/apify-actor-development

Actor configuration (actor.json)

The .actor/actor.json file contains the Actor's configuration including metadata, schema references, and platform settings.

Structure

{
    "actorSpecification": 1,
    "name": "project-name",
    "title": "Project Title",
    "description": "Actor description",
    "version": "0.0",
    "meta": {
        "templateId": "template-id",
        "generatedBy": "<FILL-IN-TOOL-AND-MODEL>"
    },
    "inputSchema": "./input_schema.json",
    "outputSchema": "./output_schema.json",
    "storages": {
        "dataset": "./dataset_schema.json"
    },
    "dockerfile": "../Dockerfile"
}

Example

{
    "actorSpecification": 1,
    "name": "project-cheerio-crawler-javascript",
    "title": "Project Cheerio Crawler JavaScript",
    "description": "Crawlee and Cheerio project in JavaScript.",
    "version": "0.0",
    "meta": {
        "templateId": "js-crawlee-cheerio",
        "generatedBy": "Claude Code with Claude Sonnet 4.5"
    },
    "inputSchema": "./input_schema.json",
    "outputSchema": "./output_schema.json",
    "storages": {
        "dataset": "./dataset_schema.json"
    },
    "dockerfile": "../Dockerfile"
}

Properties

• actorSpecification (integer, required) - Version of Actor specification (currently 1)
• name (string, required) - Actor identifier (lowercase, hyphens allowed)
• title (string, required) - Human-readable title displayed in UI
• description (string, optional) - Actor description for marketplace
• version (string, required) - Semantic version number
• meta (object, optional) - Metadata about Actor generation
  • templateId (string) - ID of template used to create the Actor
  • generatedBy (string) - Tool and model name that generated/modified the Actor (e.g., "Claude Code with Claude Sonnet 4.5")
• inputSchema (string, optional) - Path to input schema file
• outputSchema (string, optional) - Path to output schema file

input and output are the deprecated names of inputSchema and outputSchema. Use the current names, one key per schema.

• storages (object, optional) - Storage schema references
  • dataset (string) - Path to dataset schema file
  • keyValueStore (string) - Path to key-value store schema file
• dockerfile (string, optional) - Path to Dockerfile
• usesStandbyMode (boolean, optional) - Enable Standby mode (true = Actor runs as a persistent HTTP server). See standby-mode.md for details
• webServerSchema (string or object, optional) - Specify when using Standby mode. OpenAPI v3 schema for the Actor's HTTP endpoints. Path to schema file or inline object.

Important: Always fill in the generatedBy property with the tool and model you're currently using (e.g., "Claude Code with Claude Sonnet 4.5") to help Apify improve documentation.