🚀 McMaster-Carr Category Map Scraper

Access McMaster-Carr category intelligence with confidence. This actor is focused on category-level data, so users can discover and analyze category coverage quickly.

McMaster-Carr is one of the largest industrial supply companies in North America, offering over 700,000 products. This tool collects category metadata directly from their sitemap, giving you instant access to category names, URLs, product types, keywords, and classification details. Perfect for competitive analysis, market research, procurement planning, and supplier evaluation.

No technical skills required. Enter a search term or category URL and get clean category records ready for analysis or integration. This actor does not extract SKU-level product details, prices, inventory, or product specifications.

📌 Scope Notice

This scraper is for McMaster-Carr categories. It does not extract individual product cards, SKU/part pages, prices, inventory, or product-level specifications.

✨ What Does It Do

The McMaster-Carr Scraper collects detailed category information that helps you understand and navigate their industrial supply catalog:

• Category Names: Get properly formatted names for each product category (e.g., "Hex Bolts", "Timing Belts", "Industrial Switches")
• Direct Category URLs: Receive clickable links to each category page for easy access and verification
• Category Types: Understand product classifications like Fasteners, Tools, Electrical, Materials, or Plumbing
• Keyword Extraction: Access extracted keywords from category names for better searchability and organization
• Size Indicators: Identify which categories involve specific sizing options (hasSize flag)
• Material Indicators: Know which categories specify material types (hasMaterial flag)
• Category Slugs: Get URL-friendly versions of category names for integration with your systems
• Timestamp Data: Track when each category was collected for data freshness tracking

This data helps you build comprehensive product databases, conduct market research, plan procurement strategies, analyze competitor offerings, and identify product gaps in your inventory.

🎬 Demo Video

Coming soon! Check back for a video walkthrough of the McMaster-Carr Scraper in action.

🔧 Input

Use one of these modes:

• startUrl mode: provide one McMaster-Carr category URL directly.
• searchQuery mode: search categories from the sitemap by keyword.

Important rule:

• Use startUrl OR searchQuery, never both.
• maxItems does not count as a filter.

Main fields:

• startUrl (optional string)
• searchQuery (optional string, prefill: bolts)
• maxItems (optional integer, prefill: 10)

Example input (searchQuery mode):

{
  "searchQuery": "hex bolts",
  "maxItems": 10
}

Example input (startUrl mode):

{
  "startUrl": "https://www.mcmaster.com/hex-bolts",
  "maxItems": 10
}

📊 Output

The actor exports structured category records in CSV, Excel, or JSON.

{
  "categoryName": "Hex Bolts",
  "categorySlug": "hex-bolts",
  "categoryUrl": "https://www.mcmaster.com/hex-bolts",
  "productsUrl": "https://www.mcmaster.com/products/hex-bolts/",
  "categoryType": "Fasteners",
  "keywords": ["Hex", "Bolts"],
  "hasSize": false,
  "hasMaterial": false,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-02-17T20:00:00.000Z",
  "error": ""
}

Field summary:

• categoryName: Human-readable category name
• categorySlug: URL slug for that category
• categoryUrl: Clickable category URL
• productsUrl: Product-listing URL for that category (useful for product-level scraping)
• categoryType: Classification like Fasteners, Tools, Electrical, etc.
• keywords: Extracted terms for filtering and analysis
• hasSize: Indicates size pattern detected in slug
• hasMaterial: Indicates material keyword detected in slug
• scrapedAt: ISO timestamp of extraction
• error: Error message when extraction fails (last field)

💎 Why Choose the McMaster-Carr Scraper?

Comprehensive Coverage: Access data from one of North America's largest industrial suppliers with over 700,000 products across thousands of categories. No other tool gives you this level of category insight into McMaster-Carr's catalog.

Time-Saving Efficiency: What would take hours of manual browsing and note-taking happens in minutes. Focus on analysis and decision-making instead of data collection.

Business-Ready Data: Receive clean, structured information that's immediately usable for market research, procurement planning, competitive analysis, and supplier evaluation. No data cleaning required.

Flexible Filtering: Use keyword search to focus on exactly what you need, or collect everything for comprehensive market analysis. The choice is yours.

No Technical Skills Needed: If you can fill out a simple form, you can use this tool. No coding, no complex setup, no learning curve. Just enter your search terms and go.

Reliable and Accurate: Data comes directly from McMaster-Carr's official sitemap, ensuring accuracy and completeness. You get the same category information that powers their website.

Integration-Friendly: Export data in multiple formats and connect with thousands of business tools through built-in integrations. Your data works where you work.

📋 How to Use

Step 1: Sign Up Create a free account w/ $5 credit on the Apify platform. No credit card required to start.

Step 2: Find the Actor Navigate to the McMaster-Carr Scraper in the Apify Store.

