Apify MCP Server for Claude Desktop: Setup & Config

What you can do with Apify in Claude Desktop

Choose it when assistants need discoverable web-extraction tools backed by Apify Actors.

• Discover a scraper for a particular website from an assistant.
• Collect social-media or search-result data through an Actor.

Before you start: Apify in Claude Desktop

• Node.js and npx for the local launch
• An MCP-compatible client
• Apify API token for the documented local configuration

The command is the local stdio route. The recommended hosted alternative uses streamable HTTP at remote_url and supports OAuth. Do not append /sse; the old SSE endpoint was removed. Hosted output-schema inference is not available in local stdio mode.

Apify Claude Desktop configuration

1. Choose Claude Desktop configuration scope

   For Apify MCP Server, open macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Merge under mcpServers via Settings → Developer → Edit Config when available.

2. Add Apify MCP Server to Claude Desktop

   Use the actors-mcp-server entry below in mcpServers. Keep Apify MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Claude Desktop entries.

3. Check Apify MCP Server in Claude Desktop

   Apify MCP Server: Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop; check developer diagnostics.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "actors-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@apify/actors-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "<Apify API token for local access>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Apify tools available to Claude Desktop

Apify's stored tool list documents 19 tools; compare it with Claude Desktop's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

search-actors

When Claude Desktop requests search-actors from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Find relevant Actors in Apify Store.

fetch-actor-details

When Claude Desktop requests fetch-actor-details from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Inspect an Actor's schemas, documentation, and pricing before execution.

call-actor

When Claude Desktop requests call-actor from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Run an Actor with its expected input and retrieve results.

get-actor-run

When Claude Desktop requests get-actor-run from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Inspect the details of a particular Actor execution.

get-dataset-items

When Claude Desktop requests get-dataset-items from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Read dataset records with filtering and pagination.

get-key-value-store-record

When Claude Desktop requests get-key-value-store-record from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Retrieve a stored value by its key.

abort-actor-run

When Claude Desktop requests abort-actor-run from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Stop an Actor execution, optionally using graceful cancellation.

search-apify-docs

When Claude Desktop requests search-apify-docs from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Locate relevant pages in Apify's documentation.

fetch-apify-docs

When Claude Desktop requests fetch-apify-docs from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Load an Apify documentation page from its URL.

apify--rag-web-browser

When Claude Desktop requests apify--rag-web-browser from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Search and browse web sources through the RAG Web Browser Actor.

get-actor-run-list

When Claude Desktop requests get-actor-run-list from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-actor-log

When Claude Desktop requests get-actor-log from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-dataset

When Claude Desktop requests get-dataset from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-dataset-schema

When Claude Desktop requests get-dataset-schema from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-key-value-store

When Claude Desktop requests get-key-value-store from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-key-value-store-keys

When Claude Desktop requests get-key-value-store-keys from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-dataset-list

When Claude Desktop requests get-dataset-list from Apify, review the action before approving it.

get-key-value-store-list

When Claude Desktop requests get-key-value-store-list from Apify, review the action before approving it.

add-actor

When Claude Desktop requests add-actor from Apify, review the action before approving it.

Apify: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting Apify in Claude Desktop

• Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop for Apify MCP Server. If npx @apify/actors-mcp-server (Node.js/npm) is missing, check the desktop process's PATH, which may differ from your terminal.
• In Claude Desktop's Apify MCP Server entry, check APIFY_TOKEN. Keep secrets out of shared screenshots and repositories.
• Apify MCP Server uses stdio here: Claude Desktop must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Local stdio lacks some hosted features.
• Known limitation: Client support for dynamic tool discovery varies.
• Known limitation: Paid Actor execution needs an account token or a supported funded payment flow.
• General Claude Desktop troubleshooting lives in the /clients/claude-desktop guide.

Frequently asked questions