strands-agents

This skill defines the autonomous behavior, system prompt, and capabilities for the agent strands-agents.

Source Location

Originally discovered in Rick's Downloads at: /Users/kalivibecoding/Downloads/apify/apify-docs-master/sources/platform/integrations/ai/strands-agents.md

🧠 Master Agent Prompt & Capabilities

title: Strands Agents SDK integration sidebar_label: Strands Agents SDK description: >- Integrate Apify with the Strands Agents SDK to give your AI agents web scraping, search, crawling, and social media capabilities through 18 prebuilt tools. sidebar_position: 20 slug: /integrations/strands-agents

import ThirdPartyDisclaimer from '@site/sources/_partials/_third-party-integration.mdx';

The Strands Agents SDK is an open-source Python SDK by AWS for building AI agents. It follows a model-tools-prompt pattern: the SDK sends the prompt to the model, executes any tool calls the model requests, and feeds the results back until the task is complete.

The strands-apify package provides 18 tools grouped into three tool sets, giving your agent scraping, crawling, search, and social media capabilities through the Apify platform.

Prerequisites

Python 3.10 or newer
An Apify account and Apify API token from the Integrations page in Apify Console
At least one model provider configured. Strands supports Amazon Bedrock, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Ollama, LiteLLM, and LMStudio.

Installation

Install the Strands SDK and the Apify tools:

pip install strands-agents strands-apify

Export your Apify API token:

export APIFY_TOKEN=your_apify_api_token_here

:::tip Keep your token out of source code

Use a .env file or your secrets manager in production. Never commit APIFY_TOKEN to a repository.

:::

Environment variables

The package reads the following environment variables:

Variable	Description	Required
`APIFY_TOKEN`	Apify API token used to authorize Actor runs and dataset reads.	Yes
`STRANDS_APIFY_QUIET`	Set to `1` to suppress the diagnostic panel printed on each tool call. Auto-suppressed in non-interactive environments.	No

Configure your model provider

Install the matching extra, set the provider's API key, and create a model instance to pass to your agent.

Amazon Bedrock

Bedrock is the default provider and ships with the base strands-agents install. Configure your AWS credentials with aws configure or environment variables before running your agent. See the Bedrock provider docs for the full configuration reference.

from strands.models import BedrockModel

model = BedrockModel(model_id="global.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6", region_name="us-west-2")

OpenAI

See the OpenAI provider docs for the full configuration reference.

pip install 'strands-agents[openai]'
export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key

import os
from strands.models.openai import OpenAIModel

model = OpenAIModel(
    client_args={"api_key": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")},
    model_id="gpt-4.1",
)

Anthropic

See the Anthropic provider docs for the full configuration reference.

pip install 'strands-agents[anthropic]'
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key

import os
from strands.models.anthropic import AnthropicModel

model = AnthropicModel(
    client_args={"api_key": os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")},
    model_id="claude-sonnet-4-6",
    max_tokens=1024,
)

Ollama (local)

No API key required. See the Ollama provider docs for the full configuration reference.

pip install 'strands-agents[ollama]'
ollama pull qwen3.5

from strands.models.ollama import OllamaModel

model = OllamaModel(host="http://localhost:11434", model_id="qwen3.5")

:::tip Other providers

Strands also supports Google Gemini, LiteLLM, and LMStudio. See the Strands model providers documentation for the full list.

:::

Quick start

This example scrapes a single URL and summarizes it:

from strands import Agent
from strands_apify import apify_scrape_url

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[apify_scrape_url])

agent("Scrape https://docs.apify.com and summarize the page in three bullet points.")

The agent calls apify_scrape_url, returns markdown to the model, and the model produces the summary.

Choose the right tool set

strands-apify provides 18 tools split across three tool sets:

Tool set	Tools	Use case
`APIFY_CORE_TOOLS`	6	Run any Actor or saved task, fetch dataset items, scrape single URLs to markdown
`APIFY_SEARCH_TOOLS`	5	Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, multi-page website crawling, e-commerce
`APIFY_SOCIAL_TOOLS`	7	Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, TikTok, Facebook

LLMs select tools based on their names and descriptions. More tools means a larger decision space, which can lead to wrong tool selection, slower responses, and higher token usage. Register only the tools your agent needs.

