How can the AI agent run a scrape on a list of product URLs?

First, find your specific scraping Actor ID via `list_actors`. Then, prompt your agent to execute `run_actor`, providing the target URLs formatted as a structured JSON input payload. It returns a 'Run ID'. You can poll this run via `get_run`, and once it succeeds, the agent calls `get_dataset_items` to pull all acquired data straight to your window.

Can the agent interact with run configurations mid-way during crawling?

Yes. If an Apify crawler is currently executing and utilizes a Request Queue, you can instruct your agent to call `push_to_queue`. Doing so dynamically ships new URLs to the active queue instance, extending the current web crawl without needing to stop or restart the Actor.

Can my AI automatically detect scraping timeouts and debug the failure?

Absolutely. Because your agent can track real execution flows with `get_run`, it's aware if it transitions to TIMED-OUT or FAILED states. Subsequently, you can ask the agent to examine the KV Store log outputs ensuring the underlying issue (e.g. captcha block, blocking proxy) is identified immediately.

Apify MCP Server for Claude Desktop 10 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Apify
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 10 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

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Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Apify and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Apify MCP Server

Connect your Apify workspace to your AI agent and seamlessly direct full-stack web scraping and data extraction workflows through natural conversation.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Apify to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 10 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Discover & Run Actors — Browse all scraper bots (Actors) available in your account. Fire them off asynchronously or synchronously for fast, targeted scraping
Extract Datasets — Pull robust structured data formats out of completed runs. Retrieve detailed JSON records directly into the agent's context window
Fetch Key-Value Stores — Programmatically read snapshots, cached HTML pages, or screenshots from the Apify Key-Value repositories mapped to a run
Job Control & Scalability — Stop hanging scraper jobs, queue new dynamic URLs mid-run, or inspect deep usage analytics, compute units, and webhooks limits

The Apify MCP Server exposes 10 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Apify to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Apify MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using Apify

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 10 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Apify MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Apify through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

Apify + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Apify MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

Apify MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (10)

These 10 tools become available when you connect Apify to Claude Desktop via MCP:

abort_run

Any data already scraped and pushed to the dataset is preserved. The run status changes to ABORTED. Use this to stop runaway scrapes or when sufficient data has been collected. Graceful shutdown depends on the actor implementation. Abort an active Apify actor run

get_account_limits

Essential for monitoring consumption and avoiding overage charges. Check Apify account subscription limits and compute unit usage

get_dataset_items

The datasetId is found in the run object (defaultDatasetId). Supports pagination via limit (max items per page) and offset (starting position). Returns an array of JSON objects containing the scraped data fields. Use limit=1000 for bulk downloads. Export structured JSON data from an Apify dataset

get_key_value_store

Key-value stores hold arbitrary data like screenshots (OUTPUT), configuration files, or intermediate results. The storeId comes from the run object (defaultKeyValueStoreId). Common keys include "OUTPUT", "INPUT", and "SCREENSHOT". Retrieve an item from an Apify actor key-value store

get_run

Poll this endpoint to track long-running scrapes. Check the status and metadata of a specific Apify actor run

list_actors

Includes owned actors and those from the Apify Store that have been saved. Each entry contains the actorId, name, description, and default run configuration. Use the actorId to trigger runs. List all accessible actors in the Apify account

list_webhooks

RUN.SUCCEEDED, ACTOR.RUN.FAILED), target URLs, and associated actor IDs. Webhooks enable event-driven architectures by notifying external systems when actor runs complete or fail. List all configured webhooks in the Apify account

push_to_queue

Pass the queueId (from the run object) and a JSON string array of request objects, e.g., [{"url":"https://...","uniqueKey":"..."}]. This enables dynamic crawling where new pages are discovered and added during execution. Dynamically push new URLs to an active Apify request queue

run_actor

Pass the actorId (e.g., "apify/web-scraper" or a custom ID) and a JSON string with the input configuration (start URLs, proxy settings, max pages, etc.). Returns immediately with a runId. Use ap.get_run to poll for completion and ap.get_dataset_items to retrieve extracted data. Start an Apify actor asynchronously with custom JSON input

run_actor_sync

run_actor but waits for the actor to finish before returning. The response includes the full run object with defaultDatasetId for immediate data retrieval. Best for short-lived actors (under 5 minutes). For long-running scrapes, use the async ap.run_actor instead. Run an Apify actor and block until completion (synchronous)

Example Prompts for Apify in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Apify immediately.

"List all the Apify actors available on my account."

"Verify the status of run 'qKpwH9LgC3r0Xm' and show me its final dataset if finished."

"How are our compute usage limits tracking this current month on Apify?"

Troubleshooting Apify MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Apify to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

Apify + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Apify MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.