# Security Headers Scanner (`pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner`) Actor

Scan HTTP security headers for any URL. Returns A+ to F grade, per-header pass/weak/missing status (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options), and Nginx/Apache/Express/Cloudflare fix snippets. Use for security audits, compliance checks, vendor review. Input: url or urls\[]. Output: JSON grade report.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner.md
- **Developed by:** [Coleton Patton](https://apify.com/pattonholdings) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 url scanneds

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

## Security Headers Scanner

Grade any website's HTTP security headers — **letter grade A+ to F**, severity breakdown, per-header pass/weak/missing status, and copy-paste config snippets for Nginx / Apache / Express / Cloudflare.

Direct port of the [Security Headers Chrome extension](https://chromewebstore.google.com/) (33 active users, organic CWS traction with zero marketing). Same evaluator logic, same scoring, same letter grade.

### Use cases

- **Pre-launch security audit** — grade a staging site before going live
- **Compliance dashboards** — feed grades into your SOC2 / ISO27001 evidence pipeline
- **Vendor security review** — score third-party services your stack depends on
- **Hosting provider QA** — check that your edge config actually shipped the headers you configured

### Input

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}
```

Or batch mode:

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com",
    "https://stripe.com",
    "https://github.com"
  ]
}
```

Max 1000 URLs per run.

### Output (per URL)

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "finalUrl": "https://example.com",
  "httpStatus": 200,
  "grade": "B",
  "percentage": 74,
  "score": 67,
  "maxScore": 90,
  "criticalIssues": 1,
  "importantIssues": 1,
  "optionalIssues": 0,
  "headers": [
    {
      "name": "Content-Security-Policy",
      "status": "weak",
      "value": "script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'",
      "severity": "critical",
      "deprecated": false,
      "recommendation": "Set a restrictive policy..."
    }
    /* ... 9 more ... */
  ],
  "rawHeaders": { "...": "..." },
  "plainTextReport": "Security Headers Report\nURL: ...",
  "scannedAt": "2026-05-15T22:00:00.000Z",
  "scannerVersion": "1.3.0"
}
```

### Headers checked

Ten security-relevant HTTP response headers:

| Header | Severity | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Content-Security-Policy | critical | 15 |
| Strict-Transport-Security | critical | 15 |
| X-Content-Type-Options | important | 10 |
| X-Frame-Options | critical | 10 |
| Referrer-Policy | important | 8 |
| Permissions-Policy | important | 8 |
| Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy | optional | 7 |
| Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy | optional | 7 |
| Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy | optional | 7 |
| X-XSS-Protection (deprecated) | optional | 3 |

### Grading

- **A+** (95-100%) — top-tier, exceeds best practices
- **A** (85-94%) — strong, minor gaps
- **B** (70-84%) — adequate, weak in 2-3 areas
- **C** (55-69%) — incomplete, multiple missing headers
- **D** (40-54%) — significant gaps
- **F** (< 40%) — no meaningful security headers

### Evaluator strictness (v1.3.0)

This version uses the **strict evaluators** that match Mozilla Observatory and securityheaders.com baselines:

- **Content-Security-Policy** with `'unsafe-inline'` OR `'unsafe-eval'` → weak
- **Referrer-Policy** values outside the strict allowlist (e.g. `origin`, `no-referrer-when-downgrade`) → weak
- **Permissions-Policy** with any wildcard `*` directive → weak

Earlier scanner versions were more lenient. If you're comparing against scans from before May 2026, expect some grades to drop — these are corrections, not regressions in your security posture.

### Pricing

- **Free tier:** 100 scans/month
- **Standard:** $0.005 per URL scanned
- **Subscription:** $19/month for 10,000 scans

### Author

Built and maintained by Peak Post. Open source code at [peakpost.ca](https://peakpost.ca).

# Actor input Schema

## `url` (type: `string`):

The page you want graded. Either this or 'urls' is required.

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

Array of URLs to scan. Capped at 1000 per run. If both 'url' and 'urls' are provided, 'urls' takes precedence.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}
```

# 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 = {
    "url": "https://example.com"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner").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 = { "url": "https://example.com" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner").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 '{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}' |
apify call pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=pattonholdings/security-headers-scanner",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/yyf3CVEFdMK9IWjPR/builds/zieVdX8eyvdaV874P/openapi.json