Dataset Router & Splitter

Split one Apify dataset into separate output datasets using ordered, no-code rules.

Dataset Router is the missing routing step between a scraper and downstream workflows. Send high-value leads to one dataset, incomplete records to review, products to regional feeds, errors to quarantine, or the same record to several matching destinations—without writing transformation code or exposing data to another service.

What it does

• Reads any Apify dataset you authorize.
• Evaluates up to eight ordered routes using nested dot-path fields.
• Supports first-match routing or copying to every matching route.
• Creates a separate per-run Apify dataset for each route.
• Optionally captures records that matched nothing.
• Returns a manifest mapping route names to dataset IDs, item counts, and API URLs.
• Stops safely when the run's spending limit is reached.

The source dataset is read-only and is never modified.

Example

{
  "sourceDatasetId": "YOUR_DATASET_ID",
  "routingMode": "firstMatch",
  "writeUnmatched": true,
  "unmatchedRoute": "review",
  "rules": [
    {
      "route": "high-value-us",
      "match": "all",
      "conditions": [
        { "field": "company.country", "operator": "equals", "value": "US", "caseSensitive": false },
        { "field": "price", "operator": "gte", "value": "500" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "route": "missing-email",
      "conditions": [
        { "field": "contact.email", "operator": "missing" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Operators

equals, notEquals, contains, notContains, startsWith, endsWith, regex, in, notIn, gt, gte, lt, lte, exists, missing, isEmpty, and isNotEmpty.

String comparisons can be case-sensitive or case-insensitive. contains works on both strings and arrays. Use values for in and notIn. Numeric comparison values are entered as text and converted with JavaScript Number() semantics.

Output

The default dataset is a route manifest. Every route gets its own aliased dataset containing:

• route: matched route name
• ruleIndex: zero-based rule index, or null for unmatched records
• sourceIndex: original position in the source dataset
• record: the original source record, unchanged

The OUTPUT key-value-store record contains aggregate totals and the complete route manifest. Aliased route datasets follow the run's normal retention policy instead of accumulating as permanent named datasets.

Pricing

Pay per routed record copy:

• Actor start: Apify's standard low-cost start event
• routed-record: $0.00001 per routed copy ($0.01 per 1,000)

With first-match routing, a source record creates at most one charge. With every-match routing, a record copied to three routes creates three routed-record charges. Ignored records are not charged.

Limits and safety

• Up to eight route datasets per run.
• When unmatched routing is enabled, use at most seven explicit rules.
• Up to 1,000,000 source records, controlled by maxItems.
• Regex uses JavaScript regular expressions; invalid patterns fail before routing begins.
• Numeric comparisons convert values with JavaScript Number() semantics.
• No proxy, browser, LLM, or external API is used.
• Runs under Apify limited permissions and accesses only the selected source dataset plus its own run storages.

Local development

npm install
npm test
npm start