# Rockwell Document Downloader — Allen-Bradley PDFs (`crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader`) Actor
Download Allen-Bradley technical data, manuals, installation instructions, and drawings from literature.rockwellautomation.com. Saves PDFs to Apify Key-Value Store with metadata. Filter by document type and language.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader.md
- **Developed by:** [Andrej Kiva](https://apify.com/crawloop) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $2.00 / 1,000 downloaded documents
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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## Rockwell Document Downloader — Allen-Bradley PDFs
> **Crawloop Rockwell Automation Suite** — Structured data extraction for Rockwell Automation and Allen-Bradley hardware catalog. Built for procurement teams, system integrators, and BOM engineering workflows.
>
> Suite hub: [github.com/PLCSPS-DEV/rockwell-automation](https://github.com/PLCSPS-DEV/rockwell-automation)
>
> Product site: [crawloop.com/rockwell-automation](https://crawloop.com/rockwell-automation.html)
| Discovery | Enrichment | Documents | PDF parsing |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [Full Catalog Crawler](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-full-catalog-crawler?fpr=guboir) | [Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper?fpr=guboir) | [Document Downloader](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader?fpr=guboir) | [Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser?fpr=guboir) |
| | [Lifecycle Tracker](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-lifecycle-tracker?fpr=guboir) | | |
> **Disclaimer:** This is an unofficial integration developed independently of Rockwell Automation Inc. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Rockwell Automation Inc. or any of its subsidiaries.
>
> **Rockwell Automation**, **Allen-Bradley**, and related names are trademarks of Rockwell Automation Inc. Product data is read from publicly accessible Rockwell web sources only; no proprietary databases are redistributed.
>
> This Actor is provided **for informational and research purposes only** (e.g. procurement research, BOM audits, internal engineering workflows). You are solely responsible for ensuring your use complies with applicable laws, Rockwell website terms of use, and your organization's policies.
>
> No warranty is given as to accuracy, completeness, or continued availability of third-party data. Use at your own risk.
Find and download Allen-Bradley product documents from **literature.rockwellautomation.com**: technical data sheets, user manuals, installation instructions, drawings, and cutsheets.
For each catalog number, the Actor queries the Rockwell product-details API for document metadata, resolves direct PDF URLs, and saves files to the run **Key-Value Store** with metadata in the dataset. Pair with the [Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser?fpr=guboir) to extract structured specifications from downloaded PDFs.
This Actor uses direct HTTP downloads — no browser required. Chain after the [Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper?fpr=guboir) or run standalone on any catalog number list.
### When to use this Actor
Use the **Document Downloader** when you need Allen-Bradley technical PDFs, manuals, or drawings saved as files — not just links.
For structured specs extracted from those PDFs, chain with the [Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser?fpr=guboir). For web PDP specifications without PDF download, use the [Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper?fpr=guboir).
### Rockwell Automation Pipeline
````
Phase 1 — Discover SKUs Phase 2 — Screen & enrich Phase 3 — Documents & specs
───────────────────────── ───────────────────────── ─────────────────────────────
Full Catalog Crawler ──┐
├──► catalogNumber list ──► Lifecycle Tracker ──► Product Scraper
│
┌──────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
▼ ▼
Document Downloader ◄── you are here Datasheet Parser
PDFs to Key-Value Store specs from TD PDFs
````
### Key Features
- **HTTP-only** — Direct PDF download from literature CDN; no browser required.
- **Document type filter** — Technical data, manuals, installation, drawings, general, or all.
- **Language filter** — Default English (`en`), or all languages.
- **Key-Value Store export** — Predictable keys `{catalogNumber}_{documentId}_{filename}`.
- **PDF-only mode** — Skips CAD/ZIP and non-PDF configurator links (`pdfOnly`, default `true`).
- **Fair billing** — Charges only downloaded or metadata-only documents, not `NOT_FOUND`/`FAILED`.
