# Link Preview API — Bulk OpenGraph & Metadata Unfurl (`technicaldost/link-preview-api`) Actor

High-volume link previews: OpenGraph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, titles, images, favicons, canonicals, authors, dates, language and feeds. No fixed run timeout, browser or third-party API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/technicaldost/link-preview-api.md
- **Developed by:** [Technical Dost Solutions](https://apify.com/technicaldost) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, SEO tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions, Single-tenant, Server interface
- **Stats:** 10 total users, 7 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.94 / 1,000 link previews

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
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

Turn a URL list into production-ready **link previews and web metadata**. The Actor combines OpenGraph,
Twitter Cards, standard meta tags, canonical links, favicons, authors, dates, language, feeds, hreflang,
and schema.org JSON-LD into one clean record per URL.

It uses fast HTTP requests instead of a headless browser, streams results as they finish, and keeps only a
small concurrent window in memory. That makes it suitable for both single-link API calls and large batch jobs.

### Why use this Actor?

- **Rich link previews** — title, description, image, site name, favicon, canonical URL, and oEmbed.
- **OpenGraph + Twitter Cards** — reconciled preview fields plus complete normalized `openGraph` and `twitter` objects.
- **JSON-LD and SEO metadata** — schema types, authors, publishers, dates, robots, keywords, language, charset,
  theme color, hreflang, web manifests, and RSS/Atom feeds.
- **High-volume streaming** — no arbitrary URL-count cap and no fixed overall run timeout. Results are saved and
  billed continuously instead of being buffered until every URL finishes.
- **Tunable performance** — 1–200 concurrent requests, configurable per-URL timeout, and retries for temporary errors.
- **Low overhead** — no browser and no third-party API key.
- **Fair billing** — successful previews are charged atomically; failed URLs return free diagnostics.

There is no artificial batch-size limit in the Actor. Practical throughput still depends on Apify platform limits,
the size of your input and dataset, target-site response times, rate limits, and the spending limit you set for a run.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---:|---:|---|
| `urls` | array | required | URL strings or `{ "url": "..." }` objects. A missing scheme is upgraded to HTTPS. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `0` | Optional safety cap; `0` processes every supplied URL. |
| `maxConcurrency` | integer | `50` | Total parallel requests, from `1` to `200`. |
| `maxConcurrencyPerDomain` | integer | `10` | Parallel requests to any one website. Defaults to `10` when `maxConcurrency` is not set, otherwise to `maxConcurrency`. |
| `requestTimeoutSecs` | integer | `20` | Per-URL timeout, from `3` to `120` seconds. The overall Actor run has no fixed timeout. |
| `maxRetries` | integer | `1` | Retries for timeouts, HTTP 429, and temporary 5xx errors; `0` to `3`. |
| `includeJsonLd` | boolean | `true` | Return parsed JSON-LD and detected schema.org types. |
| `includeRawTags` | boolean | `false` | Return every normalized meta tag in `metaTags`; useful for audits but increases output size. |

```json
{
  "urls": ["github.com", "https://stripe.com", "https://www.apify.com"],
  "maxItems": 0,
    "requestTimeoutSecs": 20,
  "maxRetries": 1,
  "includeJsonLd": true,
  "includeRawTags": false
}
```

### Output

Each URL produces one dataset record. Existing link-preview fields remain stable; richer fields are additive.

