# Bulk Redirect Chain & Status Code Tracer (`psx/redirect-chain-tracer`) Actor

Trace every hop of redirect chains for thousands of URLs: status codes, loops, long chains, HTTPS downgrades, temporary redirects, final status. HTTP only, fast and cheap.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/psx/redirect-chain-tracer.md
- **Developed by:** [psx](https://apify.com/psx) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **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

## Bulk Redirect Chain and Status Tracer

Follow every hop of a redirect chain for thousands of URLs and flag what hurts SEO and speed. Plain HTTP requests (HEAD, GET fallback), no browser, no personal data. Ideal for site migrations, link audits and affiliate/short-link checks.

### What you get per URL

- Every hop: URL, status code, `Location`, milliseconds.
- Final URL and final status, redirect count, total time.
- Issues: `redirect-loop`, `too-many-redirects`, `long-chain` (4+ hops), `multi-hop`, `temporary-redirect` (302/303/307), `https-downgrade`, `final-not-https`, `final-4xx/5xx`, `cross-domain`, `redirect-no-location`, `trace-error`.
- Private/internal addresses are blocked (SSRF guard, re-checked on every hop). Max 2 parallel requests per host with a per-host delay (default 250 ms).

### Input

| Field | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `urls` | required | Up to 10,000. Bare domains accepted. |
| `maxRedirects` | `10` | Stop after N redirects (max 20). |
| `delayMs` | `250` | Delay per host. |
| `concurrency` | `5` | URLs in parallel. |

### Output

```json
{ "url": "https://httpbin.org/redirect/4", "finalUrl": "https://httpbin.org/get", "finalStatus": 200, "redirectCount": 4,
  "chain": [{ "url": "...", "status": 302, "location": "/relative-redirect/3", "ms": 120 }],
  "issues": [{ "severity": "medium", "id": "long-chain", "message": "4 hops; ..." }] }
```

### Pricing (pay per event)

`apify-actor-start` $0.005 per run (per GB), `url-traced` $0.001 per URL (invalid URLs are not charged).

### Develop

`npm install && npm test`; local run via `storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json` + `npm start`; deploy `apify push` (private by default).

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

URLs to trace (up to 10,000). Bare domains accepted (https assumed).

## `maxRedirects` (type: `integer`):

Stop tracing after this many redirects.

## `delayMs` (type: `integer`):

Minimum delay between requests to the same host.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

URLs traced in parallel (at most 2 at once per host).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "http://github.com",
    "https://bit.ly/3",
    "http://www.google.com"
  ],
  "maxRedirects": 10,
  "delayMs": 250,
  "concurrency": 5
}
```

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "http://github.com",
        "https://bit.ly/3",
        "http://www.google.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("psx/redirect-chain-tracer").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 = { "urls": [
        "http://github.com",
        "https://bit.ly/3",
        "http://www.google.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("psx/redirect-chain-tracer").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 '{
  "urls": [
    "http://github.com",
    "https://bit.ly/3",
    "http://www.google.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call psx/redirect-chain-tracer --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/nxvFobAInt0hbixFR/builds/OrEcWZgdCNq3NdUPy/openapi.json