# Common Crawl URL Index Lookup Scraper (`parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper`) Actor

Queries the Common Crawl URL index for a domain or URL and returns each crawl record as a flat row with timestamp, status code, MIME type, and crawl ID. Supports filters for date, status, and MIME type.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 16 total users, 0 monthly users, 85.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.25 / 1,000 items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Common Crawl URL Index Lookup Scraper

**Look up any URL or domain in the Common Crawl index and get every crawl record, timestamp, status code, and MIME type.** No API key, no rate limits, no setup. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Common Crawl is a massive, open repository of web crawl data, but querying its index directly means downloading huge files and parsing them yourself. This Actor queries the Common Crawl URL index for any domain or URL and returns each matching record as a flat row, with filters for crawl date, HTTP status, and MIME type.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Common Crawl for |
|---|---|
| SEO analysts | Checking when a competitor's page was last crawled and what status it returned |
| Researchers | Building a timeline of a website's changes across Common Crawl snapshots |
| Data engineers | Extracting URL lists from Common Crawl for downstream processing |
| Digital archivists | Finding all crawl records for a domain to reconstruct its history |

### What it does

This Actor looks up a URL or domain in the Common Crawl index and returns each crawl record as a flat row with timestamp, status code, MIME type, and crawl ID.

- 🔍 **Flexible matching:** match by exact URL, prefix, host, or domain.
- 📅 **Date filters:** restrict results to crawls between two dates.
- 🚦 **Status and type filters:** keep only records with a specific HTTP status code or MIME type.
- 🗂️ **Crawl selection:** query a specific crawl ID or let the Actor pick the most recent crawl automatically.
- 📦 **Flat output:** every record is one row, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Common Crawl data

**📈 Track competitor crawl history.**

An SEO analyst enters a competitor's domain and gets every crawl record with timestamps and status codes to see how often the site is indexed.

**🧪 Audit your own site's index coverage.**

A webmaster looks up their domain with a status code filter to find pages that returned 404 or 500 errors in recent crawls.

**📚 Build a research dataset.**

A researcher queries a domain with a MIME type filter to collect all PDF documents from Common Crawl snapshots for analysis.

**🗄️ Reconstruct a site's history.**

A digital archivist uses prefix matching on a URL to find every crawl record for a specific section of a website over time.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Query the public Common Crawl index without registration or authentication |
| **No rate limits** | Run as many lookups as you need, up to one million records per run |
| **Historical coverage** | Access crawl records from multiple Common Crawl snapshots |
| **Structured output** | Get a clean, flat dataset instead of raw index files |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets Common Crawl the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | Common Crawl URL Index Lookup Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Common Crawl changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a URL or domain, choose a match type, and apply filters for crawl date, HTTP status code, and MIME type. Only matching records reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "url": "apify.com",
  "matchType": "domain"
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "url": "apify.com",
  "matchType": "domain"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.011 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.10 |
| 1,000 results | $11.00 |
| 10,000 results | $110.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Common Crawl URL Index Lookup Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Common Crawl through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your URL or domain input and match type. If you used `exact`, try `domain` or `prefix` to broaden the match. Also verify your date, status code, and MIME type filters are not too restrictive.

**Why are results from an old crawl?**

The Actor uses the most recent crawl by default, but if you specified crawl IDs, it will only query those. Remove the crawl IDs to use the latest crawl.

**Why do I get a timeout or slow response?**

Querying the Common Crawl index can take time for large domains. Try narrowing your match type or adding filters to reduce the number of records.

**Why is my date filter not working?**

Dates must be in YYYYMMDD format, for example `20240101` for January 1, 2024. Make sure there are no dashes or slashes.

**Why do I get records with different status codes?**

If you do not set a status code filter, the Actor returns all records regardless of HTTP status. Add a status code filter to restrict results.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is Common Crawl? | Common Crawl is a non-profit organization that crawls the web and publishes the resulting data as open datasets. The index lets you look up which URLs were crawled and when. |
| Do I need an API key or account? | No. This Actor queries the public Common Crawl index directly, so no registration or authentication is required. |
| How do I specify a URL or domain? | Enter a domain like `apify.com`, a path like `example.com/blog`, or a full URL like `https://news.ycombinator.com`. The match type controls how it is interpreted. |
| What does the match type mean? | `exact` matches the URL exactly, `prefix` matches URLs starting with the given string, `host` matches all URLs on the same host, and `domain` matches the domain and all subdomains. |
| Can I filter by crawl date? | Yes. Use the from and to date fields in YYYYMMDD format to restrict results to crawls within a specific time range. |
| Can I filter by HTTP status code? | Yes. Enter a status code like `200`, `301`, or `404` to return only records with that code. |
| Can I filter by MIME type? | Yes. Enter a MIME type like `text/html`, `application/pdf`, or `image/jpeg` to return only records of that type. |
| How many records can I get? | You can set the maximum number of records per run, up to one million. |
| Which Common Crawl crawl is used? | By default, the Actor queries the most recent crawl automatically. You can also specify one or more crawl IDs to query specific snapshots. |
| What output formats are supported? | The dataset can be exported to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Common Crawl Foundation. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of records to collect per run.

## `url` (type: `string`):

Domain or URL to look up. Examples: `apify.com`, `example.com/blog`, `https://news.ycombinator.com`.

## `crawls` (type: `array`):

Specific Common Crawl crawl IDs (e.g. `CC-MAIN-2024-30`). Leave empty to query the most recent crawl automatically.

## `matchType` (type: `string`):

How to match the URL: `exact`, `prefix`, `host`, or `domain`.

## `fromDate` (type: `string`):

Earliest crawl timestamp. Leave empty for any.

## `toDate` (type: `string`):

Latest crawl timestamp. Leave empty for any.

## `statusCode` (type: `string`):

Restrict to a specific status code, e.g. `200`, `301`, `404`. Leave empty for all.

## `mimeType` (type: `string`):

Filter by MIME type, e.g. `text/html`, `application/pdf`, `image/jpeg`.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "url": "apify.com",
  "matchType": "domain"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "url": "apify.com",
    "matchType": "domain"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper").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 = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "url": "apify.com",
    "matchType": "domain",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper").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 '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "url": "apify.com",
  "matchType": "domain"
}' |
apify call parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/common-crawl-index-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/k0qORqz24RckWAu01/builds/Y4AST4qDyhVuWW3nS/openapi.json