# Wayback Machine Scraper — Archived Snapshots (`hipersoft/wayback-machine-scraper`) Actor

List every Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) snapshot of a URL or whole domain: timestamp, snapshot URL, status code, MIME type and content digest. Filter by date, status and dedupe. For SEO, OSINT and historical research. No setup.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/hipersoft/wayback-machine-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Hipersoft](https://apify.com/hipersoft) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Other, SEO tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 15 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.001 / snapshot scraped

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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Wayback Machine Scraper — Archived Snapshots, Timestamps, Status & Digests

List every Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) snapshot of a URL or an entire domain as clean, structured JSON. Give it a URL or hostname and this Actor returns each capture's timestamp, direct snapshot URL, HTTP status code, MIME type, content digest and byte length — filterable by date and status, with optional de-duplication. It reads the Archive's public CDX index. Built for SEO audits, OSINT and historical research where you need the full capture history, fast.

![Wayback Machine Scraper input — URLs, match type and date filters in the Apify Console](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/SUfvnaFLd9z9eBCtV/records/wayback-machine-scraper-input.png?v=2)

### Features

- 🗂️ **Full capture history** — every archived snapshot of a URL, or a whole domain, from the Wayback CDX index.
- 🎯 **Flexible match types** — `exact`, `prefix`, `host` or `domain` (all subdomains) to scope exactly what you list.
- 📅 **Date filtering** — bound results with `fromDate` / `toDate` (YYYY or YYYYMMDD) to focus on a period.
- ✅ **Status filter** — set `onlyStatus200` to exclude redirects and errors and keep only successful captures.
- 🧹 **De-duplication modes** — `collapse` by unique URL, one-per-day, or unique content (digest), plus automatic removal of exact duplicate captures.
- 🔗 **Ready-to-open links** — each record includes a `snapshotUrl` that opens the archived page directly.
- 📈 **Scales to domains** — cap output with `maxSnapshotsPerUrl` (up to 100,000 per input).

### What you get

![Wayback Machine Scraper output example — one archived snapshot per row as structured JSON](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/SUfvnaFLd9z9eBCtV/records/wayback-machine-scraper-output.png?v=5)

One record per snapshot, for example:

```json
{
  "inputUrl": "apify.com",
  "originalUrl": "https://apify.com/",
  "timestamp": "20230115094512",
  "isoDate": "2023-01-15T09:45:12Z",
  "statusCode": "200",
  "mimeType": "text/html",
  "digest": "GKQ3XY7ABC5D6EF7GH8IJ9KLMN0OPQRS",
  "length": 48213,
  "snapshotUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20230115094512/https://apify.com/"
}
```

#### Output schema

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `inputUrl` | string (URL) | The URL or domain you supplied as input for this snapshot. |
| `originalUrl` | string (URL) | The original captured URL as recorded in the archive. |
| `timestamp` | string | Capture time in Wayback's `YYYYMMDDhhmmss` format. |
| `isoDate` | string (ISO date) | Capture time as an ISO 8601 date-time. |
| `statusCode` | string | HTTP status code returned when the page was archived. |
| `mimeType` | string | MIME/content type of the archived capture. |
| `digest` | string | Content digest (hash) identifying the captured content. |
| `length` | integer | Size of the archived capture, in bytes. |
| `snapshotUrl` | string (URL) | Direct link to open the archived snapshot on the Wayback Machine. |

### Input

```json
{
  "urls": ["apify.com", "https://example.com/pricing"],
  "matchType": "exact",
  "fromDate": "2020",
  "toDate": "2023",
  "onlyStatus200": false,
  "collapse": "none",
  "maxSnapshotsPerUrl": 1000
}
```

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `urls` | URLs or domains to list archived snapshots for. One per line. |
| `matchType` | `exact`, `prefix` (path), `host`, or `domain` (domain + all subdomains). |
| `fromDate` / `toDate` | Date bounds, YYYY or YYYYMMDD. Empty = earliest / latest. |
| `onlyStatus200` | Exclude redirects and errors, keeping only successful captures. |
| `collapse` | De-duplicate: `none`, `url`, `daily`, or `content`. |
| `maxSnapshotsPerUrl` | Maximum snapshots to collect per input URL/domain (1–100,000). |

### Use cases

- Audit a site's historical page changes and URL structure for SEO.
- Recover lost content by locating the exact archived snapshot to restore.
- OSINT and due diligence: trace how a page or brand presented itself over time.
- Detect when pages appeared, changed (by content digest) or went offline.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: you're billed a small amount per run and per item scraped — you only pay for what you get. See the **Pricing** tab for current rates.

