# Shopify Catalog and Price Change Monitor (`pistachio_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor`) Actor

Track any Shopify store's catalog: products, variants, prices, sale prices and stock flags, plus what changed since your last run (new products, removed products, price changes, stock changes). Reads the store's public product feed. No login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/pistachio\_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Hay Equipos](https://apify.com/pistachio_implementation) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Shopify Catalog and Price Change Monitor

Watch any Shopify store's catalog and see **what changed since your last run**: new products, removed products, price changes, sale price changes and stock changes, down to each variant (size, color). Every run also gives you the full catalog with prices, compare at prices, stock flags, vendors, product types, tags and images.

Built for DTC brands tracking competitors, dropshippers and resellers watching suppliers, and analysts following pricing across stores.

### What it does

- Reads the store's **public product feed** (`/products.json`), the same feed Shopify serves to every visitor. No login, no cookies, no cart or checkout pages.
- Picks up the store name and currency from the store's public `/meta.json`.
- Outputs one row per product with all its variants, the price range, whether it is in stock, how many variants are in stock, and whether it is on sale.
- **Change tracking built in.** The catalog is saved after each run in a named key value store in your own Apify account. The next run compares against it and flags every product as new, updated, unchanged or removed, with a list of exactly what changed (for example price 25 to 20 on variant "Size 8").
- Choose to output everything, or **only the changes**, which is ideal for a daily schedule that feeds a Slack alert, an email or a sheet.
- Polite by design: one page at a time per store with a pause between pages, robots.txt respected by default, retries with backoff when a store rate limits.

### Input example

```json
{
    "storeUrls": ["https://www.allbirds.com", "colourpop.com", "www.kyliecosmetics.com"],
    "maxProductsPerStore": 1000,
    "outputMode": "all",
    "snapshotStoreName": "shopify-catalog-monitor-snapshots",
    "includeDescription": false,
    "respectRobotsTxt": true
}
```

| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| storeUrls | Store domains or links, one per line. |
| maxProductsPerStore | Stop after this many products per store. 0 means the whole catalog (up to 25,000). Default 1,000. |
| outputMode | `all` for every product with a change flag, `changes` for only new, updated and removed products. |
| snapshotStoreName | Name of the key value store that keeps the previous catalog. Use different names for separate histories. |
| includeDescription | Add the product description as plain text. |
| respectRobotsTxt | Skip a store whose robots.txt forbids crawlers from the product feed. |
| maxConcurrency | Stores processed in parallel (1 to 5). |
| delayBetweenPagesMs | Pause between feed pages of one store. Default 1,000. |

### Output example

A product whose price changed since the previous run (tags and some variants shortened).

```json
{
    "recordType": "product",
    "store": "www.allbirds.com",
    "storeName": "Allbirds",
    "storeUrl": "https://www.allbirds.com",
    "currency": "USD",
    "productId": 7340901859408,
    "handle": "womens-allbirds-flip-flop-dusty-pink",
    "title": "Women's Allbirds Flip Flop - Dusty Pink",
    "vendor": "Allbirds",
    "productType": "Shoes",
    "productUrl": "https://www.allbirds.com/products/womens-allbirds-flip-flop-dusty-pink",
    "imageUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1104/4168/files/A12513_26Q2_Allbirds-Flip-Flop-Dusty-Pink_PDP_LEFT.png?v=1774646345",
    "minPrice": 25,
    "maxPrice": 25,
    "available": true,
    "variantCount": 7,
    "variantsInStock": 1,
    "onSale": true,
    "changeType": "updated",
    "changes": [
        { "field": "price", "variantId": 42146889039952, "variantTitle": "5", "from": 29, "to": 25 }
    ],
    "variants": [
        {
            "variantId": 42146889039952,
            "title": "5",
            "sku": "A12513W050",
            "price": 25,
            "compareAtPrice": 50,
            "onSale": true,
            "available": false,
            "option1": "5",
            "grams": 455,
            "requiresShipping": true
        }
    ],
    "checkedAt": "2026-09-27T05:52:40.000Z"
}
```

`changeType` values:

| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| baseline | First run for this store. The catalog was saved; changes start from the next run. |
| unchanged | Same title, prices, sale prices, stock flags and variants as last time. |
| new | Product was not in the previous snapshot. |
| updated | Something changed. The `changes` list says what: title, price, compareAtPrice, available, or a variant added or removed. |
| removed | Product was in the previous snapshot and is gone now. |

A per store summary (products found, new, updated, removed) is saved in the default key value store under the key `SUMMARY`.

