# Sitemap URL Extractor (`davidcastellanos/sitemap-url-extractor`) Actor

Give a domain or sitemap URL and get every page URL with lastmod, changefreq, priority, image count and hreflang alternates. Finds sitemaps via robots.txt, reads indexes and .gz files, filters by regex, respects robots.txt.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/davidcastellanos/sitemap-url-extractor.md
- **Developed by:** [David Castellanos Cordova](https://apify.com/davidcastellanos) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 url extracteds

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

## Sitemap URL Extractor

Get the full list of page URLs of a website from its XML sitemaps, in seconds, without crawling the site.

Give it a **domain** (`example.com`) and it finds the sitemaps by itself: first the `Sitemap:` lines of `robots.txt`, then the usual locations (`/sitemap.xml`, `/sitemap_index.xml`, `/wp-sitemap.xml`, `/sitemap.txt`). Or give it a **sitemap URL** directly.

### What it does

- Reads **sitemap indexes** (nested up to the depth you choose), **gzip** sitemaps (`.xml.gz`) and **plain-text** sitemaps.
- Returns **one row per unique URL**, de-duplicated across all sitemaps.
- Keeps everything the sitemap says: `lastmod`, `changefreq`, `priority`, number of images and **hreflang alternates**.
- **Include / exclude filters** (regular expressions) so you only get, for example, `/blog/` or `/product/` pages, and only pay for those.
- Writes a **run report** (`RUN_REPORT` in the key-value store): which sitemap files were read, how many URLs each had, and any error (404, blocked, invalid file).

### Good to know

- It only downloads sitemap files and `robots.txt`; it does **not** visit the pages, so it is fast and light on the target site.
- It **respects robots.txt**: if a sitemap file is disallowed, it is skipped and reported.
- It does not log in anywhere, does not use a browser and does not collect personal data. Private and internal addresses are refused.
- `lastmod` is only as good as the sitemap: many sites omit it, and then the field is `null`. This actor never invents dates.
- Limits per run: up to 500 sitemap files and 50 MB per file (the sitemaps.org protocol limit).

### Input example

```json
{ "startUrls": ["crawlee.dev"], "maxUrls": 5000, "includePatterns": ["/docs/"] }
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "url": "https://crawlee.dev/docs/quick-start",
  "lastmod": "2026-10-30T00:00:00.000Z",
  "changefreq": "weekly",
  "priority": 0.5,
  "imageCount": 0,
  "alternates": [],
  "sitemap": "https://crawlee.dev/sitemap.xml",
  "site": "https://crawlee.dev"
}
```

(Values above are illustrative.)

### Use it from an AI agent or the API

The output is flat JSON, one URL per row, ready for an agent or a script: call the actor with `startUrls` and read the dataset items. Use `maxUrls` to cap the size (and the cost) of each call. The cap applies to the whole run, not per site: with several sites and a low cap, the first site can use it all, so run large sites separately.

### Pricing

Pay per event: **US$ 0.10 per 1,000 URLs returned** (`url-extracted`), plus a tiny start fee of US$ 0.00005 per run. You pay only for URLs in the results: filtered-out URLs, duplicates and errors are free. You can set a maximum spend per run in Apify, and the actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

### Feedback

Found a sitemap it cannot read? Open an issue with the sitemap URL and it will be looked at.

# Actor input Schema

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

A domain (example.com) to auto-discover its sitemaps from robots.txt and common locations, or a direct sitemap / sitemap index URL (.xml, .xml.gz or .txt).

## `maxUrls` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many unique URLs (you are only charged for URLs returned).

## `includePatterns` (type: `array`):

Optional. Keep only URLs that match at least one pattern, e.g. /blog/ or /product/. Case-insensitive.

## `excludePatterns` (type: `array`):

Optional. Drop URLs that match any pattern, e.g. /tag/ or ?page=.

## `maxDepth` (type: `integer`):

How many levels of nested sitemap indexes to follow. 0 = only the given sitemap.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

How long to wait for each sitemap file.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://crawlee.dev"
  ],
  "maxUrls": 300,
  "maxDepth": 5,
  "timeoutSecs": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `report` (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": [
        "https://crawlee.dev"
    ],
    "maxUrls": 300
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("davidcastellanos/sitemap-url-extractor").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": ["https://crawlee.dev"],
    "maxUrls": 300,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("davidcastellanos/sitemap-url-extractor").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": [
    "https://crawlee.dev"
  ],
  "maxUrls": 300
}' |
apify call davidcastellanos/sitemap-url-extractor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/Ui9nrezdlggBpce43/builds/85IqCNIjqQQQMsWOr/openapi.json