Three ways to import tools:

Import a whole tool set when your agent needs the full category:

from strands import Agent
from strands_apify import APIFY_CORE_TOOLS

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=APIFY_CORE_TOOLS)

Import individual tools for tighter control:

from strands_apify import apify_scrape_url, apify_google_search_scraper

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[apify_scrape_url, apify_google_search_scraper])

Mix tool sets with individual tools:

from strands_apify import APIFY_CORE_TOOLS, apify_twitter_scraper

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[*APIFY_CORE_TOOLS, apify_twitter_scraper])

:::caution Avoid APIFY_ALL_TOOLS in production

APIFY_ALL_TOOLS bundles every tool from all three tool sets. Registering 18 tools at once degrades model accuracy. Use a focused tool set in production.

:::

Examples

Web research agent

This agent searches Google, scrapes the top result, and summarizes it:

import os
from strands import Agent
from strands.models.openai import OpenAIModel
from strands_apify import apify_google_search_scraper, apify_scrape_url

model = OpenAIModel(
    client_args={"api_key": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")},
    model_id="gpt-4.1",
)

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[apify_google_search_scraper, apify_scrape_url])

agent(
    "Search Google for 'Strands Agents SDK AWS' and return the top 3 results. "
    "Then scrape the first result and summarize the page content in 3 bullet points."
)

Social media monitoring agent

This agent fetches recent tweets and Instagram posts on a topic:

from strands import Agent
from strands_apify import apify_twitter_scraper, apify_instagram_scraper

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[apify_twitter_scraper, apify_instagram_scraper])

agent("Find the latest 10 tweets mentioning #WebScraping and summarize the main topics.")

Run any Actor from Apify Store

The pre-built tools cover the most common use cases, but Apify Store has thousands of Actors. Use apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset to give your agent access to any of them.

Unlike pre-built tools (like apify_google_search_scraper) that expose typed parameters, apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset requires you to provide the Actor's input JSON directly. Your prompt must include the correct input shape.

Find the Actor on Apify Store.
Check the Input tab for the expected JSON schema.
Include the Actor ID and the input JSON in your agent prompt.

from strands import Agent
from strands_apify import apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset

agent = Agent(model=model, tools=[apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset])

agent(
    "Run the Apify Actor 'apify/rag-web-browser' with input "
    '{"query": "latest AI safety research", "maxResults": 5} '
    "and summarize the results."
)

For long-running Actors (large crawls, datasets with thousands of items), increase timeout_secs in your prompt - the default is 300 seconds:

agent(
    "Run 'apify/website-content-crawler' with input "
    '{"startUrls": [{"url": "https://docs.example.com"}], "maxCrawlPages": 100} '
    "with timeout_secs=600 and summarize the crawled pages."
)

:::note Include Actor input fields in your prompt

The agent passes run_input as a JSON object to the Actor. For Actors with complex input schemas, spell out the required fields directly in your prompt so the model knows exactly what to provide.

:::

Tool reference

This section lists every tool in strands-apify with its parameters, default values, and an example prompt you can use directly in your agent.

Core tools

The following tools are included in the APIFY_CORE_TOOLS tool set. They cover running Actors, fetching dataset items, scraping single URLs, and executing saved tasks.

`apify_scrape_url`

Scrape a single URL and return its content as markdown. No Actor input schema needed.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url`	`str`	required	The URL to scrape (must include `http://` or `https://`)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`120`	Maximum wait time in seconds
`crawler_type`	`str`	`"cheerio"`	Engine: `"cheerio"` (fast, no JS), `"playwright:adaptive"` (renders JS when needed), `"playwright:firefox"` (full JS, best anti-bot bypass)

Example prompt:

Scrape https://docs.apify.com/academy and summarize the page.

