# Web Search & Scrape by XCrawl Proxy (`empathetic_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape`) Actor Search the web or scrape any URL using XCrawl residential proxy network. Bypass anti-bot systems with automatic JS rendering fallback, global IP rotation, and configurable concurrency (1-20). Perfect for market research, LLM data collection, and content aggregation. - **URL**: https://apify.com/empathetic\_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape.md - **Developed by:** [Charles](https://apify.com/empathetic_chorus) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 25.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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 ## Web Search & Scrape by XCrawl Proxy — Apify Actor [![XCrawl](https://img.shields.io/badge/powered%20by-XCrawl%20Proxy-blue)](https://dash.xcrawl.com) Search the web or scrape any URL using **XCrawl's residential proxy network**. This Actor combines Google-quality search with intelligent anti-bot page scraping — all in one call. ### Why This Actor? | Feature | Benefit | |---------|---------| | **Search + Scrape in One** | No need to chain separate tools. Search results are automatically enriched with full page content. | | **Residential IP Rotation** | Every request goes through true residential proxies — far fewer blocks than datacenter IPs. | | **Smart Anti-Bot Retry** | Automatically detects Cloudflare, DataDome, captcha pages and retries with JS rendering. | | **Configurable Concurrency** | 1–20 parallel scrapes — tune for speed vs. stealth. | | **30+ Block Heuristics** | Detects and bypasses the most common anti-scraping systems. | | **Global Geo-Targeting** | Search from US, UK, JP, DE, AU — get localized results. | | **Markdown Output** | Clean markdown content, not messy HTML — ready for LLM consumption. | ### Quick Start #### 1. Get an XCrawl API Key Sign up at **[dash.xcrawl.com](https://dash.xcrawl.com)** and get your free API key. #### 2. Set Environment Variable ```` XCRAWL\_API\_KEY=your-api-key-here ```` #### 3. Run the Actor **Search the web:** ```json { "action": "search", "query": "latest AI startup funding 2026", "location": "US", "limit": 5, "withContent": true } ```` **Scrape a single page:** ```json { "action": "scrape", "url": "https://example.com/article", "formats": "markdown,summary" } ``` ### Input Parameters | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `action` | `"search"` or `"scrape"` | `"search"` | Choose operation mode | | `query` | string | — | Search query (required for `search`) | | `url` | string | — | Target URL (required for `scrape`) | | `location` | string | `"US"` | Geo-location code (US, UK, CN, JP, DE, AU...) | | `language` | string | `"en"` | Search language code | | `limit` | integer | `10` | Max results (1–50) | | `withContent` | boolean | `true` | Auto-fetch full page content for each search result | | `formats` | string | `"markdown,summary"` | Comma-separated: `markdown`, `summary`, `html` | | `render` | boolean | `false` | Enable JS rendering for heavily protected sites | | `screenshot` | boolean | `false` | Capture PNG screenshot (requires `render=true`) | | `concurrency` | integer | `5` | Parallel scrapes (1–20) | ### Output Each result contains: ``` { "title": "Page title", "url": "https://...", "snippet": "Search snippet or description", "markdown": "Full page content in markdown (up to 100K chars)", "summary": "AI-generated page summary", "status": "completed" | "failed", "credits": "XCrawl credits used", "source": "search" | "scrape" } ``` ### Use Cases - **Market Research** — Scrape competitor pages, track pricing - **LLM Training Data** — Clean markdown ready for fine-tuning - **Content Aggregation** — Build news/trending feeds - **Lead Generation** — Search + scrape prospect pages in one workflow - **SEO Monitoring** — Track SERP positions and page changes ### Pricing This Actor bills via Apify platform usage **plus** XCrawl API credits (charged by [dash.xcrawl.com](https://dash.xcrawl.com)). The XCrawl free tier is generous enough to get started — no upfront payment needed. ### Environment Variables | Variable | Required | Source | |----------|----------|--------| | `XCRAWL_API_KEY` | ✅ | [dash.xcrawl.com](https://dash.xcrawl.com) | ### Links - [XCrawl Dashboard](https://dash.xcrawl.com) - [Node.js SDK (npm)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/xcrawl-scraper) - [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com/actors/C5CbumEpkljh9uSJu) *** *Built on [XCrawl](https://xcrawl.com) — the web scraping proxy platform with built-in anti-bot protection.