# Website Technology Detector (`brightpath-data/website-tech-detector`) Actor

Detect the CMS, e-commerce platform, hosting, CDN, analytics and frameworks a website runs on from its HTML and headers

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brightpath-data/website-tech-detector.md
- **Developed by:** [Nick Randall](https://apify.com/brightpath-data) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 site technology records

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

## Website Technology Detector

Detect the CMS, e-commerce platform, hosting, CDN, analytics and frameworks a website runs on, from its HTML and headers.

Get a structured technology profile for any site as JSON, CSV or Excel, or call it as a tool from Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or any MCP client. Pay only for the results you receive.

### What you get

For each site: every technology this Actor recognized (with category), plus dedicated fields for hosting provider, CDN, e-commerce platform, analytics tools, server header and the meta generator tag. Detection runs against a curated fingerprint set in the style of the open (GPL-3.0) webappanalyzer/Wappalyzer pattern collection, matched against the page's raw HTML and response headers.

Every result is a flat record with stable field names, so it drops straight into a spreadsheet, a database or an AI agent's context.

### Why use this instead of the incumbents

- A fraction of the price of the incumbent technology-lookup Actors on the Store
- Hosting, CDN and e-commerce platform broken into their own fields, not just a technology list
- Results in JSON, CSV, Excel or via API, or piped into Zapier, Make, n8n and Google Sheets
- Works as an MCP tool, so AI agents can qualify a lead's stack on demand
- No browser, no proxies, no personal data: fast runs and a tiny cost per result

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Meaning |
|-------|------|---------|---------|
| `sites` | array | | Domains or URLs to check, e.g. `stripe.com` or `https://stripe.com` |
| `maxResults` | integer | 100 | Cap on results saved. You are charged per result, so this caps your cost. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "sites": ["stripe.com", "shopify.com"],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

### Output

Example result:

```json
{
  "site": "https://stripe.com",
  "finalUrl": "https://stripe.com/",
  "httpStatus": 200,
  "technologies": ["Cloudflare", "React", "Stripe", "Google Tag Manager"],
  "technologyCategories": [
    { "name": "Cloudflare", "category": "cdn" },
    { "name": "React", "category": "framework" },
    { "name": "Stripe", "category": "payments" },
    { "name": "Google Tag Manager", "category": "analytics" }
  ],
  "hosting": null,
  "cdn": "Cloudflare",
  "ecommercePlatform": null,
  "analytics": ["Google Tag Manager"],
  "server": "cloudflare",
  "poweredBy": null,
  "generator": null,
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T12:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Field reference: `site`, `finalUrl` (after redirects), `httpStatus`, `technologies` (name list), `technologyCategories` (name plus category), `hosting`, `cdn`, `ecommercePlatform`, `analytics` (list), `server`, `poweredBy`, `generator` (meta generator tag), `checkedAt`.

### Pricing

Pay per event. You are charged **$4.00 per 1,000 sites** checked, plus a fraction of a cent per run start. Nothing is charged for results you do not receive. Set "Max total charge per run" in the run options to cap spending on any run. When a run reaches your cap it stops cleanly and keeps everything it already saved.

Rough guide: 1,000 sites cost $4.00 and take a few minutes (one request per site, paced politely).

### Use it from an AI agent (MCP)

This Actor is available as an MCP tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to your client, then ask the agent for the data in plain language.

Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor (`mcp.json` / `claude_desktop_config.json`):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=brightpath-data/website-tech-detector",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}
```

ChatGPT and other clients that support remote MCP servers: add `https://mcp.apify.com/?actors=brightpath-data/website-tech-detector` as a connector with your Apify token.

Example prompt once connected: "Check whether these 20 leads run Shopify or WooCommerce, and note their CDN."

### Use it from code

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/brightpath-data~website-tech-detector/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"sites":["stripe.com","shopify.com"],"maxResults":100}'
```

Python:

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("brightpath-data/website-tech-detector").call(run_input={"sites": ["stripe.com", "shopify.com"], "maxResults": 100})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
```

### Limits and fair use

- Up to 10,000 sites per run.
- Detection is static only: it reads the HTML that comes back on first load and the response headers, with no browser and no JavaScript execution. Technologies that only appear after client-side rendering (some single-page apps) may be missed.
- A site that returns an error status is still checked for header-based technologies (hosting, CDN, server); HTML-based detection is skipped when the page has no body.
- One request per site, paced politely; a site behind an access challenge returns whatever headers came back rather than being bypassed.

### Data source and legal

This Actor reads only the public HTML and HTTP response headers a site already sends to any visitor's browser, the same way a browser's "View Source" or developer tools would. The fingerprint patterns follow the openly licensed (GPL-3.0) webappanalyzer project's approach of matching known technology signatures in that public response. No login, paywall or access control is bypassed, and no personal data is collected. You are responsible for how you use the data.

### Support

Found a problem or need a technology added? Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab. Fixes for broken runs are prioritized.

# Actor input Schema

## `sites` (type: `array`):

Domains or URLs to check, one per entry (e.g. "stripe.com" or "https://stripe.com").

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of sites to check. You are charged per site checked, so this also caps the cost of a run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sites": [
    "stripe.com"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

The dataset with one flat record per result. Append ?format=csv or ?format=xlsx to the URL for other formats.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

OUTPUT record in the key-value store: counts of results pushed and charged, requests, retries and duration.

# 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 = {
    "sites": [
        "stripe.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brightpath-data/website-tech-detector").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 = { "sites": ["stripe.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brightpath-data/website-tech-detector").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 '{
  "sites": [
    "stripe.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call brightpath-data/website-tech-detector --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brightpath-data/website-tech-detector"
        }
    }
}
```

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/Q1WwSFfmcVh11ipw7/builds/hedIcTMnyOwy0lznU/openapi.json