### FAQ

**How many snapshots can I list per run?**
Up to 100,000 per input URL or domain, controlled by `maxSnapshotsPerUrl`. Use `host` or `domain` match types to enumerate captures across an entire site.

**Is scraping the Wayback Machine legal?**
The Actor collects only publicly available capture metadata from the Internet Archive's CDX API. It is an independent tool, not affiliated with the Internet Archive — please respect their terms and use it responsibly.

**What's the output format?**
A JSON dataset with one record per snapshot (timestamp, original URL, status code, MIME type, content digest, byte length, and a ready-to-open `snapshotUrl`). Export as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

**Can I filter or limit results?**
Yes. Use `matchType`, `fromDate`/`toDate`, `onlyStatus200`, the `collapse` de-duplication modes (url/daily/content), and `maxSnapshotsPerUrl`.

**Can I connect the Wayback Machine Scraper to other tools?**
The Wayback Machine Scraper can be connected with almost any cloud service or web app thanks to [integrations on the Apify platform](https://apify.com/integrations). It works with [Make](https://apify.com/integrations/make), [Zapier](https://apify.com/integrations/zapier), [Slack](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/slack), [Airbyte](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/airbyte), [GitHub](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/github), [Google Drive](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/drive) and [many more](https://apify.com/integrations), plus the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2), JavaScript/Python clients and MCP. Or use [webhooks](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/webhooks) to trigger an action whenever a run finishes.

### Feedback

How did it go? Good or bad, a [review](https://console.apify.com/actors/6ZkvrXdlNki6hU90t/reviews) helps other users decide and tells us what to improve. Something broken or missing? Open an [issue](https://apify.com/hipersoft/wayback-machine-scraper/issues) and we'll look at it.

### Related Actors

Pair archival history with live web-diagnostics tools:

- [Bulk URL Status Checker](https://apify.com/hipersoft/bulk-url-checker) — check which of those historical URLs are still live today.
- [Domain Inspector](https://apify.com/hipersoft/domain-inspector) — WHOIS/RDAP, DNS, and SSL details for any domain.
- [Website Content Crawler](https://apify.com/hipersoft/website-content-crawler) — crawl a live site into clean text for analysis or RAG.
- [Bulk Image Downloader](https://apify.com/hipersoft/bulk-image-downloader) — fetch and store images at scale from a URL list.

### Notes

This Actor reads publicly available capture metadata from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine CDX API. It is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Internet Archive. It targets public data only — please respect the Internet Archive's terms and use it responsibly.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

URLs or domains to list archived snapshots for.

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

exact = just this URL; prefix = URLs starting with this path; host = this hostname; domain = the domain and all subdomains.

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

Lower bound, YYYY or YYYYMMDD. Empty = earliest.

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

Upper bound, YYYY or YYYYMMDD. Empty = latest.

## `onlyStatus200` (type: `boolean`):

Exclude redirects and errors.

## `collapse` (type: `string`):

none = every capture; url = one per unique URL; daily = one per URL per day; content = drop identical content.

## `maxSnapshotsPerUrl` (type: `integer`):

Maximum snapshots to collect per input URL/domain.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com/pricing",
    "nytimes.com"
  ],
  "matchType": "exact",
  "fromDate": "",
  "toDate": "",
  "onlyStatus200": false,
  "collapse": "none",
  "maxSnapshotsPerUrl": 1000
}
```

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "apify.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("hipersoft/wayback-machine-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 = { "urls": ["apify.com"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("hipersoft/wayback-machine-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 '{
  "urls": [
    "apify.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call hipersoft/wayback-machine-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,hipersoft/wayback-machine-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/6ZkvrXdlNki6hU90t/builds/Wcrj6FKQIYbzQ165j/openapi.json