### Pricing

Pay per event:

- **$1 per 1,000 products checked** ($0.001 each).
- **$0.005 per change detected** (a product that is new, updated or removed). The first run for a store never charges for changes.

### Limits

- Works only on Shopify stores that leave the public product feed on. Most do. Password protected stores and stores that block the feed return an error row and are not charged.
- **Removed products are reported only when the whole catalog was read on both runs.** If you cap `maxProductsPerStore` below the catalog size, new and updated products are still flagged, but removals are held back to avoid false alarms.
- The public feed does not show exact inventory quantities, only whether each variant can be bought.
- Prices are in the store's default currency. Market specific prices are not included.
- Very large catalogs (above 25,000 products) are cut at 25,000.

### FAQ

**How do I get daily alerts?** Save your input as a task, set `outputMode` to `changes`, and add a daily schedule. Connect the dataset to Slack, email, Google Sheets or a webhook with Apify integrations.

**Where is the previous catalog stored?** In a named key value store in your Apify account (default name `shopify-catalog-monitor-snapshots`), one record per store. Delete it to start fresh.

**Can I monitor many stores at once?** Yes. Put them all in `storeUrls`. Each store keeps its own snapshot.

**Is this allowed?** The actor reads only the public product feed that Shopify serves to any visitor, with no login and no personal data. You remain responsible for how you use the data.

**Something is broken.** Open an issue on the Issues tab with the store URL. Issues are answered quickly.

This actor is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Shopify Inc. Shopify is a trademark of Shopify Inc.

# Actor input Schema

## `storeUrls` (type: `array`):

One store per line, for example https://www.allbirds.com or colourpop.com. Only the domain is used.

## `maxProductsPerStore` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many products for each store. Use 0 for the whole catalog (up to 25,000). Removed products are only reported when the whole catalog was read on both runs.

## `outputMode` (type: `string`):

All products (with a change flag on each) or only products that are new, changed or removed since the previous run. The first run for a store only saves the baseline.

## `snapshotStoreName` (type: `string`):

Name of the key value store in your account where the previous catalog is saved between runs. Use a different name to keep separate histories, for example one per client.

## `includeDescription` (type: `boolean`):

Adds the product description as plain text (first 5,000 characters).

## `respectRobotsTxt` (type: `boolean`):

When on, a store whose robots.txt forbids crawlers from /products.json is skipped.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Pages within one store are always read one at a time.

## `delayBetweenPagesMs` (type: `integer`):

Polite pause between feed pages of the same store. Each page holds up to 250 products.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "storeUrls": [
    "https://www.allbirds.com"
  ],
  "maxProductsPerStore": 1000,
  "outputMode": "all",
  "snapshotStoreName": "shopify-catalog-monitor-snapshots",
  "includeDescription": false,
  "respectRobotsTxt": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 2,
  "delayBetweenPagesMs": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All rows the run saved to the default dataset.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

The SUMMARY record: counts and problems for the whole run.

# 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 = {
    "storeUrls": [
        "https://www.allbirds.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("pistachio_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor").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 = { "storeUrls": ["https://www.allbirds.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("pistachio_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor").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 '{
  "storeUrls": [
    "https://www.allbirds.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call pistachio_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,pistachio_implementation/shopify-catalog-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

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/botgIqJ9wE3WyQyvO/builds/e8azaYCPa0iB8kt8W/openapi.json