# Rockwell Document Downloader — Allen-Bradley PDFs (`crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader`) Actor

Download Allen-Bradley technical data, manuals, installation instructions, and drawings from literature.rockwellautomation.com. Saves PDFs to Apify Key-Value Store with metadata. Filter by document type and language.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader.md
- **Developed by:** [Andrej Kiva](https://apify.com/crawloop) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 downloaded documents

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 web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## Rockwell Document Downloader — Allen-Bradley PDFs

> **Crawloop Rockwell Automation Suite** — Structured data extraction for Rockwell Automation and Allen-Bradley hardware catalog. Built for procurement teams, system integrators, and BOM engineering workflows.

| Discovery | Enrichment | Documents | PDF parsing |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [Full Catalog Crawler](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-full-catalog-crawler) | [Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper) | **Document Downloader** ◄── you are here | [Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser) |
| | [Lifecycle Tracker](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-lifecycle-tracker) | | |

> **Disclaimer:** This is an unofficial integration developed independently of Rockwell Automation Inc. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Rockwell Automation Inc. or any of its subsidiaries.
>
> **Rockwell Automation**, **Allen-Bradley**, and related names are trademarks of Rockwell Automation Inc. Product data is read from publicly accessible Rockwell web sources only; no proprietary databases are redistributed.
>
> This Actor is provided **for informational and research purposes only** (e.g. procurement research, BOM audits, internal engineering workflows). You are solely responsible for ensuring your use complies with applicable laws, Rockwell website terms of use, and your organization's policies.
>
> No warranty is given as to accuracy, completeness, or continued availability of third-party data. Use at your own risk.

**Rockwell PDF downloader** — find and download Allen-Bradley technical data, manuals, installation instructions, and drawings. Saves PDFs to Apify Key-Value Store with metadata in the dataset. Filter by document type and language. Chain with Datasheet Parser. Use from Python, Node.js, or MCP.

### When to use this Actor

Use the **Rockwell Document Downloader** when you need Allen-Bradley technical PDFs saved as files — not just links.

For structured specs from those PDFs, chain [Rockwell Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser). For web PDP specifications without PDF download, use [Rockwell Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper).

### Key Features

- **Literature PDFs** — Technical data, manuals, drawings, cutsheets
- **KV Store files** — Binary PDFs saved with dataset metadata
- **Type / language filters** — Narrow downloads before billing volume
- **HTTP-only** — No browser required

### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Description | Default |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `catalogNumbers` | **Required.** Allen-Bradley catalog numbers. | — |
| `documentTypeFilter` | e.g. `technical_data`, manuals, drawings. | — |
| `languageFilter` | Language code filter (e.g. `en`). | — |
| `downloadFiles` | Save PDF bytes to Key-Value Store. | `true` |

#### Input Example

```json
{
  "catalogNumbers": ["1756-L81E", "25B-E027N104"],
  "documentTypeFilter": "technical_data",
  "languageFilter": "en",
  "downloadFiles": true
}
```

### Output Format

```json
{
  "catalogNumber": "1756-L81E",
  "documentType": "TECHNICAL_DATA",
  "title": "1756-L81E Technical Data",
  "fileName": "1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
  "url": "https://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/td/1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
  "keyValueStoreKey": "1756-L81E/1756-td001_-en-p.pdf",
  "fileSizeBytes": 1234567,
  "status": "downloaded",
  "checkedAt": "2026-08-03T12:00:00Z"
}
```

### Use cases

| Use case | What you get |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Literature archive** | PDFs in Key-Value Store + metadata |
| **TD-only harvest** | Filtered technical data sheets |
| **Parse pipeline** | Feed Datasheet Parser |
| **AI / MCP workflows** | Run via Apify API, clients, or MCP |

### Integration examples

#### Node.js

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

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader').call({{ catalogNumbers: ['1756-L81E'], documentTypeFilter: 'technical_data', languageFilter: 'en', downloadFiles: true }});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.slice(0, 5));
```

#### Python

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(token)
run = client.actor("crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader").call(
    run_input={{"catalogNumbers": ["1756-L81E"], "documentTypeFilter": "technical_data", "languageFilter": "en", "downloadFiles": True}}
)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item.get("catalogNumber"), item.get("documentType"), item.get("fileName"), item.get("status"))
```

