# Software Advice (`canadesk/software-advice`) Actor

Collect Software Advice categories, products, reviews, ratings and search results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/canadesk/software-advice.md
- **Developed by:** [Canadesk Support](https://apify.com/canadesk) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 67 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 4 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## 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

## Software Advice

Collect software products, customer reviews, ratings and categories from Software Advice. Research competing products, compare customer feedback and monitor changes over time.

### Features

- Search products by name or provide Software Advice product links.
- Collect reviews for one product or a list of products.
- Review titles, pros, cons, comments, ratings and publication dates.
- Reviewer industry, company size, usage details and vendor replies when available.
- Product rating summaries and star distributions.
- Browse categories and collect their products, with sorting and result limits.
- Export JSON, CSV or Excel and schedule recurring collection.

### Quick start

```json
{
  "process": "gn",
  "query": "zendesk",
  "maximum": 75
}
```

For multiple products, use `queries`, for example `["zendesk", "slack"]`. This list replaces `query` when supplied. Product links can point to the main product page or its reviews page.

### Collection options

| Process | Results |
| --- | --- |
| `gc` | Software categories |
| `gp` | Products across categories |
| `gb` | Products in categories matching `mycat` |
| `gn` | Customer reviews |
| `gr` | Reviews in the compatible `id`/`fields` format |
| `gt` | Product rating summary and star distribution |
| `gs` | Product search matches |

`maximum` limits results per product or category. `maximumcats` limits categories searched, and `maxResults` limits real results across the run. `fromi` starts category collection at a chosen position. Available public results can be fewer than the selected limits.

Product sorting supports recommendations, review count, average rating, alphabetical order and available FrontRunners. Review collection retrieves recent reviews first. Select a country to pass the corresponding regional setting to searches and collection.

Fields vary with the source. The legacy review format maps available current review fields; historical private identifiers and the retired industry-ID distribution are unavailable. Missing values remain empty.

### Support

If access is blocked, retry later or select another proxy. Share your run URL and the affected product when requesting support.

# Actor input Schema

## `process` (type: `string`):

Process to run.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Product name or Software Advice product URL.

## `country` (type: `string`):

May influence some results.

## `mycat` (type: `string`):

Only applies to Get Products by Category. Will return products for any category matching the keyword.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Applies to Get Products and Get Products by Category.

## `maximumcats` (type: `integer`):

Only applies to Get Products/by Category. Maximum number of categories processed.

## `delay` (type: `integer`):

Seconds between data requests.

## `fromi` (type: `integer`):

Only applies to Get Products. Will restart process from occurrence \[i] (e.g., 5).

## `cookie` (type: `string`):

Optional browser cookie header for your own session.

## `maximum` (type: `integer`):

Maximum real results per product or category; public source limits may return fewer.

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Optional list of product names or Software Advice URLs. When supplied, this list replaces Software.

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

Global result limit across all products and categories.

## `proxy` (type: `object`):

Select proxies to be used by your crawler.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "process": "gn",
  "query": "zendesk",
  "country": "us",
  "mycat": "accounting",
  "sort": "6",
  "maximumcats": 5,
  "delay": 1,
  "fromi": 0,
  "maximum": 75,
  "maxResults": 10000,
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "query": "zendesk",
    "mycat": "accounting",
    "proxy": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("canadesk/software-advice").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 = {
    "query": "zendesk",
    "mycat": "accounting",
    "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("canadesk/software-advice").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 '{
  "query": "zendesk",
  "mycat": "accounting",
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call canadesk/software-advice --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,canadesk/software-advice"
        }
    }
}
```

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/vbHW0bSPkWumHGdqU/builds/HVDsw0Ju89n5O3Q81/openapi.json