HTTP Status Batch Checker

Bulk-check the status of many public URLs in parallel. Records the final status, full redirect chain, response time, and Content-Type. Useful for link-rot audits, sitemap URL validation, and SEO migration QA.

What it does

• Hits a list of public HTTP(S) URLs in parallel (default 16, configurable up to 64).
• Uses HEAD by default with a GET fallback when the server rejects HEAD.
• Walks the redirect chain (301 / 302 / 303 / 307 / 308) up to maxRedirects hops and records every hop with its status and Location header.
• Records elapsedMs, final URL after redirects, contentType, and hops count.
• Returns ok: true for 200 ≤ status < 400, ok: false for everything else.
• Pure data utility. Public URLs only — no auth, no anti-bot bypass, no JS rendering.

Who it is for

• SEO teams running link-rot audits on large sitemaps or content inventories.
• Migration / launch QA — confirm every old URL still resolves and doesn't loop.
• Web agencies that need a fast bulk status check for a client handover.
• Backlink / partner audits that need a quick pass/fail check on hundreds of URLs.
• DevOps / SRE smoke-checks after DNS or CDN changes.

Quick start

{
  "urls": [
    "https://apify.com",
    "https://example.com",
    "https://this-domain-definitely-does-not-exist-12345.example/"
  ]
}

Each input URL produces one dataset row:

{
  "url": "https://apify.com",
  "finalUrl": "https://apify.com/",
  "status": 200,
  "ok": true,
  "contentType": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
  "elapsedMs": 423,
  "hops": 0,
  "redirectChain": [
    { "url": "https://apify.com", "status": 200, "location": null }
  ],
  "error": null
}

Input

Field	Type	Default	Notes
urls	string[] (required)	—	Public HTTP(S) URLs to check.
method	string	HEAD	HEAD or GET. Some servers reject HEAD; switch to GET for them.
timeoutSec	int	15	Per-URL timeout in seconds.
userAgent	string	ApifyHttpStatusBatch/0.2	Override the User-Agent header.
maxRedirects	int	5	Cap on redirect hops to follow.
concurrency	int	16	Number of URLs to check in parallel.

Output

Dataset rows: one per input URL with finalUrl, status, ok, contentType, elapsedMs, hops, redirectChain[], and error (if any).

SUMMARY KV record: { urls, method, concurrency }.

Pricing

This Actor is Pay Per Event on the Apify Store:

• apify-actor-start — flat per run.
• url_checked — charged once per input URL.

For local tests, Actor.charge is a no-op (no usage billed, no payout).

Limits

• Designed for public HTTP(S) URLs. Login-walled, cookie-walled, or anti-bot endpoints are out of scope.
• Does not execute JavaScript — only what the HTTP server returns in the response.
• Per-URL timeouts are absolute; an unreachable URL still consumes its slot for timeoutSec seconds.
• maxRedirects defaults to 5 to avoid being trapped by redirect loops.

FAQ

Q: Why does my URL return 405 / 403 with HEAD? A: Some servers reject HEAD. Switch method to GET for those URLs.

Q: Can I check 10,000 URLs at once? A: Yes — bump concurrency to 32 or 64. The Actor does not impose a hard input limit, but memory and platform usage will scale with input size.

Q: How does this differ from url-redirect-loop-detector? A: url-redirect-loop-detector is focused on detecting redirect loops and chain length on a small list. http-status-batch is a broad pass/fail link-rot check that records the full chain for every URL.

Q: Can I check a private/intranet URL? A: Only if the Actor host can reach it over plain HTTP(S) without auth.

Related Actors

• url-redirect-loop-detector — focused loop detection for individual URLs.
• url-safety-prober — TLS / protocol / redirect-target safety probe.
• sitemap-delta-monitor — feed discovered URLs into this Actor for bulk status check.
• security-headers-validator — once a URL is confirmed up, validate its security headers.

Support

Open an issue on the Actor's Apify Store page (Report an issue link on the right rail) or contact the developer through the Store profile.

License

MIT — see Apify Store page for the canonical text.