#### cURL

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/crawloop~rockwell-document-downloader/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"catalogNumbers":["1756-L81E"],"documentTypeFilter":"technical_data","languageFilter":"en","downloadFiles":true}'
```

### MCP and AI assistants

Use this Actor from AI tools via [Apify MCP](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp). Connect your Apify account, then call `crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader`.

Example prompts:

- "Run Rockwell Document Downloader for 1756-L81E technical\_data EN and return file names and status"
- "Download Allen-Bradley manuals for these catalog numbers to Key-Value Store"
- "Chain Document Downloader then Rockwell Datasheet Parser for TD PDFs"

### Suite next step

Parse downloaded TD PDFs with [Rockwell Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser). For web specs without PDFs, use [Rockwell Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper).

### Related Actors — Rockwell Automation

| Focus | Actor |
| :--- | :--- |
| Discover Allen-Bradley SKUs | [Rockwell Full Catalog Crawler](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-full-catalog-crawler) |
| Bulk lifecycle / successors | [Rockwell Lifecycle Tracker](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-lifecycle-tracker) |
| Full PDP specs & docs links | [Rockwell Product Scraper](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-product-scraper) |
| **Download literature PDFs** | **Rockwell Document Downloader** ◄── you are here |
| Parse TD PDFs to JSON | [Rockwell Datasheet Parser](https://apify.com/crawloop/rockwell-datasheet-parser) |

# Actor input Schema

## `catalogNumbers` (type: `array`):

Allen-Bradley catalog numbers to fetch documents for. One per line.

## `documentTypeFilter` (type: `string`):

Which document types to include.

## `languageFilter` (type: `string`):

Document language ISO code (e.g. <code>en</code>). Use <code>all</code> for every language.

## `downloadFiles` (type: `boolean`):

Save PDFs to Key-Value Store. When false, only metadata and URLs are returned.

## `pdfOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Skip CAD/ZIP links and non-PDF configurator assets. Recommended for datasheet pipelines.

## `maxDocumentsPerProduct` (type: `integer`):

Cap how many documents are processed per catalog number.

## `concurrencyLimit` (type: `integer`):

How many catalog numbers to process in parallel.

## `maxDocumentConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many PDF downloads to run in parallel for one catalog number.

## `requestDelaySecs` (type: `number`):

Pause between document downloads per worker.

## `locale` (type: `string`):

Rockwell locale path segment (e.g. <code>en-us</code>).

## `countryCode` (type: `string`):

Country code for product-details API (e.g. <code>us</code>).

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional Apify proxy.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "catalogNumbers": [
    "1756-L81E",
    "25B-E027N104"
  ],
  "documentTypeFilter": "all",
  "languageFilter": "en",
  "downloadFiles": true,
  "pdfOnly": true,
  "maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
  "concurrencyLimit": 5,
  "maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
  "requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
  "locale": "en-us",
  "countryCode": "us",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Default dataset items.

# 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 = {
    "catalogNumbers": [
        "1756-L81E",
        "25B-E027N104"
    ],
    "documentTypeFilter": "all",
    "languageFilter": "en",
    "downloadFiles": true,
    "pdfOnly": true,
    "maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
    "concurrencyLimit": 5,
    "maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
    "requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "countryCode": "us",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader").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 = {
    "catalogNumbers": [
        "1756-L81E",
        "25B-E027N104",
    ],
    "documentTypeFilter": "all",
    "languageFilter": "en",
    "downloadFiles": True,
    "pdfOnly": True,
    "maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
    "concurrencyLimit": 5,
    "maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
    "requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "countryCode": "us",
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader").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 '{
  "catalogNumbers": [
    "1756-L81E",
    "25B-E027N104"
  ],
  "documentTypeFilter": "all",
  "languageFilter": "en",
  "downloadFiles": true,
  "pdfOnly": true,
  "maxDocumentsPerProduct": 20,
  "concurrencyLimit": 5,
  "maxDocumentConcurrency": 3,
  "requestDelaySecs": 0.2,
  "locale": "en-us",
  "countryCode": "us",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawloop/rockwell-document-downloader",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/EhSPSd6WNTXux66Gg/builds/eTSCYxzT5c5671hRA/openapi.json