`apify_run_actor`

Run any Actor from Apify Store and return run metadata only (run ID, status, dataset ID). Use this when you need the run metadata but will fetch results separately with apify_get_dataset_items.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`actor_id`	`str`	required	Actor identifier in `"username/actor-name"` format
`run_input`	`dict`	`None`	JSON-serializable input matching the Actor's input schema
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds
`memory_mbytes`	`int`	`None`	Memory allocation in MB (uses Actor default if not set)
`build`	`str`	`None`	Build tag or number to pin a specific Actor version

To find the input schema, open the Actor's page on Apify Store and check the Input tab. The run_input JSON object must match that schema.

Example prompt:

Run the Actor 'apify/website-content-crawler' with input {"startUrls": [{"url": "https://example.com"}], "maxCrawlPages": 5} and return the run metadata.

`apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset`

Run any Actor and fetch its dataset results in a single call. Provides access to thousands of Actors in Apify Store, but requires you to provide the Actor's input JSON.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`actor_id`	`str`	required	Actor identifier in `"username/actor-name"` format
`run_input`	`dict`	`None`	JSON-serializable input matching the Actor's input schema
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds
`memory_mbytes`	`int`	`None`	Memory allocation in MB (uses Actor default if not set)
`build`	`str`	`None`	Build tag or number to pin a specific Actor version
`dataset_items_limit`	`int`	`100`	Maximum dataset items to return
`dataset_items_offset`	`int`	`0`	Items to skip (for pagination)

Example prompt:

Run the Actor 'apify/rag-web-browser' with input {"query": "latest AI safety research", "maxResults": 5} and summarize the results.

:::tip How to use this tool effectively

Browse Apify Store and find the Actor you need.
Open the Actor's page and check the Input tab for the JSON schema.
In your agent prompt, provide the Actor ID and the input as a JSON object.
There is no schema validation on the agent side. The input must match what the Actor expects.

:::

`apify_get_dataset_items`

Fetch items from an existing Apify dataset. Use this after apify_run_actor to retrieve results, or to paginate through large datasets.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`dataset_id`	`str`	required	The dataset ID (returned by `apify_run_actor`)
`limit`	`int`	`100`	Maximum items to return
`offset`	`int`	`0`	Items to skip (for pagination)

Example prompt:

Fetch the first 50 items from dataset ID 'abc123' and summarize the key findings.

`apify_run_task`

Run a saved Actor task with optional input overrides. Tasks are pre-configured Actor runs saved in Apify Console.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`task_id`	`str`	required	Task identifier in `"username/task-name"` format or a task ID
`task_input`	`dict`	`None`	Optional input fields to override the task's saved defaults
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds
`memory_mbytes`	`int`	`None`	Memory allocation in MB (uses task default if not set)

Example prompt:

Run my saved task 'john/daily-news-scrape' and return the run status.

`apify_run_task_and_get_dataset`

Run a saved task and fetch its dataset results in one call.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`task_id`	`str`	required	Task identifier in `"username/task-name"` format or a task ID
`task_input`	`dict`	`None`	Optional input fields to override the task's saved defaults
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds
`memory_mbytes`	`int`	`None`	Memory allocation in MB (uses task default if not set)
`dataset_items_limit`	`int`	`100`	Maximum dataset items to return
`dataset_items_offset`	`int`	`0`	Items to skip (for pagination)

Example prompt:

Run my task 'john/daily-news-scrape' and summarize the top 10 results.

Search and crawling tools

The following tools are included in the APIFY_SEARCH_TOOLS tool set. They cover Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, multi-page website crawling, and e-commerce scraping.

