.151Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/apify-actor-router"
---

# Apify Actor Router

Apify Actor Router helps an agent choose an Apify Actor, build valid input, run it, and retrieve the results. Use it when automating tasks through Apify Actors or the Apify CLI and MCP tools.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/apify/awesome-skills/tree/main/skills/_template ~/.claude/skills/_template
```

## README

# REPLACE: Skill Title

REPLACE: One-line summary of what this skill helps the agent accomplish.

## Example prompts

Prompts this skill handles:

- "REPLACE: a real prompt a user would type"
- "REPLACE: a second one, phrased differently"

Out of scope (the boundary):

- "REPLACE: a nearby request this skill deliberately does not handle — and where to send it instead"

## Prerequisites

- Apify account ([sign up](https://apify.com))
- Authentication via one of:
  - `apify login` (OAuth, if using the Apify CLI)
  - `APIFY_TOKEN` environment variable
  - Token from [Apify Console → Settings → Integrations](https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations)

## Workflow

1. REPLACE: Understand the user's goal, pick the right Actor(s).
2. REPLACE: Fetch the Actor's input schema, build a valid input.
3. REPLACE: Run the Actor, confirm with user if estimated cost is significant.
4. REPLACE: Deliver results (count, format, link to dataset/console).

For a worked 4-step workflow, see [apify/agent-skills ultimate-scraper](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/apify-ultimate-scraper/SKILL.md).

## Actor routing

| User need | Actor ID | Tier | Best for |
|-----------|----------|------|----------|
| REPLACE | `apify/REPLACE-actor` | apify | REPLACE |
| REPLACE | `community/REPLACE-actor` | community | REPLACE |

`Tier` = `apify` (Apify-maintained, prefer) or `community` (third-party).

## Calling Actors — choose your interface

Skills in this repo can call Actors via any of these interfaces. Pick the one
that fits your runtime; cross-tool compatibility is your responsibility.

### Option A: Apify CLI (recommended for portability)

Works in any shell-capable agent. Three flags on every call:

    apify actors call "ACTOR_ID" -i 'JSON_INPUT' \
      --json \
      --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/REPLACE-skill-name \
      2>/dev/null

| Flag | Why |
|------|-----|
| `--json` | Stable machine-readable output |
| `--user-agent` | Apify telemetry attribution |
| `2>/dev/null` | Suppress progress messages that break JSON |

Other useful commands:

    # Search Actors
    apify actors search "KEYWORDS" --json --limit 10 \
      --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/REPLACE-skill-name 2>/dev/null

    # Fetch Actor schema
    apify actors info "ACTOR_ID" --input --json \
      --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/REPLACE-skill-name 2>/dev/null

    # Fetch results
    apify datasets get-items DATASET_ID --format json \
      --user-agent apify-awesome-skills/REPLACE-skill-name 2>/dev/null

For the canonical command set with all flags, see [apify/agent-skills ultimate-scraper](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/apify-ultimate-scraper/SKILL.md).

### Option B: Apify MCP connector

Hosted MCP server at <https://mcp.apify.com>. Documented at
<https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp>.

### Option C: MCP client of your choice (e.g. `mcpc`)

Standalone CLI client. See <https://github.com/apify/mcpc>.

## Troubleshooting

- REPLACE: common error 1 → fix
- REPLACE: common error 2 → fix
- For detailed cost guardrails and recovery, see [references/gotchas.md](references/gotchas.md).