# Get URLs from link (`boring_code/get-urls-from-link`) Actor

Extracts URLs from a sitemap or webpage with intuitive path matching. Use comma-separated patterns to include or exclude URL paths with smart matching: '/tags/' for exact paths, '/product' for paths starting with, or simple text for substring matches.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/boring_code/get-urls-from-link.md
- **Developed by:** [Audrius L.](https://apify.com/boring_code) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 262 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 10 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $0.01 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Get URLs from link

This actor extracts URLs from a sitemap or any webpage containing links. It provides intuitive URL path matching and flexible filtering options to get exactly the URLs you need.

### Features

- Extract URLs from XML sitemaps or webpages
- Smart URL path matching:
  - Use '/tags/' to match exact path
  - Use '/product' to match paths starting with /product
  - Use 'product' to match URLs containing this text anywhere
- Exclude specific file extensions (e.g., images)
- Exclude URLs using the same smart path matching
- Limit the number of processed URLs
- Simple comma-separated syntax for filters

### Input Configuration

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `link` | String | URL to process (required) |
| `urlPattern` | String | List of URL parts to include (comma separated). Use '\*' to include all URLs. When using slashes: '/tags/' matches exact path, '/tags' matches path starting with /tags, 'tags/' matches path ending with tags/. Without slashes (e.g., 'product') matches anywhere in URL |
| `maxUrls` | Integer | Maximum number of URLs to process (0 for no limit). Good for testing purposes |
| `excludeExtensions` | String | List of file extensions to exclude (comma separated). Example: jpg,jpeg,png,gif |
| `customExcludePattern` | String | List of URL parts to exclude (comma separated). Uses same pattern matching as urlPattern. Examples: '/tags/,category' or '/blog/,author' |

### Output

The actor outputs a dataset containing URLs that match your specified criteria. Each record has the following field:

```json
{
    "url": "https://example.com/page"
}
```

### Usage Examples

#### Basic Usage

Extract all URLs from a sitemap:

```json
{
    "link": "https://example.com/sitemap.xml"
}
```

#### Smart Path Matching

Get only product URLs with different matching options:

```json
{
    "link": "https://example.com/sitemap.xml",
    "urlPattern": "/products/,productId,deals/"
}
```

This will match:

- URLs containing exact '/products/' path
- URLs containing 'productId' anywhere
- URLs ending with 'deals/'

#### Exclude File Types and Sections

Get URLs excluding images and specific sections:

```json
{
    "link": "https://example.com/sitemap.xml",
    "excludeExtensions": "jpg,jpeg,png,gif",
    "customExcludePattern": "/tags/,/category/,author"
}
```

#### Limit Results

Get first 100 URLs for testing:

````json
{
    "link": "https://example.com/sitemap.xml",
    "maxUrls": 100
}



# Actor input Schema

## `link` (type: `string`):

URL to process
## `urlPattern` (type: `string`):

List of URL parts to include (comma separated). Use '*' to include all URLs. Example: '/product,tags/,/category/,product_id'. When using slashes: '/category/' matches exact path, '/product' matches path starting with /product, 'tags/' matches path ending with tags/. Without slashes 'product_id' matches anywhere in URL
## `maxUrls` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of URLs to process (0 for no limit). Good for testing pursposes.
## `excludeExtensions` (type: `string`):

List of file extensions to exclude (comma separated). Example: jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,svg,ico
## `customExcludePattern` (type: `string`):

List of URL parts to exclude (comma separated). Examples: '/tags,category,/news/,author/'. When using slashes: '/news/' matches exact path, '/tags' matches path starting with /tags, 'author/' matches path ending with author/. Without slashes 'category' matches anywhere in URL

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "link": "https://www.google.com/sitemap.xml",
  "urlPattern": "*",
  "maxUrls": 0,
  "excludeExtensions": "jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,svg,ico",
  "customExcludePattern": "/tags/,category"
}
````

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "link": "https://www.google.com/sitemap.xml",
    "excludeExtensions": "jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,svg,ico",
    "customExcludePattern": "/tags/,category"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("boring_code/get-urls-from-link").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "link": "https://www.google.com/sitemap.xml",
    "excludeExtensions": "jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,svg,ico",
    "customExcludePattern": "/tags/,category",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("boring_code/get-urls-from-link").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "link": "https://www.google.com/sitemap.xml",
  "excludeExtensions": "jpg,jpeg,png,gif,bmp,webp,svg,ico",
  "customExcludePattern": "/tags/,category"
}' |
apify call boring_code/get-urls-from-link --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,boring_code/get-urls-from-link"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/dzoVKKmD6c8AnY5ih/builds/yoVpxxIpj4lpP73Ys/openapi.json