### Input Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Default |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `catalogNumbers` | **Required.** Allen-Bradley catalog numbers to process. | — |
| `documentTypeFilter` | `all`, `technical_data`, `user_manual`, `installation`, `drawing`, `general`, or `other`. | `all` |
| `languageFilter` | ISO language code or `all`. | `en` |
| `downloadFiles` | Save PDFs to Key-Value Store. When `false`, metadata and URLs only. | `true` |
| `pdfOnly` | Skip ZIP/CAD and non-PDF assets. | `true` |
| `maxDocumentsPerProduct` | Cap documents processed per SKU. | `20` |
| `concurrencyLimit` | Parallel catalog numbers. | `5` |
| `maxDocumentConcurrency` | Parallel downloads per SKU. | `3` |
#### Input Example
```json
{
"catalogNumbers": ["1756-L81E", "25B-E027N104"],
"documentTypeFilter": "technical_data",
"languageFilter": "en",
"downloadFiles": true
}
````
### Output Format
```json
{
"inputCatalogNumber": "1756-L81E",
"catalogNumber": "1756-L81E",
"productTitle": "ControlLogix 5580 Controller",
"documentType": "TECHNICAL_DATA",
"title": "1756-td001_-en-p",
"documentId": "1756-td001_-en-p",
"language": "en",
"url": "https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/td/1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
"fileName": "1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
"keyValueStoreKey": "1756-L81E_1756-td001_-en-p_1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
"fileSizeBytes": 245120,
"downloaded": true,
"status": "DOWNLOADED",
"checkedAt": "2026-06-19T12:00:00+00:00"
}
```
#### Status values
| `status` | Meaning |
| :--- | :--- |
| `DOWNLOADED` | File saved to Key-Value Store |
| `METADATA_ONLY` | Download URL resolved, `downloadFiles` was `false` |
| `NO_DOCUMENTS` | Product found, no matching documents |
| `NOT_FOUND` | Catalog number not found on Rockwell |
| `FAILED` | Processing error |
### Typical Workflow
```
Discontinued SKUs (from Lifecycle Tracker)
│
▼
Document Downloader → PDFs in Key-Value Store
│
▼
Datasheet Parser → structured specs from TD PDFs
│
▼
Product Scraper (replacement SKUs) → full specs for migration parts
```
### Actor Comparison
| Task | Document Downloader | Datasheet Parser | Product Scraper |
| :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| Download literature PDFs | Yes | No | Links only |
| Parse PDF to structured JSON | No | Yes | No |
| Bulk lifecycle screening | No | No | Partial |
| Filter by document type | Yes | No | No |
### Pricing
Pay-per-event billing. You are charged for downloaded PDFs and metadata-only rows; `NOT_FOUND`, `NO_DOCUMENTS`, and `FAILED` rows are not billed.
**Current Store setup (live — verify after 18 July 2026 if adjusting prices):**
| Event | Price |
| :--- | :--- |
| Actor start | $0.05 per run |
| Downloaded document (`downloaded-document`) | $0.002 per PDF |
| Metadata-only document (`document-item`) | $0.0005 per row |
**Target setup (optional price alignment — 18 July 2026):**
| Event | Price |
| :--- | :--- |
| Actor start | $0.05 per run |
| Downloaded document | $5.00 / 1,000 ($0.005 per document) |
| Metadata-only document | $1.00 / 1,000 ($0.001 per document) |
Recommended chain cost at target prices: ~$15/1,000 fully parsed technical datasheets (download + parse).
See [Rockwell PPE migration checklist](../../docs/rockwell_ppe_july2026.md).
***
**Learn more:** [Product page](https://crawloop.com/products/rockwell-document-downloader.html) · [Suite hub](https://crawloop.com/rockwell-automation.html) · [GitHub docs](https://plcsps-dev.github.io/rockwell-automation/)
**Also from Crawloop Industrial:** [Siemens SiePortal Suite](https://crawloop.com/siemens-automation.html) · [GitHub docs](https://plcsps-dev.github.io/siemens-sieportal-automation/)
# Actor input Schema
## `catalogNumbers` (type: `array`):
Allen-Bradley catalog numbers to fetch documents for. One per line.
## `documentTypeFilter` (type: `string`):
Which document types to include.
## `languageFilter` (type: `string`):
Document language ISO code (e.g. en). Use all for every language.
## `downloadFiles` (type: `boolean`):
Save PDFs to Key-Value Store. When false, only metadata and URLs are returned.
## `pdfOnly` (type: `boolean`):
Skip CAD/ZIP links and non-PDF configurator assets. Recommended for datasheet pipelines.
## `maxDocumentsPerProduct` (type: `integer`):
Cap how many documents are processed per catalog number.
## `concurrencyLimit` (type: `integer`):
How many catalog numbers to process in parallel.
