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Local development

Create your first Actor locally on your machine, deploy it to the Apify platform, and run it in the cloud.

Prerequisites

You need to have Node.js version 16 or higher with NPM installed on your computer.

Install Apify CLI​

MacOS/Linux​

You can install the Apify CLI via the Homebrew package manager.

brew install apify-cli

Other platforms​

Use NPM to install the Apify CLI.

npm -g install apify-cli

Visit Apify CLI documentation for more information regarding installation and advanced usage.

Create your Actor​

To create a new Actor, use the following command:

apify create

The CLI will prompt you to:

  1. Name your Actor: Enter a descriptive name for your Actor, such as your-actor-name
  2. Choose a programming language: Select the language you want to use for your Actor (JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python).
  3. Select a development template: Choose a template from the list of available options.

After selecting the template, the CLI will:

  • Create a your-actor-name directory with the boilerplate code.
  • Install all project dependencies

Creation

Navigate to the newly created Actor directory:

cd your-actor-name

Explore the source code in your editor​

After creating your Actor, explore the source code in your preferred code editor, We'll use the Crawlee + Puppeteer + Chrome template code as an example, but all Actor templates follow a similar organizational pattern. The important directories and filer are:

src Directory​

  • srx/main.js: This file contains the actual code of your Actor

.actor Directory​

  • actor.json: This file defines the Actor's configuration, such as input and output specifications.
  • Dockerfile: This file contains instructions for building the Docker image for your Actor.

storage Directory​

Actor source code

Run it locally​

To run your Actor locally, use the following command:

apify run

After executing this command, you will see the Actor's log output in your terminal. The results of the Actor's execution will be stored in the local dataset located in the storage/dastasets/default directory.

Actor source code

Local testing & debugging

Running the Actor locally allows you to test and debug your code before deploying it to the Apify platform.

Deploy it to Apify platform​

Once you are satisfied with your Actor, to deploy it to the Apify platform, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Apify with the CLI tool

    apify login

    This command will prompt you to provide your API token that you can find in Console.

  2. Push your Actor to the Apify platform

    apify push

    This command will upload your Actor's code and configuration to the Apify platform, where it can be executed and managed.

    Actor monetization

    If you have successfully completed your first Actor, you may consider sharing it with other users and monetizing it. The Apify platform provides opportunities to publish and monetize your Actors, allowing you to share your work with the community and potentially generate revenue.

By following these steps, you can seamlessly deploy your Actors to the Apify platform, enabling you to leverage its scalability, reliability, and advanced features for your web scraping and data processing projects.