ApifyWeb & SEO DataSEO/AEO

Start an Apify actor run in the background

apify.web.scrape.job.start

Start a scraper run in the background and get back its run id

Price: freeAt provider cost
Success rate: 99.9%Last 30 days · 1,509 calls
Latency p50: 4.4 sp95 15 s
Last verified: Jul 31, 2026Verified working

POSThttps://toolswitch.dev/v1/tools/apify.web.scrape.job.start?memory=256&timeout=60&waitForFinish=0&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.05

Preview

Try onlineComing soonProvider docs ↗

Uses platform quota
Synchronous response
Reads public data

Parameters

the whole request body IS the actor's input object — there is no wrapper key; use the same fields as the run-sync entries above (startUrls/resultsLimit for the Facebook actor, search/limit for the TikTok one). Returns immediately with {data: {id, status, defaultDatasetId}}. This is the route for anything that outruns run-sync's 300-second ceiling: keep `id` to poll and `defaultDatasetId` to collect results. The test_request deliberately targets apify~hello-world rather than a data actor — REPLAYING IT STARTS A REAL RUN, and hello-world is the cheapest actor that exists (observed 2026-07-31: $0.00013 of compute, no results, so nothing pay-per-result can bill). Verified live 2026-07-31 that /actors/{id}/runs and the older /acts/{id}/runs are the same endpoint — both answer 201

Parameter	Type	Required	Description	Example
Path parameters
`actor_id`	string	Required	username~actorname with a TILDE, e.g. apify~facebook-ads-scraper	`apify~facebook-ads-scraper`
Query parameters
`memory`	integer	Optional	MB; higher memory is faster and costs more compute	`2048`
`timeout`	integer	Optional	seconds the RUN may take (not the HTTP call)	`900`
`maxItems`	integer	Optional	result cap for pay-per-result actors	`500`
`waitForFinish`	integer	Optional	seconds to hold the HTTP response open waiting for the run, max 60 — a middle ground between async and run-sync	`0`
`maxTotalChargeUsd`	number	Optional		`5`

Path parameters
actor_idstringRequired
username~actorname with a TILDE, e.g. apify~facebook-ads-scraper
Example: apify~facebook-ads-scraper
Query parameters
memoryintegerOptional
MB; higher memory is faster and costs more compute
Example: 2048
timeoutintegerOptional
seconds the RUN may take (not the HTTP call)
Example: 900
maxItemsintegerOptional
result cap for pay-per-result actors
Example: 500
waitForFinishintegerOptional
seconds to hold the HTTP response open waiting for the run, max 60 — a middle ground between async and run-sync
Example: 0
maxTotalChargeUsdnumberOptional
Example: 5

Code samples

Replace $TOOLSWITCH_KEY with the key you created in the console.

Preview

curl -X POST 'https://toolswitch.dev/v1/tools/apify.web.scrape.job.start?memory=256&timeout=60&waitForFinish=0&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.05' \
  -H "X-Toolswitch-Key: $TOOLSWITCH_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-raw '{}'

import os
import json
import requests

response = requests.request(
    "POST",
    "https://toolswitch.dev/v1/tools/apify.web.scrape.job.start?memory=256&timeout=60&waitForFinish=0&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.05",
    headers={"X-Toolswitch-Key": os.environ["TOOLSWITCH_KEY"]},
    json=json.loads("{}"),
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.text)

const response = await fetch("https://toolswitch.dev/v1/tools/apify.web.scrape.job.start?memory=256&timeout=60&waitForFinish=0&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.05", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-Toolswitch-Key": process.env.TOOLSWITCH_KEY ?? "",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify(JSON.parse("{}")),
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
console.log(await response.text());

This gateway API is in preview; its URL and authentication may change. The example parameters are sample data. Calls are billed at free, including the service fee.