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com/article",
  "finalUrl": "https://example.com/article",
  "ok": true,
  "status": 200,
  "contentType": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
  "responseTimeMs": 184,
  "attempts": 1,
  "title": "Example article",
  "description": "A concise article description.",
  "image": "https://example.com/article-cover.jpg",
  "siteName": "Example",
  "type": "article",
  "canonical": "https://example.com/article",
  "favicon": "https://example.com/favicon.ico",
  "appleTouchIcon": "https://example.com/apple-touch-icon.png",
  "manifestUrl": "https://example.com/site.webmanifest",
  "feedUrl": "https://example.com/feed.xml",
  "feeds": [{ "url": "https://example.com/feed.xml", "type": "application/rss+xml", "title": "Example feed" }],
  "hreflang": [{ "language": "en", "url": "https://example.com/en/article" }],
  "language": "en",
  "charset": "utf-8",
  "author": "Jane Doe",
  "publisher": "Example",
  "publishedTime": "2026-08-01T09:00:00Z",
  "modifiedTime": "2026-08-20T12:00:00Z",
  "robots": "index,follow",
  "themeColor": "#ffffff",
  "twitterCard": "summary_large_image",
  "openGraph": { "title": "Example article", "type": "article" },
  "twitter": { "card": "summary_large_image" },
  "schemaTypes": ["Article", "Organization"],
  "jsonLd": [{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article" }],
  "fetchedAt": "2026-08-25T09:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Unreachable URLs, timeouts, and non-success HTTP responses produce `ok: false` records with an `error` message
and a machine-readable `errorCode`: `BLOCKED`, `RATE_LIMITED`, `NOT_FOUND`, `HTTP_ERROR`, `TIMEOUT`, `DNS`,
`CONNECTION`, `TLS`, `REDIRECT`, `INVALID_URL`, `PRIVATE_ADDRESS`, `NOT_HTML`, `NO_METADATA` or `NETWORK`.
Those diagnostic records are not charged as successful link previews.

When a site answers with a typical bot-protection response (401, 403, 429, 503 or an empty 202), the Actor
immediately retries with browser-like request profiles before giving up. A site that does not answer one client within
`requestTimeoutSecs` is tried with the next one, within the same overall time budget. Pages that only redirect with a
meta refresh (common for short links) are followed automatically, and links to private or local network addresses
are refused immediately.

### Large-batch guidance

The defaults (50 parallel requests, at most 10 per website) suit most large lists. Results are stored in batches,
so throughput scales with concurrency; for very large mixed-domain lists try `maxConcurrency` 100. Lower
`maxConcurrencyPerDomain` when a single site rate-limits you. If Apify migrates a long run to
another server, the run resumes where it stopped instead of fetching and charging URLs again. Use `maxItems` while testing and set Apify's per-run maximum charge to control spend. Because results
stream into the dataset continuously, a slow URL or a stopped run does not discard already completed previews.

### Common use cases

- Link unfurling for chat, comments, CMS, CRM, and bookmarking apps.
- Content and feed enrichment for AI agents, RAG pipelines, newsletters, and databases.
- OpenGraph, Twitter Card, canonical, hreflang, and JSON-LD audits.
- Metadata snapshots before and after site migrations.
- Article author/date extraction and schema.org inventory across large URL lists.

### API and exports

Run the Actor from Apify Console, API, JavaScript/Python clients, schedules, webhooks, Make, Zapier, n8n, or MCP.
Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or HTML using Apify's standard dataset exports.

#### Real-time API (Standby)

For instant single-link unfurls without waiting for a run to start, call the Standby endpoint with your Apify token:

```bash
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  "https://technicaldost--link-preview-api.apify.actor/?url=https://github.com"

curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls": ["https://github.com", "https://www.apify.com"]}' \
  "https://technicaldost--link-preview-api.apify.actor/"
```

A single `?url=` returns one preview object; `?urls=a,b`, repeated `url` parameters, or a POST body return
`{ "results": [...] }`. Every input option can be passed as a query parameter or in the POST body. Up to 100 URLs per
request; use a normal run for larger batches. Billing is the same: one result event per successful preview.

### FAQ

**Does it require an API key?** No third-party API key is required. API calls to Apify use your normal Apify token.

**Does it render JavaScript?** No. It reads server-delivered HTML, where sites normally expose preview metadata.
Pages that create metadata only after client-side JavaScript runs may return incomplete fields.

**Is there a URL limit?** The Actor imposes no arbitrary URL-count cap. Real limits come from the platform, input and
dataset sizes, target sites, your run settings, and your spending limit.

**Is there a timeout?** The published Actor has no fixed overall run timeout. Each individual request has a configurable
timeout so one unresponsive site cannot block a large job indefinitely.

**What happens when the run spending limit is reached?** The Actor stops scheduling new work. Successful results are
saved and charged atomically, so it does not deliver successful paid output beyond the available run budget.

### Pricing

Pay per successful link preview, plus the small start event shown on the Pricing tab. Failed URLs stay free. Always
check the live Pricing tab for the current rate before starting a large run.

