# Redirect Target Check: Website Migration QA (`candied_breakwater/redirect-target-check`) Actor

Paste old/new URL columns from Excel or CSV, or enter one pair, to check website migration redirects. Verify destinations, status, canonical and noindex hints. Clear next steps; up to 1,000 pairs per run.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/candied\_breakwater/redirect-target-check.md
- **Developed by:** [Herry](https://apify.com/candied_breakwater) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 url check 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

## Check whether an old URL reaches the expected new page

### Start here — no JSON required

1. Copy two spreadsheet columns (old URL, expected new URL) and paste them into **Redirect map**. CSV and Excel/Google Sheets tab-separated text both work. A header is optional.
2. Set the run charge limit to cover your small sample, then click **Start**.
3. Open the results table. Read **Result summary** and **Next step**, then export using **Download CSV** or **Download Excel** in the output links.

Pasteable example:

```text
old_url,new_url
https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put,https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put
```

Recognized headers include old\_url/new\_url, url/expectedUrl and source\_url/target\_url. For a single pair, clear Redirect map and fill Old URL and Expected new URL instead. For large migrations, split your map into batches of up to 1,000 pairs. Keep both cells present on every row. Malformed rows stop before requests or result charges rather than being silently dropped.

**Sample cost:** One pair costs $0.00305 including start; a $0.01 cap is enough to try the sample. 1,000 pairs cost $3.00005; use at least $3.01 for that batch. Unknown/blocked diagnostic results are also charged. Platform usage is included. These examples are independent technical samples, not customers or partners. To use Advanced JSON, clear the beginner text fields; do not fill two input methods at once. Existing API inputs remain supported.

Only treat results as complete when the run succeeded and OUTPUT.status is complete. An unknown result needs review; it is not a verified negative. Start small: network timeouts and access blocks can still occur.

After a website migration, an old URL returning 200 is not enough: it might land on the homepage or the wrong article. Supply old/new URL pairs and compare the actual redirect destination with your intended target.

### Input

```json
{
  "checks": [
    {
      "url": "https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put",
      "expectedUrl": "https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put"
    }
  ]
}
```

The example is an independent check of a public documentation redirect. Replace both URLs with your own migration map. Batches support up to 1,000 pairs; split larger maps across runs.

### What a result means

Each row contains the requested URL, expectedUrl, finalUrl, HTTP statuses, full observed chain, redirectCount, matchesExpected, canonicalUrls, robots directives, issues and a verdict.

- pass: one permanent server redirect (301 or 308), the expected final URL, a 2xx response, one matching canonical, no observed noindex and no detected checks requiring review.
- review: destination checks passed but there are cautions such as extra hops, a temporary redirect, no observed canonical, multiple canonicals or truncated HTML.
- fail: a verified wrong destination, missing source redirect, redirect loop, unhealthy destination, HTTPS downgrade, observed noindex or mismatched canonical.
- unknown: a request could not be verified, including bot blocks, authentication, rate limits, server errors, networking errors or the redirect-hop limit. Do not count these as confirmed broken links.

URL comparison retains query parameters and trailing slashes, removes fragments, normalises hostname case and omits default ports. It does not equate /page and /page/ or reorder query parameters. Supply the intended final URL exactly.

Static HTML canonical links and robots/googlebot meta directives, plus X-Robots-Tag, are diagnostic hints. This is not a Google indexability certification. The tool does not render JavaScript, follow meta refresh, inspect robots.txt, find soft 404s, assess content equivalence, generate redirect rules or modify your website. A 200 challenge page without a detectable status block may need manual review. HTML beyond 2 MB is truncated and cannot receive a clean pass.

### Pricing and completion

$3 per 1,000 URL check results ($0.003 per dataset row), plus $0.00005 per run start at the supported memory settings. Platform usage is included. Each supplied check produces one billable diagnostic row, including blocked, unavailable, invalid and uncertain results. This price is per check, not per detected change. A 10-check completed run costs $0.03005 at these prices.

Use a small sample first. Set the maximum run charge to cover all checks plus the start fee. Before fetching URLs, the Actor checks the budget against the run's active price snapshot. If insufficient, it fails with no URL requests and no result records; the start fee can still apply. A storage failure after a dataset write may leave charged partial results. Writes are not retried. Start a fresh run rather than resurrecting a partially delivered one.

Only treat the export as complete when the run succeeded and the OUTPUT key-value record has status complete. SUMMARY contains counts; dataset rows can be exported through Apify. Completion means every requested diagnostic row was delivered, not that every remote page was reachable or passed its checks.

### Limits and handling

1–1,000 checks per run; 1 MB input; 256 MB default memory, 512 MB maximum; 3,600-second default run timeout. Public HTTP/HTTPS on standard ports only; up to five redirects and 2 MB of response content. Static HTTP requests only: no browser rendering, login, proxy, CAPTCHA handling, or retries. Private/network-local destinations are rejected on every hop, and DNS answers are pinned to the connection. URLs and results remain in the initiating account's Apify stores under its storage/access policies. The Actor contacts supplied public websites and its own Apify stores; it sends no user credentials to target sites. Use non-confidential URLs.

An early product, tested with synthetic edge cases and a small public sample. No customer time savings, revenue, or complete website coverage are claimed. For support, use the Actor's Issues tab with a non-confidential input example, expected result and actual result.

# Actor input Schema

## `redirectMap` (type: `string`):

Paste old URL and expected new URL columns from Excel/Sheets, or CSV. Optional header: old\_url,new\_url. Up to 1,000 pairs. Clear this to use the single-pair fields.

## `oldUrl` (type: `string`):

Clear Redirect map and fill both single-pair fields.

## `newUrl` (type: `string`):

The exact intended final destination, including any trailing slash and query.

## `checks` (type: `array`):

Existing API format supported. Clear all beginner text fields before using checks. Each object contains url and, for redirects, expectedUrl.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "redirectMap": "old_url,new_url\nhttps://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put,https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

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

No description

## `completion` (type: `string`):

No description

## `csv` (type: `string`):

No description

## `excel` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "redirectMap": `old_url,new_url
https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put,https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put`
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("candied_breakwater/redirect-target-check").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 = { "redirectMap": """old_url,new_url
https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put,https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put""" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("candied_breakwater/redirect-target-check").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 '{
  "redirectMap": "old_url,new_url\\nhttps://docs.apify.com/api/v2/act-put,https://docs.apify.com/api/v2/actor-put"
}' |
apify call candied_breakwater/redirect-target-check --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,candied_breakwater/redirect-target-check"
        }
    }
}
```

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/FgEZhOMrvzXUidYL1/builds/skgS5hbYamRraFXpZ/openapi.json