# Ads.txt Scraper — Authorized Sellers Extractor (`q_services/ads-txt-scraper`) Actor

Extract authorized digital sellers from ads.txt and app-ads.txt files for publisher and adops audits.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/q\_services/ads-txt-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Q Services](https://apify.com/q_services) (community)
- **Categories:** Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.20 / 1,000 seller or audit rows

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

## Ads.txt Scraper — Authorized Sellers Extractor

Extract authorized seller rows from public `ads.txt` and `app-ads.txt` files.

Use it for publisher adops audits, supply-chain checks, reseller monitoring, and recurring controls across media portfolios.

**Example result:**

```json
{
    "domain": "cnn.com",
    "fileType": "ads.txt",
    "status": "found",
    "advertisingSystemDomain": "google.com",
    "publisherAccountId": "pub-123456789",
    "relationship": "DIRECT",
    "certificationAuthorityId": "f08c47fec0942fa0",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-07-09T10:30:00.000Z"
}
```

### How to use it

1. Paste publisher domains or URLs.
2. Enable `app-ads.txt` if you also audit mobile inventory.
3. Set the maximum seller rows.
4. Start the Actor and export the Dataset.

### Pricing

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Run start | $0.005 |
| Per seller or audit row | $0.0002 |

1,000 seller rows cost about $0.205 before Apify platform usage.

### Output fields

| Field | Type | Always present |
|---|---|---|
| `domain` | string | Yes |
| `fileType` | `ads.txt` or `app-ads.txt` | Yes |
| `fileUrl` | URL | Yes |
| `status` | `found`, `missing`, `empty` | Yes |
| `advertisingSystemDomain` | string or null | No |
| `publisherAccountId` | string or null | No |
| `relationship` | `DIRECT`, `RESELLER`, or other | No |
| `certificationAuthorityId` | string or null | No |
| `variables` | object | Yes |
| `invalidLineCount` | number | Yes |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO date | Yes |

### Limitations

- It parses public `ads.txt` and `app-ads.txt` files only.
- It does not verify seller IDs against external ad platform APIs.
- Missing and empty files are optionally returned as audit rows.

### FAQ

**Why is there one row per seller?**
That makes filtering by ad system, relationship type, and publisher account easy in CSV, Excel, BI tools, or automations.

**Can I schedule it?**
Yes. Schedule it to detect supply-chain changes over time.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Publisher domains or URLs to check for /ads.txt.

## `checkAppAdsTxt` (type: `boolean`):

Also extract sellers from app-ads.txt for mobile app inventory.

## `includeMissingFiles` (type: `boolean`):

Return one audit row when a file is missing or contains no seller rows.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

The Actor stops and stops charging after this many seller or audit rows.

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

Proxy configuration. The default Apify Proxy works for most websites.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://cnn.com"
  ],
  "checkAppAdsTxt": false,
  "includeMissingFiles": true,
  "maxResults": 1000,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# 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 = {
    "startUrls": [
        "https://cnn.com"
    ],
    "checkAppAdsTxt": false,
    "includeMissingFiles": true,
    "maxResults": 1000,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("q_services/ads-txt-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 = {
    "startUrls": ["https://cnn.com"],
    "checkAppAdsTxt": False,
    "includeMissingFiles": True,
    "maxResults": 1000,
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": True },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("q_services/ads-txt-scraper").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 '{
  "startUrls": [
    "https://cnn.com"
  ],
  "checkAppAdsTxt": false,
  "includeMissingFiles": true,
  "maxResults": 1000,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}' |
apify call q_services/ads-txt-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=q_services/ads-txt-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/4TsirWN4hA2vsB0Ft/builds/yUv2L9NGeggypbFnG/openapi.json