Universal Web Scraper

AI-driven data extraction from 55+ Actors across all major platforms. This skill automatically selects the best Actor for your task.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN configured in OpenClaw settings
• Node.js 20.6+
• mcpc CLI (auto-installed via skill metadata)

Input Sanitization Rules

Before substituting any value into a bash command:

• ACTOR_ID: Must be either a technical name (owner/actor-name — alphanumeric, hyphens, dots, one slash) or a raw ID (exactly 17 alphanumeric characters, e.g., oeiQgfg5fsmIJB7Cn). Reject values containing shell metacharacters (` ; | & $ ( ) { } < > ! \n ``).
• SEARCH_KEYWORDS: Plain text words only. Reject shell metacharacters.
• JSON_INPUT: Must be valid JSON. Must not contain single quotes (use escaped double quotes). Validate structure before use.
• Output filenames: Must match YYYY-MM-DD_descriptive-name.{csv,json}. No path separators (/, ..), no spaces, no metacharacters.

Workflow

Copy this checklist and track progress:

Task Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Understand user goal and select Actor
- [ ] Step 2: Fetch Actor schema via mcpc
- [ ] Step 3: Ask user preferences (format, filename)
- [ ] Step 4: Run the scraper script
- [ ] Step 5: Summarize results and offer follow-ups

Step 1: Understand User Goal and Select Actor

First, understand what the user wants to achieve. Then select the best Actor from the options below.

Instagram Actors (12)

Facebook Actors (14)

TikTok Actors (14)

YouTube Actors (5)

Google Maps Actors (4)

Other Actors (6)

Actor Selection by Use Case

Multi-Actor Workflows

For complex tasks, chain multiple Actors:

Can't Find a Suitable Actor?

If none of the Actors above match the user's request, search the Apify Store directly:

mcpc --json mcp.apify.com --header "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" tools-call search-actors keywords:="SEARCH_KEYWORDS" limit:=10 offset:=0 category:="" | jq -r '.content[0].text'

Replace SEARCH_KEYWORDS with 1-3 simple terms (e.g., "LinkedIn profiles", "Amazon products", "Twitter").

Step 2: Fetch Actor Schema

Fetch the Actor's input schema and details dynamically using mcpc:

mcpc --json mcp.apify.com --header "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" tools-call fetch-actor-details actor:="ACTOR_ID" | jq -r ".content"

Replace ACTOR_ID with the selected Actor (e.g., compass/crawler-google-places).

This returns:

• Actor description and README
• Required and optional input parameters
• Output fields (if available)

Step 3: Ask User Preferences

Before running, ask:

1. Output format:
• Quick answer - Display top few results in chat (no file saved)
• CSV - Full export with all fields
• JSON - Full export in JSON format
2. Number of results: Based on character of use case

Step 4: Run the Script

Quick answer (display in chat, no file):

node {baseDir}/reference/scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor 'ACTOR_ID' \
  --input 'JSON_INPUT'

CSV:

node {baseDir}/reference/scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor 'ACTOR_ID' \
  --input 'JSON_INPUT' \
  --output 'YYYY-MM-DD_OUTPUT_FILE.csv' \
  --format csv

JSON:

node {baseDir}/reference/scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor 'ACTOR_ID' \
  --input 'JSON_INPUT' \
  --output 'YYYY-MM-DD_OUTPUT_FILE.json' \
  --format json

Step 5: Summarize Results and Offer Follow-ups

After completion, report:

• Number of results found
• File location and name
• Key fields available
• Suggested follow-up workflows based on results:

Security & Data Privacy

This skill instructs the agent to select an Apify Actor, fetch its schema (via mcpc), and run scrapers. The included script communicates only with api.apify.com and writes outputs to files under the current working directory; it does not access unrelated system files or other environment variables.

Apify Actors only scrape publicly available data and do not collect private or personally identifiable information beyond what is openly accessible on the target platforms. For additional security assurance, you can check an Actor's permission level by querying https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/:actorId — an Actor with LIMITED_PERMISSIONS operates in a restricted sandbox, while FULL_PERMISSIONS indicates broader system access. For full details, see Apify's General Terms and Conditions.

Error Handling

APIFY_TOKEN not found - Ask user to configure APIFY_TOKEN in OpenClaw settings

mcpc not found - Run npm install -g @apify/mcpc

Actor not found - Check Actor ID spelling

Run FAILED - Ask user to check Apify console link in error output

Timeout - Reduce input size or increase --timeout