# VDAB Search Scraper (`jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-scraper`) Actor

Scrape current VDAB search and detail pages with rich job, employer, contract, profile, skill, salary, workplace, and application data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Jobs API](https://apify.com/jobsapi) (community)
- **Categories:** Jobs, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 job details

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## VDAB Jobs Search Scraper

This Actor extracts public VDAB vacancies through the website's public HTTPS search and vacancy APIs. It emits one rich record only after the vacancy ID, title, employer, publication state, description, and requirements have been verified against the public detail response.

### Modes

- `search`: search VDAB by `query`, then enrich up to `maxItems` vacancies.
- `single`: enrich one public VDAB vacancy from `jobUrl`.
- `multiple`: enrich the public vacancies in `jobUrls` (or `startUrls`).

The Actor is bounded by `maxPages`, `maxRequests`, and `requestTimeoutSecs`. It runs locally with ordinary public HTTPS requests and does not use authenticated pages or private endpoints.

### Example input

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "ontwikkelaar",
  "maxPages": 1,
  "maxItems": 3,
  "maxRequests": 8
}
```

### Output

Records contain the public job title, employer, location, description, requirements, contract terms, skills, studies, experience, salary where published, dates, application channels, canonical VDAB URL, and verification evidence. Optional fields are omitted when VDAB does not publish the corresponding value. The Actor never uses a vacancy page URL as an application URL.

Run state is stored outside the dataset under `RUN_SUMMARY` and `RUN_DIAGNOSTICS`.

If some candidates fail after at least one valid record is verified, the Actor preserves the valid records and reports `succeeded_with_limitations`; it never converts partial success into an empty dataset. The summary includes request counts and Actor runtime.

### Cost guidance

Search mode uses one public search request per fetched page and one public detail request per inspected candidate, always bounded by `maxPages` and `maxRequests`. Begin with one page and a small `maxItems`. Direct modes use one detail request per URL. No proxy is required for the public API path under normal conditions.

### Local validation

```bash
npm ci
npm test
npm run check
apify validate-schema
apify run --purge --input-file INPUT.json
npm run validate
```

### Responsible use

Use the Actor only for publicly available vacancy information and respect VDAB's terms, robots guidance, rate limits, and applicable law. Do not use it to collect sensitive personal data, bypass access controls, or access authenticated pages.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Choose public keyword search, one vacancy, or multiple vacancies.

## `query` (type: `string`):

VDAB keyword used in search mode.

## `jobUrl` (type: `string`):

A public VDAB vacancy URL containing a numeric vacancy identifier.

## `jobUrls` (type: `array`):

Public VDAB vacancy URLs for multiple mode.

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

Public VDAB vacancy URLs, supplied as strings or URL objects.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of public search API pages to inspect.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of rich, detail-verified job records to emit.

## `pageSize` (type: `integer`):

Number of candidates requested from each public search API page.

## `maxRequests` (type: `integer`):

Hard bound for public search and vacancy API requests in one run.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Delay in milliseconds between public vacancy detail requests.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum seconds to wait for each public HTTPS request.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "ontwikkelaar",
  "maxPages": 1,
  "maxItems": 10,
  "pageSize": 10,
  "maxRequests": 40,
  "requestDelayMs": 100,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing the extracted VDAB vacancies.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

No description

## `diagnostics` (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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-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 '{}' |
apify call jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jobsapi/vdab-jobs-search-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/GeZMpsEvds778aP2a/builds/FpXs4ExuQfCV83KmD/openapi.json