# Image Alt Text Checker: Missing Alt & Image SEO Audit (`raional/image-alt-text-checker`) Actor

Scan any website and extract every image's alt text and metadata. Find images with missing or empty alt attributes for SEO and WCAG accessibility. No AI cost, fast and cheap.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/raional/image-alt-text-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Raion Al](https://apify.com/raional) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 images

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

## Image Alt Text Checker: Find Missing Alt Text on Any Website

Scan any website and get a full **image alt text audit**: every image's **alt attribute**, dimensions, title, and lazy-loading metadata, with images that have **missing or empty alt text** flagged for you. Built for **image SEO** and **WCAG / accessibility** compliance. No AI cost: fast, deterministic, and cheap.

Great for: **alt text checker**, **alt tag checker**, **image SEO audits**, **WCAG accessibility audits**, finding **missing alt text**, e-commerce catalog QA, and pre-launch site checks.

### What it does

- Renders each page in a real browser (JavaScript sites fully supported: Wix, Shopify, React, Squarespace).
- Extracts every `<img>` with its **alt text**, width, height, `title` attribute, and `loading` mode.
- Flags each image as `missing` (no alt attribute), `empty` (`alt=""`), or `ok`.
- Skips ad/tracking pixels automatically so your audit contains only real content images.
- **Scan entire site**: turn this on to follow internal links *and* read `sitemap.xml`, so pages that aren't just one click from your start URL, like `mushyrecipe.com/blog`, get scanned too, not just the homepage.
- **AI meta descriptions (add-on)**: turn this on to have AI vision write an SEO-optimized description for every image still missing alt text, added as an `aiMetaDescription` column.
- Export to CSV, JSON, or Excel; per-run summary with missing/empty/ok counts.

### Output

One dataset row per image:

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `imageUrl` | The image |
| `altText` | The alt text found (empty if missing) |
| `status` | `missing`, `empty`, or `ok` |
| `charCount` | Length of the alt text |
| `width` / `height` | Rendered dimensions |
| `titleAttr` | The image's `title` attribute |
| `loading` | `lazy` / `eager` if set |
| `pageUrl` | The page where the image was found |
| `aiMetaDescription` | AI-written SEO description (only if the add-on is on and alt text is missing/empty) |

A run summary is stored in the key-value store under `SUMMARY`.

### Example input

```json
{
  "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://example.com" }],
  "onlyMissingAlt": true,
  "scanEntireSite": true,
  "generateAiDescriptions": true
}
```

Turn **Only images missing alt text** off to extract metadata for every image (full image inventory).

### Fix the problems it finds

Turn on the **AI meta descriptions** add-on above to generate descriptions right here, or use the companion actor for dedicated, full-featured alt text generation across your whole image library: [AI Alt Text Generator](https://apify.com/raional/ai-alt-text-generator).

### FAQ

**How do I find images missing alt text on my website?**
Enter your site URL, keep "Only images missing alt text" on, and run. Every image with a missing or empty alt attribute is listed with the page it appears on.

**Does it work on JavaScript websites?**
Yes. Pages are rendered in a real browser, so images loaded by JavaScript (Wix, Shopify, React) are included.

**What is the difference between missing and empty alt text?**
`missing` means the img tag has no alt attribute at all (an accessibility failure). `empty` means `alt=""`, which is correct only for decorative images.

**Is missing alt text bad for SEO?**
Yes. Alt text helps search engines understand images and is required by WCAG for accessibility. Missing alt text is the most cited barrier in ADA web accessibility lawsuits.

**Does "Scan entire site" check every single page?**
It follows internal links and reads `sitemap.xml`, up to the "Max pages per site" cap (floored at 100 when this is on). For very large sites, raise the cap explicitly.

**How much does the AI description add-on cost?**
It's billed per description actually generated, separately from the base per-image check: see Pricing below. It only runs on images missing or with empty alt text.

### Pricing

Billed **per image checked** (base metadata extraction). The **AI meta description add-on** is billed separately, per description actually generated, only for images missing or with empty alt text, and only on success.

### Please note

Only scan websites you own or have permission to analyze. Results are your dataset; nothing else is stored.

Built with [Apify SDK](https://docs.apify.com/sdk/js/) + [Crawlee](https://crawlee.dev/) + Playwright.

# Actor input Schema

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

Website pages to check for image alt text and metadata. Only scan sites you own or have permission to analyze.

## `onlyMissingAlt` (type: `boolean`):

Report only images whose alt attribute is missing or empty (the accessibility/SEO issues). Turn off to extract metadata for every image on the page.

## `maxImages` (type: `integer`):

Safety cap on how many images to check in one run.

## `maxPagesPerCrawl` (type: `integer`):

How many pages to crawl per start URL (same domain). 1 = just the given page. Acts as the safety cap when 'Scan entire site' is on (floored at 100 automatically).

## `scanEntireSite` (type: `boolean`):

Follow internal links and check sitemap.xml to scan the whole site, not just the URL(s) above. For example, scanning mushyrecipe.com also finds and checks mushyrecipe.com/blog automatically, even if it's buried a level inside the domain.

## `generateAiDescriptions` (type: `boolean`):

For each image missing or with empty alt text, use AI vision to write an SEO-optimized description of what the image shows, added as an extra 'aiMetaDescription' column. Billed separately per description generated (see Pricing).

## `aiModel` (type: `string`):

Model used when 'AI-generate SEO meta descriptions' is on. Defaults to a fast, cheap vision model.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.w3.org/"
    }
  ],
  "onlyMissingAlt": true,
  "maxImages": 500,
  "maxPagesPerCrawl": 1,
  "scanEntireSite": false,
  "generateAiDescriptions": false,
  "aiModel": "google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `audit` (type: `string`):

One dataset row per image: imageUrl, altText, status (missing | empty | ok), charCount, width, height, titleAttr, loading, pageUrl, and (if enabled) aiMetaDescription.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts of images checked, missing alt, empty alt, and with alt.

# 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": [
        {
            "url": "https://www.w3.org/"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("raional/image-alt-text-checker").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": [{ "url": "https://www.w3.org/" }] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("raional/image-alt-text-checker").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": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.w3.org/"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call raional/image-alt-text-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=raional/image-alt-text-checker",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ohb6Xtx75XYuy2F2I/builds/eWSY7zvphWecNkele/openapi.json