## `maxDocumentConcurrency` (type: `integer`):
How many PDF downloads to run in parallel for one catalog number.
## `requestDelaySecs` (type: `number`):
Pause between document downloads per worker.
## `locale` (type: `string`):
Rockwell locale path segment (e.g. en-us).
## `countryCode` (type: `string`):
Country code for product-details API (e.g. us).
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Optional Apify proxy.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"catalogNumbers": [
"1756-L81E",
"25B-E027N104"
],
"documentTypeFilter": "all",
"languageFilter": "en",
"downloadFiles": true,
"pdfOnly": true,
"maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
"concurrencyLimit": 5,
"maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
"requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
"locale": "en-us",
"countryCode": "us",
"proxyConfiguration": {
"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 '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"catalogNumbers": [
"1756-L81E",
"25B-E027N104"
],
"documentTypeFilter": "all",
"languageFilter": "en",
"downloadFiles": true,
"pdfOnly": true,
"maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
"concurrencyLimit": 5,
"maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
"requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
"locale": "en-us",
"countryCode": "us",
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader").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 '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"catalogNumbers": [
"1756-L81E",
"25B-E027N104",
],
"documentTypeFilter": "all",
"languageFilter": "en",
"downloadFiles": True,
"pdfOnly": True,
"maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
"concurrencyLimit": 5,
"maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
"requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
"locale": "en-us",
"countryCode": "us",
"proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"catalogNumbers": [
"1756-L81E",
"25B-E027N104"
],
"documentTypeFilter": "all",
"languageFilter": "en",
"downloadFiles": true,
"pdfOnly": true,
"maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
"concurrencyLimit": 5,
"maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
"requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
"locale": "en-us",
"countryCode": "us",
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
}' |
apify call crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Rockwell Document Downloader — Allen-Bradley PDFs",
"description": "Download Allen-Bradley technical data, manuals, installation instructions, and drawings from literature.rockwellautomation.com. Saves PDFs to Apify Key-Value Store with metadata. Filter by document type and language.",
"version": "0.2",
"x-build-id": "6wVBiQ4ailEEUq3vP"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/crawloop~rockwell-document-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawloop-rockwell-document-downloader",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/crawloop~rockwell-document-downloader/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-crawloop-rockwell-document-downloader",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/crawloop~rockwell-document-downloader/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-crawloop-rockwell-document-downloader",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"required": [
"catalogNumbers"
],
"properties": {
"catalogNumbers": {
"title": "Catalog numbers",
"type": "array",
"description": "Allen-Bradley catalog numbers to fetch documents for. One per line.",
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"documentTypeFilter": {
"title": "Document type filter",
"enum": [
"all",
"technical_data",
"user_manual",
"installation",
"drawing",
"general",
"other"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "Which document types to include.",
"default": "all"
},
"languageFilter": {
"title": "Language filter",
"type": "string",
"description": "Document language ISO code (e.g. en). Use all for every language.",
"default": "en"
},
"downloadFiles": {
"title": "Download files",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Save PDFs to Key-Value Store. When false, only metadata and URLs are returned.",
"default": true
},
"pdfOnly": {
"title": "PDF only",
"type": "boolean",
"description": "Skip CAD/ZIP links and non-PDF configurator assets. Recommended for datasheet pipelines.",
"default": true
},
"maxDocumentsPerProduct": {
"title": "Max documents per product",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 50,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Cap how many documents are processed per catalog number.",
"default": 20
},
"concurrencyLimit": {
"title": "Parallel products",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 15,
"type": "integer",
"description": "How many catalog numbers to process in parallel.",
"default": 5
},
"maxDocumentConcurrency": {
"title": "Parallel downloads per product",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 5,
"type": "integer",
"description": "How many PDF downloads to run in parallel for one catalog number.",
"default": 3
},
"requestDelaySecs": {
"title": "Delay between requests (seconds)",
"minimum": 0,
"type": "number",
"description": "Pause between document downloads per worker.",
"default": 0.2
},
"locale": {
"title": "Locale",
"type": "string",
"description": "Rockwell locale path segment (e.g. en-us).",
"default": "en-us"
},
"countryCode": {
"title": "Country code",
"type": "string",
"description": "Country code for product-details API (e.g. us).",
"default": "us"
},
"proxyConfiguration": {
"title": "Proxy",
"type": "object",
"description": "Optional Apify proxy.",
"default": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```