* # Actor input Schema ## `action` (type: `string`): Action to perform: 'search' for web search, 'scrape' for single page extraction ## `query` (type: `string`): Search query (required for action=search) ## `url` (type: `string`): URL to scrape (required for action=scrape) ## `location` (type: `string`): Search location code (e.g. 'US', 'UK', 'CN', 'JP', 'DE', 'AU') ## `language` (type: `string`): Search language code (e.g. 'en', 'zh', 'ja', 'fr') ## `limit` (type: `integer`): Number of search results to return (1-50) ## `withContent` (type: `boolean`): When enabled, automatically fetches full page content (markdown + summary) for each search result. ## `formats` (type: `string`): Comma-separated output formats. Options: markdown, summary, html. (e.g. 'markdown,summary') ## `render` (type: `boolean`): Enable headless browser rendering to bypass Cloudflare/DataDome. Slower but more effective for protected sites. ## `screenshot` (type: `boolean`): Capture a PNG screenshot of each page (requires render=true) ## `concurrency` (type: `integer`): Number of parallel scrapes (1-20, default 5) ## Actor input object example ```json { "action": "search", "location": "US", "language": "en", "limit": 10, "withContent": true, "formats": "markdown,summary", "render": false, "screenshot": false, "concurrency": 5 } ``` # 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("empathetic_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape").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("empathetic_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape").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 empathetic_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=empathetic_chorus/xcrawl-search-scrape", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Web Search & Scrape by XCrawl Proxy", "description": "Search the web or scrape any URL using XCrawl residential proxy network. Bypass anti-bot systems with automatic JS rendering fallback, global IP rotation, and configurable concurrency (1-20). Perfect for market research, LLM data collection, and content aggregation.", "version": "2.0", "x-build-id": "Uweyf0KUIuE173kTi" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/empathetic_chorus~xcrawl-search-scrape/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-empathetic_chorus-xcrawl-search-scrape", "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/empathetic_chorus~xcrawl-search-scrape/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-empathetic_chorus-xcrawl-search-scrape", "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/empathetic_chorus~xcrawl-search-scrape/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-empathetic_chorus-xcrawl-search-scrape", "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": [ "action" ], "properties": { "action": { "title": "Action", "enum": [ "search", "scrape" ], "type": "string", "description": "Action to perform: 'search' for web search, 'scrape' for single page extraction", "default": "search" }, "query": { "title": "Search Query", "maxLength": 200, "type": "string", "description": "Search query (required for action=search)" }, "url": { "title": "URL to Scrape", "maxLength": 2000, "type": "string", "description": "URL to scrape (required for action=scrape)" }, "location": { "title": "Geo-Location", "type": "string", "description": "Search location code (e.g. 'US', 'UK', 'CN', 'JP', 'DE', 'AU')", "default": "US" }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Search language code (e.g. 'en', 'zh', 'ja', 'fr')", "default": "en" }, "limit": { "title": "Result Limit", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "Number of search results to return (1-50)", "default": 10 }, "withContent": { "title": "Fetch Full Content", "type": "boolean", "description": "When enabled, automatically fetches full page content (markdown + summary) for each search result.", "default": true }, "formats": { "title": "Output Formats", "type": "string", "description": "Comma-separated output formats. Options: markdown, summary, html. (e.g. 'markdown,summary')", "default": "markdown,summary" }, "render": { "title": "JS Rendering (Anti-Bot)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Enable headless browser rendering to bypass Cloudflare/DataDome. Slower but more effective for protected sites.", "default": false }, "screenshot": { "title": "Take Screenshot", "type": "boolean", "description": "Capture a PNG screenshot of each page (requires render=true)", "default": false }, "concurrency": { "title": "Concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 20, "type": "integer", "description": "Number of parallel scrapes (1-20, default 5)", "default": 5 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```