# Redirect Contract Verifier (`plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier`) Actor

Check whether a URL redirects to the destination you expect. Get a deterministic PASS/WARN/FAIL result with the final URL, HTTP status, redirect chain, and reason code.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier.md
- **Developed by:** [Plutonus](https://apify.com/plutonus) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.003 / redirect verification

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?

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

## Redirect Contract Verifier

Redirect Contract Verifier follows a bounded chain of public HTTP(S) redirects and checks whether the final destination and HTTP status satisfy one expected redirect contract. It writes exactly one result item to the default dataset.

### Input

The Actor accepts exactly two required string fields:

- `source_url`: the absolute public HTTP(S) URL where traversal starts.
- `expected_target_url`: the absolute public HTTP(S) URL expected after traversal.

```json
{
  "source_url": "https://example.com/",
  "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/"
}
```

### Result

Each dataset item contains:

- `verdict`
- `reason_code`
- `source_url`
- `expected_target_url`
- `final_url`
- `final_status`
- `redirect_count`
- `redirect_chain`

```json
{
  "verdict": "PASS",
  "reason_code": "TARGET_MATCH",
  "source_url": "https://example.com/",
  "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/",
  "final_url": "https://example.com/",
  "final_status": 200,
  "redirect_count": 0,
  "redirect_chain": [
    {
      "url": "https://example.com/",
      "status": 200,
      "location": null
    }
  ]
}
```

- `PASS`: the normalized final URL matches the expected target and the final status is 2xx.
- `WARN`: the normalized final URL matches, but the final status is 4xx or 5xx.
- `FAIL`: the target differs or input, safety, redirect, DNS, timeout, TLS, or HTTP transport validation fails.

Target comparison lowercases and IDNA-normalizes the hostname, removes default HTTP(S) ports, treats an empty path as `/`, and ignores fragments. Path case, trailing slashes, query content, and query ordering remain significant.

### Boundaries

Only public HTTP(S) destinations are allowed. The Actor validates each destination before contact, rejects private and otherwise non-public addresses, detects redirect loops, and limits redirect traversal.

It does not provide browser rendering, authentication, cookies, private-destination access, crawling, monitoring, or AI analysis.

The pay-per-event name is `redirect-verification`; pricing is configured separately by the operator. Publication requires **Limited permissions** only.

# Actor input Schema

## `source_url` (type: `string`):

Absolute public HTTP(S) URL whose redirects will be followed.

## `expected_target_url` (type: `string`):

Absolute public HTTP(S) URL expected after redirect traversal.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "source_url": "https://example.com/",
  "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "source_url": "https://example.com/",
    "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier").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 = {
    "source_url": "https://example.com/",
    "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier").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 '{
  "source_url": "https://example.com/",
  "expected_target_url": "https://example.com/"
}' |
apify call plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,plutonus/redirect-contract-verifier"
        }
    }
}

```

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/Y7s1sHegtFcguNYXw/builds/dq621GgCUEi1Dm7lN/openapi.json