Apify Install & Auth

Overview

Set up the Apify ecosystem: the apify-client JS library (for calling Actors remotely), the apify SDK (for building Actors), the Apify CLI (for deploying), and Crawlee (for crawling). Each package serves a different purpose — install only what the task needs, then wire up a single API token.

Package Map

Package	npm	Purpose
apify-client	npm i apify-client	Call Actors, manage datasets/KV stores from external apps
apify	npm i apify	Build Actors (includes Actor.init(), Actor.pushData())
crawlee	npm i crawlee	Crawler framework (Cheerio, Playwright, Puppeteer crawlers)
apify-cli	npm i -g apify-cli	CLI for apify login, apify run, apify push

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (required by SDK v3+)
• Apify account at https://console.apify.com
• API token from Settings > Integrations in Apify Console

Instructions

Step 1: Install Packages

# For CALLING existing Actors from your app:
npm install apify-client

# For BUILDING your own Actors:
npm install apify crawlee

# For CLI deployment:
npm install -g apify-cli

Step 2: Configure Authentication

Pick one. Read any existing .env first so you do not clobber it, then Write the token in.

# Option A: Environment variable (recommended for apps)
export APIFY_TOKEN="apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"

# Option B: .env file (add .env to .gitignore)
echo 'APIFY_TOKEN=apify_api_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE' >> .env

# Option C: CLI login (for interactive development)
apify login
# Paste your token when prompted