### How to use Link Preview API

1. Open [Link Preview API](https://apify.com/technicaldost/link-preview-api) on Apify Store and click **Try for free**.
2. Fill in the input (the form is prefilled with a working example) and click **Start**.
3. Watch results appear in the **Output** tab, then download them as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read them through the API.
4. Optional: save the input as a task and add a **schedule** to run it automatically, or connect it to your tools with integrations and webhooks.

### Use Link Preview API with AI agents (MCP)

Give Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client this Actor as a tool through the hosted [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com). The agent sees the input fields with descriptions and example values, runs the Actor, and reads the results.

**MCP server URL (this Actor only):**

```
https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=technicaldost/link-preview-api
```

**Claude Code:**

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=technicaldost/link-preview-api" --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
```

**Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop and other clients** (`mcp.json` or the client's MCP settings):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=technicaldost/link-preview-api",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}
```

Clients that support sign-in (such as Claude.ai connectors) can use the URL without a token and log in to Apify instead. Get your token in [Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations](https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations), or generate a ready config for your client at [mcp.apify.com](https://mcp.apify.com). In the agent the tool is named `technicaldost--link-preview-api`; ask it, for example, to *"run Link Preview API with {"urls": \["https://www.apify.com", "https://github.com"], "maxItems": 0, "maxConcurrency": 10, "requestTimeoutSecs": 20, "maxRetries": 1, "includeJsonLd": true,"*.

AI agents without an Apify account can also run and pay for this Actor per request with [x402 agentic payments](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/x402).

### Run Link Preview API via API

Run the Actor and get its results in one call (replace `YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN`):

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/technicaldost~link-preview-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls": ["https://www.apify.com", "https://github.com"], "maxItems": 0, "maxConcurrency": 10, "requestTimeoutSecs": 20, "maxRetries": 1, "includeJsonLd": true, "includeRawTags": false}'
```

**Python** (`pip install apify-client`):

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("technicaldost/link-preview-api").call(run_input={"urls": ["https://www.apify.com", "https://github.com"], "maxItems": 0, "maxConcurrency": 10, "requestTimeoutSecs": 20, "maxRetries": 1, "includeJsonLd": true, "includeRawTags": false})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

**JavaScript / TypeScript** (`npm install apify-client`):

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('technicaldost/link-preview-api').call({"urls": ["https://www.apify.com", "https://github.com"], "maxItems": 0, "maxConcurrency": 10, "requestTimeoutSecs": 20, "maxRetries": 1, "includeJsonLd": true, "includeRawTags": false});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

Long runs: start them with `POST /v2/acts/technicaldost~link-preview-api/runs` and fetch the dataset when the run finishes, or receive a webhook.

# Actor input Schema

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

List of page URLs to unfurl into link-preview metadata.

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

Optional safety cap. Use 0 to process every supplied URL; the Actor has no arbitrary batch-size cap.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Total URLs fetched in parallel (1–200). Leave empty for 50 overall with at most 10 per website, which is fast for mixed-domain lists and polite to single sites.

## `maxConcurrencyPerDomain` (type: `integer`):

Optional cap on parallel requests to any single website. Defaults to 10 when Concurrent requests is empty, otherwise to the same value as Concurrent requests.

## `requestTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum time for each HTTP request, including response download. This is not an overall run timeout.

## `maxRetries` (type: `integer`):

Retries for timeouts, rate limits, and temporary server errors.

## `includeJsonLd` (type: `boolean`):

Include parsed schema.org JSON-LD blocks and detected schema types.

## `includeRawTags` (type: `boolean`):

Include a normalized metaTags object. Leave off for smaller datasets.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.apify.com",
    "https://github.com"
  ],
  "maxItems": 0,
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 20,
  "maxRetries": 1,
  "includeJsonLd": true,
  "includeRawTags": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Preview metadata and free diagnostic records stored in the default dataset.

# 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": [
        "https://www.apify.com",
        "https://github.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("technicaldost/link-preview-api").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": [
        "https://www.apify.com",
        "https://github.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("technicaldost/link-preview-api").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": [
    "https://www.apify.com",
    "https://github.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call technicaldost/link-preview-api --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,technicaldost/link-preview-api"
        }
    }
}
```

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/f8DgcatMoOu0XUft5/builds/cfhe67vG985lQc3iW/openapi.json