Actor definition file (actor.json)

Your main Actor configuration is in the .actor/actor.json file at the root of your Actor's directory. This file links your local development project to an Actor on the Apify platform. It should include details like the Actor's name, version, build tag, and environment variables. Make sure to commit this file to your Git repository.

For example, the .actor/actor.json file can look like this:

Full actor.json
Minimal actor.json

{
    "actorSpecification": 1, // always 1
    "name": "name-of-my-scraper",
    "title": "My Web Scraper",
    "description": "Extract data from example.com.",
    "version": "0.0",
    "buildTag": "latest",
    "meta": {
        "templateId": "ts-crawlee-playwright-chrome"
    },
    "defaultMemoryMbytes": "get(input, 'startUrls.length', 1) * 1024",
    "minMemoryMbytes": 256,
    "maxMemoryMbytes": 4096,
    "environmentVariables": {
        "MYSQL_USER": "my_username",
        "MYSQL_PASSWORD": "@mySecretPassword"
    },
    "usesStandbyMode": false,
    "dockerfile": "./Dockerfile",
    "readme": "./ACTOR.md",
    "input": "./input_schema.json",
    "output": "./output_schema.json",
    "storages": {
        "dataset": "./dataset_schema.json",
        "keyValueStore": "./key_value_store_schema.json"
    },
    "webServerSchema": "./web_server_openapi.json",
    "webServerMcpPath": "/mcp"
}

{
    "actorSpecification": 1, // always 1
    "name": "name-of-my-scraper",
    "version": "0.0"
}

Reference

Deployment metadata

Actor name, version, buildTag, and environmentVariables are currently only used when you deploy your Actor using the Apify CLI and not when deployed, for example, via GitHub integration. There, it serves for informative purposes only.

Property	Type	Description
`actorSpecification`	Required	The version of the Actor specification. This property must be set to `1`, which is the only version available.
`name`	Required	The name of the Actor.
`title`	Optional	The `title` property defines the human-readable display title of the Actor, shown in Apify Console and Apify Store. If not specified, the `name` property is used as the title.
`description`	Optional	The description of the Actor.
`version`	Required	The version of the Actor, specified in the format `[Number].[Number]`, e.g., `0.1`, `0.3`, `1.0`, `1.3`, etc.
`buildTag`	Optional	The tag name to be applied to a successful build of the Actor. If not specified, defaults to `latest`. Refer to the builds for more information.
`meta`	Optional	Metadata object containing additional information about the Actor. Currently supports `templateId` field to identify the template from which the Actor was created.
`environmentVariables`	Optional	A map of environment variables to be used during local development. These variables will also be applied to the Actor when deployed on the Apify platform. For more details, see the environment variables section of the Apify CLI documentation.
`dockerfile`	Optional	The path to the Dockerfile to be used for building the Actor on the platform. If not specified, the system will search for Dockerfiles in the `.actor/Dockerfile` and `Dockerfile` paths, in that order. Refer to the Dockerfile section for more information.
`dockerContextDir`	Optional	The path to the directory to be used as the Docker context when building the Actor. The path is relative to the location of the `actor.json` file. This property is useful for monorepos containing multiple Actors. Refer to the Actor monorepos section for more details.
`readme`	Optional	The path to the README file to be used on the platform. If not specified, the system will look for README files in the `.actor/README.md` and `README.md` paths, in that order of preference. For details, see Create an Actor README.
`input`	Optional	You can embed your input schema object directly in `actor.json` under the `input` field. You can also provide a path to a custom input schema. If not provided, the input schema at `.actor/INPUT_SCHEMA.json` or `INPUT_SCHEMA.json` is used, in this order of preference. You can also use the `inputSchema` alias interchangeably.
`output`	Optional	You can embed your output schema object directly in `actor.json` under the `output` field. You can also provide a path to a custom output schema. Read more about Actor output schemas. You can also use the `outputSchema` alias interchangeably.
`changelog`	Optional	The path to the CHANGELOG file displayed in the Information tab of the Actor in Apify Console next to Readme. If not provided, the CHANGELOG at `.actor/CHANGELOG.md` or `CHANGELOG.md` is used, in this order of preference. Your Actor doesn't need to have a CHANGELOG but it is a good practice to keep it updated for published Actors.
`storages.dataset`	Optional	The `storages.dataset` property defines the schema for the Actor's default dataset. Set the property to an embedded dataset schema object or a path to a dataset schema file. Read about Actor dataset schemas.
`storages.datasets`	Optional	The `storages.datasets` property defines multiple datasets for the Actor. Set the property to an object that maps dataset aliases to embedded dataset schema objects or paths to dataset schema files. Read about multiple dataset schemas.
`storages.keyValueStore`	Optional	The `storages.keyValueStore` property defines the schema for the Actor's default key-value store. Set the property to an embedded key-value store schema object or a path to a key-value store schema file. Read about Actor key-value store schemas.
`defaultMemoryMbytes`	Optional	Specifies the default amount of memory in megabytes to be used when the Actor is started. Can be an integer or a dynamic memory expression string.
`minMemoryMbytes`	Optional	Specifies the minimum amount of memory in megabytes required by the Actor to run. Requires an integer value. If both `minMemoryMbytes` and `maxMemoryMbytes` are set, then `minMemoryMbytes` must be equal or lower than `maxMemoryMbytes`. Refer to the Usage and resources for more details about memory allocation.
`maxMemoryMbytes`	Optional	Specifies the maximum amount of memory in megabytes required by the Actor to run. It can be used to control the costs of run. Requires an integer value. Refer to the Usage and resources for more details about memory allocation.
`usesStandbyMode`	Optional	Boolean specifying whether the Actor will have Standby mode enabled.
`webServerSchema`	Optional	The `webServerSchema` property defines an OpenAPI v3 schema for the web server running in the Actor. Set the property to an embedded OpenAPI schema object or a path to a JSON schema file. Define the schema when your Actor starts its own HTTP server and you want to describe its interface.
`webServerMcpPath`	Optional	The HTTP endpoint path where the Actor exposes its MCP (Model Context Protocol) server functionality. When set, the Actor is recognized as an MCP server. For example, setting `"/mcp"` designates the `/mcp` endpoint as the MCP interface. This path becomes part of the Actor's stable URL when Standby mode is enabled.