# Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml Change Monitor (`eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor`) Actor
Checks public robots.txt and sitemap.xml metadata for crawlability regressions, URL drops, and changed crawler directives.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/eager\_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Lau Kuan Ee](https://apify.com/eager_vitamin) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $10.00 / 1,000 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/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/docs.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.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/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
## Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml Change Monitor Actor
Status: published on Apify.
[Open the Actor on Apify](https://apify.com/eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor)
This Apify-style actor checks public robots.txt and sitemap.xml metadata for SEO deploy regressions. It reports changed crawler directives, missing sitemap references, sitemap URL additions/removals, sitemap indexes, XML parse problems, and high-risk sitewide disallow rules.
### Safe Use Boundary
- Public robots.txt and sitemap.xml metadata only.
- No account login, CAPTCHA handling, MFA, private workspace access, or evasion.
- No high-frequency polling. Buyers should use reasonable scheduled checks.
- Buyers are responsible for using it only on sites they own, maintain, or are allowed to monitor.
### Input
```json
{
"sites": [
{
"url": "https://example.com",
"fetch_live": false,
"robots_text": "User-agent: *\nDisallow: /private\nSitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml\n",
"sitemap_text": "https://example.com/",
"previous_snapshot": {
"robots_sha256": "previous hash",
"sitemap_urls": ["https://example.com/old"]
}
}
]
}
````
For live runs, set `fetch_live` to `true`; the actor fetches the public root robots.txt and the first discovered sitemap URL.
### Output
- `summary.site_count`, `warning_count`, and `change_count`.
- `sites[].robots`: hash, sitemap declarations, allow/disallow rules, and warnings.
- `sites[].sitemap`: parsed sitemap URLs, lastmod values, sitemap index URLs, and warnings.
- `sites[].changes`: records with `record_type` of `robots` or `sitemap_url` and `change_type` of `changed`, `new`, `removed`, or `unchanged`.
### Local Commands
```powershell
python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
python .\robots_sitemap_monitor.py --input .\samples\input.json --out .\samples\output.json
python .\main.py
```
### Differentiator
Generic SEO suites bury this behind broad site audits. This actor is a small, scheduled metadata sentinel: it produces change records and stable hashes that can feed alerts, regression dashboards, and release checks without crawling whole websites.
# Actor input Schema
## `sites` (type: `array`):
Public site metadata checks. Use robots\_text and sitemap\_text for offline/demo runs, or fetch\_live for public robots.txt and sitemap.xml checks.
## Actor input object example
```json
{}
```
# 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 = {};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor").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 = {}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor").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 '{}' |
apify call eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=eager_vitamin/robots-sitemap-change-monitor",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml Change Monitor",
"description": "Checks public robots.txt and sitemap.xml metadata for crawlability regressions, URL drops, and changed crawler directives.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "5RfRxhXAFhcjMH6vL"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/eager_vitamin~robots-sitemap-change-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-eager_vitamin-robots-sitemap-change-monitor",
"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": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/eager_vitamin~robots-sitemap-change-monitor/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-eager_vitamin-robots-sitemap-change-monitor",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$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": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/eager_vitamin~robots-sitemap-change-monitor/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-eager_vitamin-robots-sitemap-change-monitor",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$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": [
"sites"
],
"properties": {
"sites": {
"title": "Sites",
"type": "array",
"description": "Public site metadata checks. Use robots_text and sitemap_text for offline/demo runs, or fetch_live for public robots.txt and sitemap.xml checks.",
"items": {
"type": "object",
"required": [
"url"
],
"properties": {
"url": {
"type": "string",
"title": "Site URL",
"description": "Root public website URL, for example https://example.com"
},
"fetch_live": {
"type": "boolean",
"title": "Fetch live public metadata",
"description": "Fetch the site's public robots.txt and first discovered sitemap instead of using pasted text.",
"default": false
},
"robots_text": {
"type": "string",
"title": "Robots.txt text",
"description": "Optional pasted robots.txt content for offline runs."
},
"sitemap_text": {
"type": "string",
"title": "Sitemap XML text",
"description": "Optional pasted sitemap XML for offline runs."
},
"previous_snapshot": {
"type": "object",
"title": "Previous snapshot",
"description": "Previous robots_sha256 and sitemap_urls used for change detection."
}
}
}
}
}
},
"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
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```