# Website Change Monitor: Track Page Changes, Pay Per Change (`scrapemint/website-change-monitor`) Actor Monitor any list of web pages on a schedule and get a structured JSON row when a page changes: added and removed lines, previous and current text, timestamps. No browser, no CSS selector needed, no API key. Pay only for detected changes. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapemint/website-change-monitor.md - **Developed by:** [Ken M](https://apify.com/scrapemint) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Marketing - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.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/platform/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 ## Website Change Monitor: Track Page Changes, Pay Per Change Watch any list of web pages and get a structured JSON row the moment one changes. Each change row carries the added lines, removed lines, previous and current text, and timestamps, so you can pipe it straight into Slack, Google Sheets, email, or any workflow via Apify integrations. No browser, no CSS selector required, no API key — and you pay only for detected changes, never for checks that find nothing. Built to run on a schedule: competitor pricing pages, product catalogs, terms of service, job pages, documentation, status pages. The first run stores a free baseline for every URL; every later run reports only what changed. ### What you get One row per event, with `status` = `changed`, `baseline`, `unchanged` (optional), or `error`: - `addedLines` / `removedLines` (plus counts) — the actual content diff - `previousText` / `currentText` (capped, optional) for full context - `title`, `httpStatus`, `textHash`, `previousTextHash` - `firstSeenAt`, `previousChangeAt`, `checkedAt` Monitoring state persists in a named key-value store in your account (`website-change-monitor-state`), so schedules just work — no setup beyond the URL list. ### Input - `urls` (up to 500 pages per run) - `cssSelector` (optional: watch only one part of the page, e.g. `.pricing-table`; empty = automatic main-content mode with nav/footer/script boilerplate stripped) - `pushUnchangedRows` (audit-trail rows for unchanged pages, never charged) - `includeFullText` (attach previous/current text to change rows, default on) ### Example input ```json { "urls": [ "https://competitor.com/pricing", "https://competitor.com/changelog" ], "cssSelector": "", "pushUnchangedRows": false } ```` ### Example change row ```json { "url": "https://competitor.com/pricing", "status": "changed", "changed": true, "title": "Pricing – Competitor", "addedLines": ["Pro plan $49/mo"], "removedLines": ["Pro plan $39/mo"], "addedCount": 1, "removedCount": 1, "firstSeenAt": "2026-06-01T08:00:00.000Z", "previousChangeAt": "2026-06-20T08:00:00.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-07-07T08:00:00.000Z" } ``` ### Uses - Competitor price and plan changes, delivered as diffs on a daily schedule - Terms of service / policy monitoring for compliance teams - New product, feature, or changelog detection - Watch a prospect's careers page for hiring signals - Documentation drift alerts for your own product ### Pricing Pay per detected change. Baselines (the first time a URL is seen), unchanged checks, and fetch errors are always free — monitoring 100 stable pages costs nothing until something actually changes. The first 2 changes of every run are also free. ### Notes - Plain HTTP fetching: server-rendered pages (most marketing, pricing, docs, and news pages) work accurately. Client-side-only apps are out of scope. - Changing the CSS selector re-baselines the affected URLs (state is keyed by URL + selector). # Actor input Schema ## `urls` (type: `array`): Pages to watch. The first run stores a baseline for each (free); later runs report changes. Up to 500 URLs per run. ## `cssSelector` (type: `string`): Watch only this part of each page, e.g. .pricing-table. Leave empty to watch the page's main content with navigation, footers, and scripts stripped automatically. ## `pushUnchangedRows` (type: `boolean`): Push a status row for pages that did not change (never charged). Useful for audit trails. ## `includeFullText` (type: `boolean`): Attach the previous and current extracted text (capped at 5000 characters each) to every change row, in addition to the added/removed lines. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional. Most monitored pages need no proxy. ## Actor input object example ```json { "urls": [ "https://news.ycombinator.com/" ], "cssSelector": "", "pushUnchangedRows": false, "includeFullText": true, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # 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 = { "urls": [ "https://news.ycombinator.com/" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrapemint/website-change-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urls": ["https://news.ycombinator.com/"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrapemint/website-change-monitor").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 '{ "urls": [ "https://news.ycombinator.com/" ] }' | apify call scrapemint/website-change-monitor --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapemint/website-change-monitor", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Website Change Monitor: Track Page Changes, Pay Per Change", "description": "Monitor any list of web pages on a schedule and get a structured JSON row when a page changes: added and removed lines, previous and current text, timestamps. No browser, no CSS selector needed, no API key. Pay only for detected changes.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "IwM1xOApTEGuCuooA" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrapemint~website-change-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrapemint-website-change-monitor", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~website-change-monitor/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrapemint-website-change-monitor", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/scrapemint~website-change-monitor/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrapemint-website-change-monitor", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "properties": { "urls": { "title": "URLs to monitor", "type": "array", "description": "Pages to watch. The first run stores a baseline for each (free); later runs report changes. Up to 500 URLs per run.", "default": [ "https://news.ycombinator.com/" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "cssSelector": { "title": "CSS selector (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Watch only this part of each page, e.g. .pricing-table. Leave empty to watch the page's main content with navigation, footers, and scripts stripped automatically.", "default": "" }, "pushUnchangedRows": { "title": "Also push rows for unchanged pages", "type": "boolean", "description": "Push a status row for pages that did not change (never charged). Useful for audit trails.", "default": false }, "includeFullText": { "title": "Include previous and current text in change rows", "type": "boolean", "description": "Attach the previous and current extracted text (capped at 5000 characters each) to every change row, in addition to the added/removed lines.", "default": true }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional. Most monitored pages need no proxy.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": false } } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```