# URL Redirect Chain & Loop Analyzer (`andok/redirect-chain-analyzer`) Actor Trace HTTP redirects across any domain. Identify broken links, infinite loops, and SEO-damaging redirect chains. - **URL**: https://apify.com/andok/redirect-chain-analyzer.md - **Developed by:** [Andok](https://apify.com/andok) (community) - **Categories:** Business, Developer tools - **Stats:** 7 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 url traceds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 ## Redirect Chain Analyzer Trace every redirect chain in bulk during domain migrations to prevent SEO loss from broken or looping redirects. A single redirect loop or chain longer than 3 hops can cause search engines to drop pages from the index entirely. This actor follows 301/302/307/308 redirects for each URL, records every hop, and reports the final destination and status — processing thousands of URLs in minutes. ### Features - **Full chain visibility** — records every redirect hop with URL, status code, Location header, and resolved next URL - **Bulk processing** — analyze thousands of URLs in a single run with configurable concurrency - **Loop detection** — identifies redirect loops and chains that exceed the configured hop limit - **HTTP method control** — use HEAD requests for speed or GET when servers block HEAD - **Flexible input** — accepts bare domains, HTTP URLs, or HTTPS URLs - **Error resilience** — reports timeouts and connection errors per URL without stopping the run - **Redirect counting** — separates total hops from actual redirect count for clear reporting ### Input | Field | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | `urls` | `array` | Yes | — | List of URLs to trace redirect chains for | | `url` | `string` | No | — | Single URL for backward compatibility. Merged into `urls` if both are provided. | | `followRedirects` | `boolean` | No | `true` | Whether to follow redirect responses or stop at the first hop | | `maxRedirects` | `integer` | No | `10` | Maximum number of redirects to follow before stopping | | `timeoutSeconds` | `integer` | No | `15` | HTTP timeout in seconds for each request | | `concurrency` | `integer` | No | `10` | Number of URLs to process in parallel (1-50) | | `method` | `string` | No | `HEAD` | HTTP method to use: HEAD (faster) or GET (more compatible) | #### Input Example ```json { "urls": [ "http://example.com", "https://example.com/old-page", "http://www.example.com" ], "maxRedirects": 10, "method": "HEAD", "concurrency": 10 } ```` ### Output Each URL produces one dataset item with the complete redirect chain from input URL to final destination. - `inputUrl` (`string`) — the original URL you provided - `finalUrl` (`string | null`) — the URL after all redirects resolve - `finalStatus` (`number | null`) — HTTP status code of the final destination - `hopCount` (`number`) — total number of hops in the chain (including the final destination) - `redirectCount` (`number`) — number of actual redirects (hopCount minus 1) - `hops` (`array`) — ordered list of hops, each with `url`, `status`, `location`, and `nextUrl` - `checkedAt` (`string`) — ISO timestamp - `error` (`string`) — error message if the request failed (only present on errors) #### Output Example ```json { "inputUrl": "http://example.com", "finalUrl": "https://www.example.com/", "finalStatus": 200, "hopCount": 3, "redirectCount": 2, "hops": [ { "url": "http://example.com", "status": 301, "location": "https://example.com/", "nextUrl": "https://example.com/" }, { "url": "https://example.com/", "status": 301, "location": "https://www.example.com/", "nextUrl": "https://www.example.com/" }, { "url": "https://www.example.com/", "status": 200, "location": null, "nextUrl": null } ], "checkedAt": "2025-11-20T14:30:00.000Z" } ``` ### Pricing | Event | Cost | |-------|------| | URL Traced | $0.001 per URL | You are charged per URL traced. Platform usage fees apply separately. ### Use Cases - **Domain migration validation** — verify all old URLs redirect correctly to their new destinations after a migration - **HTTP-to-HTTPS audit** — confirm every HTTP URL properly 301-redirects to its HTTPS counterpart - **www/non-www canonicalization** — check that www and non-www versions resolve to a single canonical URL - **Redirect chain cleanup** — find chains with 3+ hops that slow down crawling and dilute link equity - **Vanity URL verification** — confirm short URLs and marketing redirects land on the correct pages ### Related Actors | Actor | What it adds | |-------|-------------| | [Broken Links Checker](https://apify.com/andok/broken-links-checker) | Crawl your site to find broken links — then trace their redirect chains | | [Hreflang Checker](https://apify.com/andok/hreflang-checker) | Verify hreflang target URLs do not redirect, which confuses