Step 3: Configure Your Search Enter your search query (like "hex bolts" or "stainless steel") and set the maximum number of categories you want to collect. Leave the search empty to get all categories.

Step 4: Run the Tool Click the "Start" button and watch as the tool collects your category data. Most searches complete in under a minute.

Step 5: Download Your Data Once complete, download your results in CSV, Excel, or JSON format. Use the data immediately in your spreadsheets, databases, or business intelligence tools.

No Technical Skills Required. The entire process is point-and-click simple.

🎯 Business Use Cases

Market Researchers

Conducting competitive analysis in the industrial supply sector? The McMaster-Carr Scraper gives you the category intelligence you need.

• Map the complete product category overview across fasteners, tools, electrical components, and materials
• Identify emerging product categories and market trends by analyzing category growth and specialization
• Compare McMaster-Carr's category structure with competitors to find gaps and opportunities
• Track category additions and changes over time to spot market shifts

Procurement Professionals

Streamline your sourcing process and make better purchasing decisions with comprehensive category data.

• Quickly discover all relevant product categories for your specific needs (fasteners, tools, materials, electrical)
• Build searchable databases of supplier offerings to speed up sourcing requests
• Identify alternative product categories that might meet your requirements at better prices
• Plan procurement strategies based on complete category visibility

Business Analysts

Make data-driven decisions with structured category intelligence from a major industrial supplier.

• Analyze product category organization and taxonomy for market intelligence
• Build comprehensive supplier databases with detailed category breakdowns
• Identify cross-selling opportunities by understanding related product categories
• Support strategic planning with complete visibility into industrial supply categories

Manufacturing Companies

Understand supplier capabilities and plan your material sourcing with category-level insights.

• Evaluate McMaster-Carr's capabilities across different product types for vendor qualification
• Build internal catalogs and part numbering systems aligned with industry-standard categories
• Identify backup suppliers for critical component categories
• Plan inventory strategies based on category availability and classification

Sales Teams

Equip your sales organization with competitive intelligence about industrial supply categories.

• Understand competitor product offerings at the category level for positioning discussions
• Identify which categories McMaster-Carr emphasizes for competitive strategy
• Build comparison tools showing category coverage across different suppliers
• Support proposal development with accurate category and product type information

❓ FAQ

How does the McMaster-Carr Scraper work? The tool accesses McMaster-Carr's official sitemap and extracts category information including names, URLs, types, and classifications. You simply enter your search criteria, and the tool automatically collects and organizes the data. It's designed for non-technical users, so there's no coding or complex setup required. Just input your keywords, click start, and download your results.

How accurate and current is the category data? The data comes directly from McMaster-Carr's official sitemap, which they maintain as part of their website infrastructure. This ensures high accuracy and reflects their current category structure. Each record includes a timestamp showing exactly when it was collected, so you always know how fresh your data is.

Can I collect data for specific product types only? Yes! Use the search query field to filter categories by keywords. For example, searching for "bolts" will return all bolt-related categories, while "stainless steel" finds steel product categories. You can also leave the search empty to collect all categories and then filter the results yourself using Excel or your preferred data tool.

Is there a limit on how many categories I can collect? You can collect up to 1,000,000 categories per run, which provides comprehensive coverage of McMaster-Carr's entire catalog. For targeted research, use the search query to filter to exactly what you need.

Can I schedule the tool to run automatically? Absolutely! The Apify platform includes built-in scheduling features. You can set the tool to run daily, weekly, monthly, or at any custom interval. This is perfect for tracking category changes over time or maintaining an up-to-date supplier database.

What format does the data come in? You can download your data in CSV (perfect for Excel), Excel format (ready-to-use spreadsheets), or JSON format. Choose the format that works best for your workflow.

What if I need help or have questions? Our support team is here to assist you. Check the FAQ first, visit our support page, or contact us directly if you need assistance with the tool, have questions about your data, or want to discuss custom data collection projects.

🔗 Integrate this Scraper with any app

Connect this actor with your favorite tools:

• Make - Automate workflows
• Zapier - Connect 5000+ apps
• GitHub - Version control integration
• Slack - Get notifications
• Airbyte - Data pipelines
• Google Drive - Export to spreadsheets

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🆘 Need Help?

We're here to support your data collection success:

• Check the FAQ: Most common questions are answered in the FAQ section above
• Visit Our Support Page: Find detailed documentation and troubleshooting guides
• Contact Us Directly: Reach out for custom data collection projects, enterprise solutions, or technical assistance
• Request New Features: Let us know what additional data points or functionality would help your business

Whether you're collecting data for the first time or running sophisticated automated workflows, our team is ready to help you succeed.

📞 Contact

Contact us to request a new scraper, propose a custom data project, or report a technical issue with this actor at https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA

⚠️ Disclaimer

This Actor is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by McMaster-Carr or any of its subsidiaries. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.