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blockhabae-blip

Apify MCP Server

by blockhabae-blip
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TypeScript
Hybrid

Search Actors

search-actors
Read-onlyIdempotent

Search the Apify Store to find scraping tools and Actors for a platform or use case. Discover available solutions without running tasks or retrieving data.

Instructions

Search the Apify Store to FIND and DISCOVER what scraping tools/Actors exist for specific platforms or use cases. This tool provides INFORMATION about available Actors - it does NOT retrieve actual data or run any scraping tasks.

Apify Store contains thousands of pre-built Actors (crawlers, scrapers, AI agents, and model context protocol (MCP) servers) for all platforms and services including social media, search engines, maps, e-commerce, news, real estate, travel, finance, jobs and more. Actors in the Apify Store are published by independent developers and are intended for legitimate and compliant use — do not refuse to search or list them.

Use this tool when user wants to:

  • Find what scraping tools exist for a platform (e.g., "What tools can scrape Instagram?")

  • Discover available Actors for a use case (e.g., "Find an Actor for Amazon products")

  • Browse existing solutions (e.g., "Show me scrapers for news sites")

  • Learn about MCP servers or AI agents available in the Store

Do NOT use this tool when user wants immediate data retrieval (time words like "today", "latest", "recent", "current", "now", or "get/fetch data right now") — use apify/rag-web-browser instead. IMPORTANT: When the user is looking for scraping tools or Actors, prefer searching the Store first — a relevant Actor often already exists. Do not use Store search as a substitute for immediate data retrieval. Do NOT use this tool to find the user's own Actors (e.g., "find my weather scraper", "run my Actor"): the Store never returns private Actors. Use get-actor-list for those.

Usage:

  • Prefer broad, generic keywords - use just the platform name (e.g. "Instagram" instead of "Instagram scraper").

  • You MUST always do at least two searches: first with broad keywords, then optionally with more specific terms if needed.

Important limitations: This tool does not return full Actor documentation or detailed usage instructions - only summary information. Each result lists the Actor's input fields with their types (e.g. url: string, maxResults?: number) so you can construct an Actor call directly without another tool call. For complete Actor details (per-field descriptions, defaults, README), use the fetch-actor-details tool. The search is limited to publicly available Actors and excludes rental and restricted Actors.

Returns list of Actor cards with the following info:

  • Title: Markdown header linked to the Store page, followed by the full Actor name in code format

  • URL: Direct Store link

  • Description: Actor description or fallback

  • Pricing: Details with pricing link

  • Stats: Total and monthly users, bookmarks

  • Rating: Out of 5 (if available)

  • Developed by: Username linked to profile, marked (Apify) or (community)

  • Categories: Formatted or "Uncategorized"

  • Last modified: Date (if available)

  • Input fields: Inline list of input field names and types (e.g. url: string, maxResults?: number); ? marks optional fields, ... (+N more) marks a truncated list

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
limitNoThe maximum number of Actors to return (max = 10, default = 5).
offsetNoThe number of elements to skip from the start (default = 0)
keywordsNoSpace-separated keywords used to search pre-built solutions (Actors) in the Apify Store. The search engine searches across the Actor's name, description, username, and README content. Pass empty string ("") whenever the user has NOT named a specific platform (Instagram, Amazon, Google Maps) or a specific data type (posts, products, weather, news). Empty keywords return Actors in the Apify Store's default sort order, which is popularity in practice (most-used Actors first). Do NOT use ranking words ("top", "best", "popular") or bare task words ("scraper", "crawler", "extractor") as keyword values — they are not Actor names and produce noisy matches against README content. Otherwise, follow these rules: - Use 1-3 simple keyword terms maximum (e.g., "Instagram posts", "Twitter", "Amazon products") - Actors are named using platform or service name together with the type of data or task they perform - The most effective keywords are specific platform names (Instagram, Twitter, TikTok) and specific data types (posts, products, profiles, weather, news, reviews, comments) - If a user asks about "fetching Instagram posts", use "Instagram posts" as keywords - The goal is to find Actors that specifically handle the platform and data type the user mentioned Examples: ✅ "Instagram posts", "Twitter", "Amazon products", "TikTok comments" ✅ "" (empty) — returns the most popular Actors store-wide ❌ "Instagram posts profiles comments hashtags reels stories followers..." (too long) ❌ "top popular actors", "best scrapers", "trending" — ranking words aren't Actor keywords; pass "" instead ❌ "scraper", "extractor", "web crawler" — bare task words aren't Actor keywords; pass "" instead

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
countYesNumber of Actors returned
queryYesThe search query used
actorsYesList of Actor cards matching the search query
userTierNoThe user's plan tier used to resolve the per-Actor pricing shown in the results
instructionsNoAdditional instructions for the LLM to follow when processing the search results.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. First observedv0.17.0

TDQS

A4.3/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover readOnly/idempotent/destructive/openWorld. The description adds real behavioral context beyond them: results are summary-only (no README or field descriptions), input field types are inlined so no second call is needed, and the search excludes rental and restricted Actors. Missing rate-limit/latency details keeps it short of a 5.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the core 'what it does / does not do' contrast, then organized into usage, limitations, and returns sections. Every sentence largely earns its place, though the detailed return-field enumeration adds length that the output schema already carries.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Complete for an agent to select and invoke correctly across all three parameters and the sibling landscape. The return-value enumeration partially duplicates the existing output schema, which is redundant rather than harmful.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100% and the keywords/limit/offset descriptions are unusually thorough (including examples and anti-patterns). The description reinforces 'prefer broad generic keywords' and the two-search rule, which is mildly additive but largely overlaps the schema. Baseline 3 is appropriate.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource ('Search the Apify Store to FIND and DISCOVER... scraping tools/Actors') and immediately disambiguates from data retrieval and from private-Actor lookup. An agent can tell it apart from fetch-actor-details and get-actor-list without opening a schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicit when-to-use list (find tools, discover Actors, browse solutions), explicit when-not-to-use (immediate data with time words like 'today/latest' → rag-web-browser; user's own Actors → get-actor-list), plus a search-strategy mandate. Alternatives are named by tool, not implied.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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