HTTP API

A Apify Actor to make HTTP requests (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE) to any API endpoint. Configure headers, query parameters, request body, timeout, retries, and more — no setup or authentication required for public APIs.

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🛠️ Features

• All common HTTP methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE
• Custom headers & query parameters: Pass arrays or objects of key/value pairs
• Raw request body: Send any payload, including JSON or plain text
• Configurable timeout & retries: Set request timeout and retry on failures with exponential backoff
• Optional response metadata: Include timing, retry attempts, and headers in your output

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📥 Input Parameters

Provide a JSON object with any of the following fields:

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
endpoint	string	✅ Yes	—	API endpoint URL (e.g. https://api.example.com/v1/data).
method	string	✅ Yes	GET	HTTP method: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE.
querystring	array or object	❌ No	—	Query parameters. As array of { key, value } pairs or an object { key: value }.
headers	array or object	❌ No	—	HTTP headers to send. As array of { key, value } pairs or an object { key: value }.
body	string	❌ No	—	Raw request body (e.g. JSON string). If Content-Type: application/json, actor pre-validates the JSON format.
timeoutSeconds	integer	❌ No	30	How many seconds to wait before aborting the HTTP request.
maxRetries	integer	❌ No	3	Number of retry attempts on network failures (uses exponential backoff).
response_headers	boolean	❌ No	false	Include response headers in the output dataset if true.
include_meta	boolean	❌ No	false	Include metadata (meta field) with timing and retry information if true.

Note: The actor will throw an error if endpoint or method is missing, or if a JSON body is invalid when Content-Type: application/json is set.

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📦 Output Dataset

Each run pushes one record with the following fields:

Field	Type	Description
status	integer	HTTP status code of the response.
statusText	string	HTTP status text (e.g. "OK", "Not Found").
response	any	Parsed response body (object, string, or raw data).
headers	object	Response headers (only present if response_headers: true).
meta	object	Metadata with requestTimestamp, durationMs, and attempts (only if include_meta: true).

Errors (HTTP status ≥400) do not throw by default: you will still get the response in your dataset, and a warning is logged. Network failures after all retries will throw an error and stop the actor.

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🚀 Examples

1. Simple GET (Random Cat Fact)

Input:

{
  "method": "GET",
  "endpoint": "https://catfact.ninja/fact"
}

Output (sample):

{
  "status": 200,
  "statusText": "OK",
  "response": { "fact": "Cats make about 100 different sounds.", "length": 29 }
}

2. POST with Query & Headers

Input:

{
  "method": "POST",
  "endpoint": "https://postman-echo.com/post",
  "querystring": [
    { "key": "testParam", "value": "hello" }
  ],
  "headers": [
    { "key": "Content-Type", "value": "application/json" },
    { "key": "X-Custom-Header", "value": "ApifyTest" }
  ],
  "body": "{\"message\":\"Hello from Apify actor!\"}",
  "response_headers": true,
  "include_meta": true
}

Output (sample):

{
  "status": 200,
  "statusText": "OK",
  "response": { "args": { "testParam": "hello" }, "json": { "message": "Hello from Apify actor!" }, "url": "https://postman-echo.com/post?testParam=hello" },
  "headers": { /* response headers */ },
  "meta": { "requestTimestamp": "2025-04-20T12:00:00.000Z", "durationMs": 123, "attempts": 1 }
}

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🔧 Advanced Options & Error Handling

• Timeouts & Retries: Adjust timeoutSeconds and maxRetries to control how long the actor waits and how many retry attempts are used for network errors.
• Invalid JSON Body: If you set Content-Type: application/json in headers and provide an invalid JSON string in body, the actor fails fast with an error.
• HTTP Errors (4xx/5xx): Responses with status codes ≥400 do not cause the actor to fail — they are logged as warnings and returned in the dataset. To treat them as errors, add custom logic in a workflow or use error handling in your integration.

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