# URL Redirect Tracer & Link Expander (Hop Chain) (`technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer`) Actor

Trace the full redirect chain of any URL and expand shortened links. See every hop, status code and final destination. Detect cloaking and audit affiliate or tracking links. JSON output.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer.md
- **Developed by:** [Technical Dost Solutions](https://apify.com/technicaldost) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

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

## URL Redirect Tracer & Link Expander (Hop Chain)

**URL Redirect Tracer** Trace the full redirect chain of any URL and expand short links — every hop, status code and the final URL — in one bulk call. No API key. Built for developers who need fast, reliable, bulk results without managing servers or proxies.

### Features

- One structured JSON record per url.
- Bulk + concurrent — process up to 100 urls per run.
- No proxy, no browser, no API key — fast and low-cost.
- Graceful failures: unreachable inputs return `ok: false` with an `error`; the run never crashes.

### Input

```json
{"urls": ["https://apify.com", "https://bit.ly/example"], "maxItems": 100}
```

### Output

One record per url:

```json
{
  "url": "https://bit.ly/example",
  "ok": true,
  "finalUrl": "https://www.example.com/page",
  "finalStatus": 200,
  "hopCount": 2,
  "redirected": true,
  "hops": [{"url": "https://bit.ly/example", "status": 301}, {"url": "https://example.com/page", "status": 301}]
}
```

### Who it's for

- Marketers expanding shortened campaign links
- Security teams unmasking suspicious links
- Analytics & attribution pipelines
- Affiliate/link QA

### How to use

1. Add your urls to the `urls` input field.
2. Run the Actor and read one structured record per input from the dataset.
3. Export as JSON, CSV, or Excel, or call the Actor's API from your backend.

### FAQ

**Do I need an API key?** No. You provide urls; the Actor does the rest.
**Does it return personal data?** No — only public infrastructure/metadata, never personal contact data.
**What formats can I export?** JSON, CSV, and Excel via the dataset, or the Actor API.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: a tiny per-run start fee plus a small per-result charge. You pay only for successful results. See the Pricing tab.

### Further reading

- Keyword: URL redirect tracer link expander.

# Actor input Schema

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

URLs/short links to trace, e.g. \["https://bit.ly/xyz"].

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of inputs to process per run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://apify.com",
    "https://t.co"
  ],
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

# 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 = {
    "urls": [
        "https://apify.com",
        "https://t.co"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer").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 = { "urls": [
        "https://apify.com",
        "https://t.co",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer").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://apify.com",
    "https://t.co"
  ]
}' |
apify call technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=technicaldost/url-redirect-tracer",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/wnadGhFrWOO9fhS6w/builds/QzYZP6DwUFfrVrBtE/openapi.json