search engines | | [XML Sitemap URL Extractor](https://apify.com/andok/sitemap-extractor) | Extract all URLs from your sitemap to bulk-check their redirect behavior | # Actor input Schema ## `urls` (type: `array`): List of URLs to trace redirect chains for. Accepts full URLs or bare domains — bare domains are automatically prefixed with https://. ## `url` (type: `string`): A single URL for backward compatibility. If both this and the URLs list are provided, this is merged into the list. ## `followRedirects` (type: `boolean`): Whether to follow redirect responses (301/302/303/307/308). Disable to only see the first response without following the chain. ## `maxRedirects` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of redirects to follow per URL before stopping. Helps detect redirect loops. Set to 0 to disable redirect following. ## `timeoutSeconds` (type: `integer`): HTTP timeout in seconds for each individual request in the redirect chain. Increase for slow-responding servers. ## `concurrency` (type: `integer`): Number of URLs to trace simultaneously. Higher values speed up large batches but use more memory. ## `method` (type: `string`): HTTP method for requests. HEAD is faster but some servers block it — switch to GET if you get unexpected results. ## Actor input object example ```json { "urls": [ "https://example.com", "http://example.com" ], "followRedirects": true, "maxRedirects": 10, "timeoutSeconds": 15, "concurrency": 10, "method": "HEAD" } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description ## `resultsCsv` (type: `string`): No description ## `run` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "urls": [ "https://example.com", "http://example.com" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("andok/redirect-chain-analyzer").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "urls": [ "https://example.com", "http://example.com", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("andok/redirect-chain-analyzer").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).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://example.com", "http://example.com" ] }' | apify call andok/redirect-chain-analyzer --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=andok/redirect-chain-analyzer", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "URL Redirect Chain & Loop Analyzer", "description": "Trace HTTP redirects across any domain. Identify broken links, infinite loops, and SEO-damaging redirect chains.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "WespPMWfYd6R7MBbV" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/andok~redirect-chain-analyzer/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-andok-redirect-chain-analyzer", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/andok~redirect-chain-analyzer/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-andok-redirect-chain-analyzer", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/andok~redirect-chain-analyzer/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-andok-redirect-chain-analyzer", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "urls": { "title": "URLs", "minItems": 1, "type": "array", "description": "List of URLs to trace redirect chains for. Accepts full URLs or bare domains — bare domains are automatically prefixed with https://.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "url": { "title": "Single URL", "type": "string", "description": "A single URL for backward compatibility. If both this and the URLs list are provided, this is merged into the list." }, "followRedirects": { "title": "Follow Redirects", "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether to follow redirect responses (301/302/303/307/308). Disable to only see the first response without following the chain.", "default": true }, "maxRedirects": { "title": "Max Redirects", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of redirects to follow per URL before stopping. Helps detect redirect loops. Set to 0 to disable redirect following.", "default": 10 }, "timeoutSeconds": { "title": "Timeout (seconds)", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 120, "type": "integer", "description": "HTTP timeout in seconds for each individual request in the redirect chain. Increase for slow-responding servers.", "default": 15 }, "concurrency": { "title": "Concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "Number of URLs to trace simultaneously. Higher values speed up large batches but use more memory.", "default": 10 }, "method": { "title": "HTTP Method", "enum": [ "HEAD", "GET" ], "type": "string", "description": "HTTP method for requests. HEAD is faster but some servers block it — switch to GET if you get unexpected results.", "default": "HEAD" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```