Apify for Claude Code
Official Apify plugin for Claude Code — adds the Apify MCP server, one apify routing agent, and five bundled skills for the main Apify workflows: using existing Actors, building and deploying your own Actors, actorizing existing projects, generating Actor output schemas, and integrating Apify into existing applications.
Apify is a platform of thousands of serverless cloud programs called Actors for web scraping, browser automation, and data extraction. Learn more at apify.com.
What you get
| Component | Name | Purpose |
|---|
| Agent (entry point) | apify | Routes every Apify request to the right skill or transport path. This is the one you should invoke. |
| MCP server | apify (https://mcp.apify.com/) | Lets the agent search the Apify Store, fetch Actor details, run Actors, and read the Apify docs. |
| Skill | apify-actor-development | Create, debug, and deploy a brand new Apify Actor from scratch. |
| Skill | apify-actorization | Convert an existing JS/TS, Python, or CLI project into an Apify Actor. |
| Skill | apify-generate-output-schema | Generate dataset_schema.json / output_schema.json / key_value_store_schema.json for an existing Actor. |
| Skill | apify-sdk-integration | Add Apify Actor execution to an existing application using the apify-client package. |
| Skill | apify-ultimate-scraper | CLI-driven data extraction workflow for selecting, configuring, and running pre-built Actors across 15+ platforms. |
Installation
Add the Apify marketplace and install the plugin:
/plugin marketplace add apify/apify-claude-code-plugin
/plugin install apify@apify
Validate the installation:
/plugin validate .
Prerequisites
- Claude Code CLI installed and authenticated.
First-run setup
The plugin uses three setup paths depending on what you're doing. The apify agent will guide you through the right one, but here is the high-level map.
Path 1 — Using existing Actors through MCP
Uses OAuth. The first time the agent calls a tool that needs auth (for example run-actor or get-dataset-items), Claude Code opens console.apify.com in your browser and asks you to sign in. Read-only tools such as search-actors, fetch-actor-details, search-apify-docs, and fetch-apify-docs work without auth.
Path 2 — CLI workflows for Actor development, actorization, or scraper runs
These skills expect the local apify CLI to be available. Install it first:
npm install -g apify-cli
For interactive use, authenticate with:
apify login
In headless or CI environments, export an APIFY_TOKEN instead; the CLI can read it automatically:
export APIFY_TOKEN="apify_api_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
Generate a token at console.apify.com/settings/integrations. Don't have an account? Sign up free — no credit card required.
Path 3 — SDK integration into an existing application
Uses an APIFY_TOKEN environment variable with the apify-client package or the REST API:
export APIFY_TOKEN="apify_api_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
Working in headless / SSH environments (no browser)
The MCP OAuth flow needs a browser. If you're running Claude Code over SSH or in any environment without a browser, you have these options:
- Authenticate locally first. Run Claude Code once on your laptop so the OAuth refresh token is stored, then reconnect remotely.
- Use the CLI-based skills.
apify-actor-development, apify-actorization, and apify-ultimate-scraper can work in headless environments when the apify CLI is installed and APIFY_TOKEN is exported.
- Use the SDK integration skill.
apify-sdk-integration uses apify-client and only needs APIFY_TOKEN.
How to use it
Start a Claude Code session and describe what you need. The apify agent reads the request, chooses between MCP, CLI, or SDK-based workflows, and dispatches to the right skill or tool.
find me 5 well-rated coffee shops in Seattle and export to CSV
build me an Actor that scrapes a sitemap and stores titles
add Apify to this Next.js app so I can run a scraper from /api/scrape
generate output schemas for the Actor in this folder
Components reference
MCP server
The apify MCP server is configured in .mcp.json and the agent uses it for Route 1 tasks. It exposes:
search-actors — search the Apify Store by keyword (no auth)fetch-actor-details — Actor specs, input schema, pricing (no auth)run-actor — execute an Actor and return results (OAuth)get-dataset-items — retrieve dataset rows from a previous run (OAuth)search-apify-docs / fetch-apify-docs — Apify documentation lookup
Bundled scripts