`apify_google_search_scraper`

Search Google and return structured results (organic links, ads, People Also Ask). Uses Google Search Scraper.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	required	Google search query. Supports operators like `site:`, `"exact phrase"`, `OR`
`results_limit`	`int`	`10`	Maximum results to return (multiples of 10 trigger extra pages)
`country_code`	`str`	`None`	Two-letter country code for localized results (e.g. `"us"`, `"de"`)
`language_code`	`str`	`None`	Two-letter language code (e.g. `"en"`, `"es"`)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Search Google for 'best python web frameworks 2025' and return the top 5 results.

`apify_google_places_scraper`

Search Google Maps for businesses and places, optionally with reviews. Uses Google Maps Scraper.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	required	Google Maps search query (e.g. `"restaurants in Prague"`)
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum places to return
`language`	`str`	`None`	Language for results (e.g. `"en"`, `"de"`)
`include_reviews`	`bool`	`False`	Whether to include user reviews
`max_reviews`	`int`	`5`	Reviews per place (only used when `include_reviews=True`)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Find the top-rated Italian restaurants in Berlin with reviews.

`apify_youtube_scraper`

Scrape YouTube videos, channels, or search results. Uses YouTube Scraper. Provide at least one of search_query or urls.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	`None`	YouTube search query (e.g. `"python tutorial"`)
`urls`	`list[str]`	`None`	Specific YouTube video or channel URLs to scrape
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum results to return
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Search YouTube for 'AWS re:Invent 2025 keynote' and return the top 5 videos with their view counts.

`apify_website_content_crawler`

Crawl a website and extract content from multiple pages as markdown. Uses Website Content Crawler. This is the multi-page version - use apify_scrape_url for single pages.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`start_url`	`str`	required	Starting URL to crawl from
`max_pages`	`int`	`10`	Maximum number of pages to crawl
`max_depth`	`int`	`2`	Maximum link depth from the start URL
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Crawl https://docs.example.com up to 20 pages and summarize the documentation structure.

`apify_ecommerce_scraper`

Scrape product data from e-commerce sites (Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and others). Uses E-commerce Scraping Tool. The Actor auto-detects the platform.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url`	`str`	required	Product or listing page URL
`url_type`	`str`	`"product"`	`"product"` for a single product page, `"listing"` for a category/search results page
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum products to return (relevant for listings)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Scrape the product details from https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0EXAMPLE and return the title, price, and rating.

Social media tools

The following tools are included in the APIFY_SOCIAL_TOOLS tool set. They cover Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, TikTok, and Facebook.

`apify_instagram_scraper`

Scrape Instagram profiles, posts, reels, or hashtags. Uses Instagram Scraper. Provide at least one of search_query or urls.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	`None`	Username, hashtag, or keyword. If it looks like an Instagram URL, it's treated as a direct URL.
`urls`	`list[str]`	`None`	Direct Instagram URLs to scrape (profiles, posts, reels)
`results_type`	`str`	`"posts"`	What to scrape: `"posts"`, `"comments"`, or `"details"` (profile metadata)
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum items per URL or search hit
`search_type`	`str`	`"hashtag"`	Search mode: `"hashtag"`, `"user"`, or `"place"`
`search_limit`	`int`	`10`	How many search results to process (each yields up to `results_limit` items)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Scrape the latest 15 posts from the hashtag #webdevelopment on Instagram.

`apify_linkedin_profile_posts`

Scrape recent posts from a LinkedIn profile. Uses LinkedIn Profile Posts.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`profile_url`	`str`	required	LinkedIn profile URL (e.g. `"https://www.linkedin.com/in/username"`) or bare username
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum posts to return (capped at 100)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Get the last 10 posts from https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella and summarize the main topics.

`apify_linkedin_profile_search`

Search for LinkedIn profiles by keywords with optional filters. Uses LinkedIn Profile Search.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	required	Keywords like job titles, skills, or names (e.g. `"software engineer"`)
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum profiles to return
`locations`	`list[str]`	`None`	Filter by locations (e.g. `["San Francisco", "New York"]`)
`current_job_titles`	`list[str]`	`None`	Filter by current job title (e.g. `["CTO", "VP Engineering"]`)
`profile_scraper_mode`	`str`	`"Short"`	`"Short"` for basic data, `"Full"` for complete profile details (slower)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Find 10 machine learning engineers in London and return their profile summaries.

