# Public Catalog Normalizer (`victor_zhu/public-catalog-normalizer`) Actor

Require name, category, and url. Map title to name and trim it; trim and lowercase category; trim url; convert optional price to a number, using null when missing. Keep the first record for each normalized url, then sort by name ascending.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/victor_zhu/public-catalog-normalizer.md
- **Developed by:** [Bisheng Zhu](https://apify.com/victor_zhu) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage

## 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

## Public Catalog Normalizer

Require name, category, and url. Map title to name and trim it; trim and lowercase category; trim url; convert optional price to a number, using null when missing. Keep the first record for each normalized url, then sort by name ascending.

### Input

Supply a JSON object with a records array. Records must be public or yours to process. This tool does not crawl websites or fetch URLs.

### Output

The default dataset contains normalized records and can be exported as JSON or CSV in Apify Console. Duplicate removal keeps the first matching input record. Null sort values are last.

### Billing

The code emits the record-normalized event per delivered record through the official Apify SDK. Publishing does not activate paid pricing. Configure this exact event and its price in Apify Console, complete identity/payout setup, and review platform costs before enabling charges. Empty output does not emit this event.

### Validation

The included fixtures were fixed before generation and are checked during the container build. Passing them does not guarantee correctness for every input, customer demand, or revenue.

### Limits

Up to 10,000 input records and 32 flat fields. Types: string, number, boolean. Invalid required values fail before delivery. No arbitrary code, nested field expressions or network input sources.

# Actor input Schema

## `records` (type: `array`):

An array of up to 10,000 public records. Only primitive field values are supported.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "records": [
    {
      "title": " Beta ",
      "category": " TOOLS ",
      "url": " https://example.org/b ",
      "price": "2.5"
    },
    {
      "title": " Alpha ",
      "category": " DATA ",
      "url": "https://example.org/a",
      "price": "0"
    },
    {
      "title": "Beta duplicate",
      "category": "tools",
      "url": "https://example.org/b",
      "price": 7
    }
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Delivered normalized records in the default dataset.

# 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 = {
    "records": [
        {
            "title": " Beta ",
            "category": " TOOLS ",
            "url": " https://example.org/b ",
            "price": "2.5"
        },
        {
            "title": " Alpha ",
            "category": " DATA ",
            "url": "https://example.org/a",
            "price": "0"
        },
        {
            "title": "Beta duplicate",
            "category": "tools",
            "url": "https://example.org/b",
            "price": 7
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("victor_zhu/public-catalog-normalizer").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 = { "records": [
        {
            "title": " Beta ",
            "category": " TOOLS ",
            "url": " https://example.org/b ",
            "price": "2.5",
        },
        {
            "title": " Alpha ",
            "category": " DATA ",
            "url": "https://example.org/a",
            "price": "0",
        },
        {
            "title": "Beta duplicate",
            "category": "tools",
            "url": "https://example.org/b",
            "price": 7,
        },
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("victor_zhu/public-catalog-normalizer").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 '{
  "records": [
    {
      "title": " Beta ",
      "category": " TOOLS ",
      "url": " https://example.org/b ",
      "price": "2.5"
    },
    {
      "title": " Alpha ",
      "category": " DATA ",
      "url": "https://example.org/a",
      "price": "0"
    },
    {
      "title": "Beta duplicate",
      "category": "tools",
      "url": "https://example.org/b",
      "price": 7
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call victor_zhu/public-catalog-normalizer --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/yVztSyw5NCBUnH4UQ/builds/Q5OQG3I57hzrqnuxg/openapi.json