# Building Permits Feed — Austin, TX (`pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed`) Actor
Get clean, structured Austin, TX building-permit data as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Filter by issue date, permit type, and valuation to pull fresh permits — great sales leads for contractors, roofers, solar installers, and real-estate investors. Pay per result, no subscription.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed.md
- **Developed by:** [John Karoul](https://apify.com/pairsoftwosocks) (community)
- **Categories:** Real estate, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $1.50 / 1,000 permit records
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
## Building Permits Feed — Austin & Chicago
Get clean, structured **building-permit data for Austin, TX and Chicago, IL** as JSON, CSV, or Excel — no scraping, no parsing government HTML, no dealing with clunky open-data portals. Pick a city and a date range and get back ready-to-use permit records in one consistent shape: address, permit type, valuation, contractor, owner, status, and more.
Built for **contractors, roofers, solar installers, real-estate investors, and researchers** who want fresh permit activity as sales leads or data — without paying enterprise prices.
### Why use it
- **Clean, consistent output.** Every permit — from any supported city — comes back in the same tidy schema, with the full raw source record attached so you can trust and audit the data.
- **Fresh leads.** Filter by issue date to pull just-issued permits — the signal that a property owner is about to spend money.
- **Fair, usage-based pricing.** Pay only per result you actually get. No subscriptions, no minimums.
- **Straight from the official source.** Data comes directly from each city's official open-data portal, so it's authoritative and current.
### What you get
One record per permit, with these fields:
`permit_id`, `issue_date`, `jurisdiction`, `address`, `latitude`, `longitude`, `permit_type`, `work_description`, `valuation`, `contractor_name`, `contractor_license`, `owner`, `status`, `source_url`, `raw`
#### Example output
```json
{
"permit_id": "2025-151496 EP",
"issue_date": "2026-01-31T00:00:00.000",
"jurisdiction": "austin-tx",
"address": "9113 BELL MOUNTAIN DR, AUSTIN, TX, 78730",
"latitude": 30.37875914,
"longitude": -97.82761222,
"permit_type": "R- 434 Addition & Alterations",
"work_description": "Addition of 470 sqft on the first level ...",
"valuation": null,
"contractor_name": "River City Electric",
"status": "Inactive Pending Revision",
"source_url": "https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/permit/public-search-other?..."
}
````
### Input
| Field | Required | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `jurisdiction` | yes | `austin-tx` | `austin-tx` (Austin, TX) or `chicago-il` (Chicago, IL) — more coming |
| `dateFrom` | yes | `2026-01-01` | Permits issued on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `dateTo` | yes | `2026-01-31` | Permits issued on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `permitType` | no | `residential` | Filter by permit class (case-insensitive match) |
| `minValuation` | no | `50000` | Only permits with declared valuation at or above this (USD) |
| `maxResults` | no | `1000` | Cap on how many records to return |
### How to use it
1. Set your **date range** (and any optional filters).
2. Run the actor.
3. Download the results as **JSON, CSV, or Excel**, or pull them via the Apify API into your own app or spreadsheet.
### Good to know
- **Coverage:** **Austin, TX** and **Chicago, IL**. More cities are planned — follow the actor for updates.
- **Owner data:** Chicago records include the property **owner** and the **contractor**; Austin exposes the contractor but not a property owner. Fields a city doesn't provide come back empty (the unified schema is the same for every city).
- **Valuation:** Not every permit has a declared dollar valuation, so the `valuation` field is sometimes empty. When present, it's the city's declared job/reported cost. The `minValuation` filter only returns permits that *have* a valuation at or above your threshold.
- **Data sources:** City of Austin Open Data ("Issued Construction Permits") and City of Chicago Open Data ("Building Permits") — both official Socrata portals.
***
For developers (running from source)
```bash
python3 -m pytest -v # unit tests (no network)
PYTHONPATH=. python3 tests/integration_austin_live.py # live smoke test
```
Adding a city: add an adapter in `src/sources/.py` (a `jurisdiction` slug + `fetch(...)`), a `_FIELD_MAP` in `src/normalize.py`, register it in `SOURCES` in `src/registry.py`, and add the slug to `SUPPORTED_JURISDICTIONS` in `src/inputs.py` and the `.actor/input_schema.json` enum.
Dependencies are pinned to a verified set (see `requirements.txt`) — the Apify SDK must be v3.x; older pins pull a crawlee/pydantic combination that crashes at import.
# Actor input Schema
## `jurisdiction` (type: `string`):
City to pull permits from.
## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):
Include permits issued on or after this date.
## `dateTo` (type: `string`):
Include permits issued on or before this date.
## `permitType` (type: `string`):
Case-insensitive substring match on the source permit class.
## `minValuation` (type: `number`):
Only permits with declared valuation at or above this.
## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):
Safety cap on records returned.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"jurisdiction": "austin-tx",
"maxResults": 1000
}
```
# 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("pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed").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("pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed").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 pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=pairsoftwosocks/building-permits-feed",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "Building Permits Feed — Austin, TX",
"description": "Get clean, structured Austin, TX building-permit data as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Filter by issue date, permit type, and valuation to pull fresh permits — great sales leads for contractors, roofers, solar installers, and real-estate investors. Pay per result, no subscription.",
"version": "0.1",
"x-build-id": "WqTaXlKydOUiLaJlA"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/pairsoftwosocks~building-permits-feed/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-pairsoftwosocks-building-permits-feed",
"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": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/pairsoftwosocks~building-permits-feed/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-pairsoftwosocks-building-permits-feed",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$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": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/pairsoftwosocks~building-permits-feed/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-pairsoftwosocks-building-permits-feed",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$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": [
"jurisdiction",
"dateFrom",
"dateTo"
],
"properties": {
"jurisdiction": {
"title": "Jurisdiction",
"enum": [
"austin-tx",
"chicago-il"
],
"type": "string",
"description": "City to pull permits from.",
"default": "austin-tx"
},
"dateFrom": {
"title": "Issued from (YYYY-MM-DD)",
"type": "string",
"description": "Include permits issued on or after this date."
},
"dateTo": {
"title": "Issued to (YYYY-MM-DD)",
"type": "string",
"description": "Include permits issued on or before this date."
},
"permitType": {
"title": "Permit type contains (optional)",
"type": "string",
"description": "Case-insensitive substring match on the source permit class."
},
"minValuation": {
"title": "Minimum valuation, USD (optional)",
"type": "number",
"description": "Only permits with declared valuation at or above this."
},
"maxResults": {
"title": "Max results",
"minimum": 1,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Safety cap on records returned.",
"default": 1000
}
}
},
"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
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```