# BuildZoom Contractor Scraper (`daftvader/buildzoom-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public BuildZoom contractor profiles and city listings into normalized contractor records.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/daftvader/buildzoom-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Sam Towers](https://apify.com/daftvader) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 85.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$3.50 / 1,000 contractor-scrapeds

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

## BuildZoom scraper

Platform-neutral asynchronous scraper for public BuildZoom contractor profiles and city/listing pages. Apify packaging and adapters intentionally belong to the deployment stage.

### Functional input

The input is a JSON object:

- `startUrls` (required): non-empty list of BuildZoom profile or listing URLs; strings and `{ "url": "..." }` objects are accepted.
- `maxContractors`: 1–10,000, default 100.
- `maxListingPages`: 1–1,000, default 10.
- `concurrency`: 1–50, default 5.
- `requestDelaySecs`: 0–60, default 0.25.
- `proxyConfiguration`: optional Apify Proxy settings for the HTTP requests.

### Output and charging

Each successfully parsed contractor is streamed as one normalized record containing identity, contact, address, coordinates, service categories, licenses/status, permit count/history, ratings/reviews, areas served, and `sourceUrl`. Unavailable fields are `null` or empty arrays.

Immediately after the record sink accepts a contractor, the scraper emits exactly one `contractor-scraped` event with quantity 1. Missing (404/410) and unparseable profiles are skipped and never emit an event. Records already returned before a later run failure retain their corresponding events.

The CLI is a local contract harness; it emits record/event JSON lines to stdout:

```sh
python -m buildzoom_scraper.cli input.json
```

Run verification with `pytest -q`.

### Apify usage

The released Actor writes one contractor object per successfully parsed profile
to the default dataset. It charges one `contractor-scraped` pay-per-event unit
after each contractor record is accepted; missing or unparseable profiles are
skipped without a charge. The monetary event price is configured by the Actor's
Apify pricing settings.

For a small test run, use one public contractor profile and set
`maxContractors` to `1`. BuildZoom page markup can change, so optional fields
may be `null` or empty arrays and selector maintenance may occasionally be
required.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

BuildZoom contractor profile or city listing URLs.

## `maxContractors` (type: `integer`):

Maximum contractor records to return.

## `maxListingPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum city-listing pages to follow.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

Maximum concurrent HTTP requests.

## `requestDelaySecs` (type: `number`):

Pause between requests to BuildZoom.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional Apify Proxy configuration for HTTP requests.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/buildzoom-contractor"
    }
  ],
  "maxContractors": 100,
  "maxListingPages": 10,
  "concurrency": 5,
  "requestDelaySecs": 0.25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/buildzoom-contractor"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("daftvader/buildzoom-scraper").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 = { "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/buildzoom-contractor" }] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("daftvader/buildzoom-scraper").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.buildzoom.com/contractor/buildzoom-contractor"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call daftvader/buildzoom-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/uCgopZHE7mtr4nQbw/builds/ZXonE6TxNc4Kd3pmx/openapi.json