Changelog

New Integrations Space

The Integrations page is now available in the left navigation menu of Apify Console. This central location lets you view, access, and manage all your connected integrations in one place.

⭐ Why it matters:

• Integrations are powerful, and now they're easier to find. You can see all your configured integrations in Apify Console, understand the connections between Actors and their integrations, and manage your setup in one place.
• Increase visibility: We want make your integrations more accessible and easy to use. Integrations automate common tasks like data processing, email notifications, image downloads, and database uploads - tasks that would typically require manual work. organized.

Integrate to get the most out of Apify!

New Integration Space

Introducing Dataset validation - Increase trust in your actors

You can now define dataset schemas in your Actor builds. This feature lets you monitor data at the field level and validate that your scraped data matches your specified format - helping both Apify team creators and users ensure data quality and completeness.

🚀 Key Features:

• Actor run alerts: Dataset schemas in your Actor enable field-level alerts, letting you monitor specific data points to verify quality.
• Run Statistics: During Actor runs, you'll see real-time statistics comparing valid and invalid results based on your dataset schema, giving you visibility into data quality as the Actor executes.
• Dataset Preview: The upcoming dataset preview feature will show you the exact data structure each Actor returns, helping you quickly identify the right Actor for your needs.

For detailed guidance, refer to our Dataset schema documentation.

We've added new security features for accounts and organizations on Apify.

Here's what's new:

Two-factor authentication for account protection

If you use your email and password to sign in to Apify Console, you can now enable two-factor authentication (2FA). This prevents unauthorized access even if your password is compromised.

To set up 2FA, visit your account settings and follow the configuration steps. See our 2FA documentation for more information and detailed guidance.

Session length configuration

Now, you have the ability to decide how long your account stays logged in. Set custom session durations based on your security requirements. Shorter sessions protect against unauthorized access, while longer sessions reduce authentication overhead in secured environments.

Set your preferences in account settings.

Set security requirements on organization members

Security is a team effort. That’s why we’re introducing tools to help you ensure security best practices among all members of your organization.

Mandatory two-factor authentication: Enforce that all members of your organization have 2FA enabled to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

Session length limits: Set maximum session durations for all members, providing added protection by requiring periodic re-authentication.

Head over to the organization settings to set and enforce your preferred security standards.

Star and compare your favorite Actors

We've introduced a new "starring" feature for Actors! Now, you can star any Actor in Apify Console, creating a personalized list of your favorite ones. Compare the popularity of Actors with the total number of stars they’ve received, or filter to view only the ones you've starred.

⭐ Why it matters:

• Community insight: See which Actors the community loves, helping you choose popular and trusted solutions.
• Personalization: Customize your Console experience by filtering - focus on the Actors that match your projects.

Explore, star, and enjoy a tailored Apify experience!

Introducing Actor Standby Mode for real-time API responses

We’ve also launched Actor Standby Mode, enabling your Actors to function as real-time API servers. This enhancement allows your Actors to remain active in the background, ready to process incoming HTTP requests instantly.

🚀 Key Features:

• Immediate responsiveness: Actors in Standby Mode are always prepared to handle requests, eliminating startup delays.
• Flexible input handling: Supports standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and accept inputs via query strings or request bodies.
• Automatic scaling: The system dynamically adjusts to incoming request volumes, ensuring optimal performance.
• Customizable settings: Configure parameters such as maximum concurrent requests, desired requests per run, memory allocation, and idle timeouts to suit your application's needs.
• Ready-to-use templates: Jumpstart your development with JavaScript and Python templates designed for Standby Mode, making setup easier than ever.

For detailed guidance, refer to our Standby Mode documentation.

Introducing Social Media Hashtag Research - a brand new Actor that helps you get data about posts with specific hashtags all over social media. No need to use multiple scrapers for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube hashtags anymore.

Here's some of the data you’ll get with Social Media Hashtag Research :

• URLs
• captions
• timestamps
• number of likes and dislikes
• views and comments count
• basic profile info

Try it out and automate your social media research!

We launched our open-source web scraping and browser automation library Crawlee in August 2022 and got an amazing response from the JavaScript community. With many early adopters in its initial days, we got valuable feedback, which gave Crawlee a strong base for its success.

Since the launch, the feedback we’ve received most often has been to build Crawlee in Python so that the Python community can use all the features the JavaScript community does.

With all these requests in mind and to simplify the life of Python web scraping developers, we’re launching Crawlee for Python today.

The new library is still in beta, and we're looking for early adopters. Here's how you can help:

Check it out, give us feedback and star the library on Github! ⭐️

Support the release on ProductHunt 🚀