`apify_linkedin_profile_detail`

Get full details from a single LinkedIn profile (experience, education, skills). Uses LinkedIn Profile Detail. No LinkedIn account or cookies required.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`profile_url`	`str`	required	LinkedIn profile URL or bare username
`include_email`	`bool`	`False`	Include email if publicly available
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Get the full profile details for https://www.linkedin.com/in/example-user including their work experience and education.

`apify_twitter_scraper`

Scrape tweets from Twitter/X by search, handles, or URLs. Uses Twitter Scraper Lite. Supports Twitter advanced search operators. Provide at least one of search_query, urls, or twitter_handles.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	`None`	Search query with support for operators like `from:user`, `#hashtag`, `min_faves:N`, `since:YYYY-MM-DD`
`urls`	`list[str]`	`None`	Specific tweet, profile, or list URLs
`twitter_handles`	`list[str]`	`None`	Handles without `@` (e.g. `["NASA", "WHO"]`)
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum tweets to return
`sort`	`str`	`"Latest"`	`"Latest"` (chronological) or `"Top"` (most popular)
`tweet_language`	`str`	`None`	ISO 639-1 language code (e.g. `"en"`, `"es"`)
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Find the latest 20 tweets mentioning #AI from the past week, sorted by most popular.

`apify_tiktok_scraper`

Scrape TikTok videos by search, hashtag, profile, or direct URL. Uses TikTok Scraper. Provide at least one of search_query, hashtags, profiles, or urls.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`search_query`	`str`	`None`	Keyword to search TikTok
`hashtags`	`list[str]`	`None`	Hashtags without `#` (e.g. `["fyp", "cooking"]`)
`profiles`	`list[str]`	`None`	TikTok usernames to scrape videos from
`urls`	`list[str]`	`None`	Specific TikTok post URLs
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum videos per source
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Scrape the top 10 TikTok videos for the hashtag 'programming' and return their view counts.

`apify_facebook_posts_scraper`

Scrape posts from a Facebook page or profile. Uses Facebook Posts Scraper.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`page_url`	`str`	required	Facebook page or profile URL
`results_limit`	`int`	`20`	Maximum posts to return
`only_posts_newer_than`	`str`	`None`	Date filter: `"2024-01-01"`, `"1 week ago"`, `"3 months ago"`
`timeout_secs`	`int`	`300`	Maximum wait time in seconds

Example prompt:

Get the last 15 posts from https://www.facebook.com/apifytech newer than 1 month ago.

Production environment best practices

Increase timeout_secs to 600+ when crawling large sites or scraping high-volume datasets. The default is 300 seconds.
Paginate datasets with apify_get_dataset_items using limit and offset instead of fetching everything in one call.
Pin Actor versions by passing the build parameter (e.g. build="1.2.3" or build="beta") to apify_run_actor / apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset.
Monitor Actor costs in Apify Console. Agentic loops can call Actors multiple times per user request. Set a billing limit to control spending.
Register only the tools your agent needs. For example, if you only search Google and scrape one URL, register exactly those two tools instead of APIFY_SEARCH_TOOLS or APIFY_ALL_TOOLS.
The package auto-detects non-interactive environments (CI, Docker, web services, Lambda) and suppresses the rich diagnostic panel. To suppress in interactive shells, set STRANDS_APIFY_QUIET=1.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
`APIFY_TOKEN environment variable is not set`	Token not configured	Run `export APIFY_TOKEN=your_apify_token` before executing your script
`apify-client package is required`	Missing dependency	Run `pip install strands-apify`
`Invalid URL` or `urls[N]: Invalid URL scheme '...'`	URL is not well-formed http(s)	Confirm the URL has an `http://` or `https://` scheme and a valid host. The index in `urls[N]` points to the offending entry.
Actor run finishes with status `FAILED`	Invalid input or Actor error	Check the `statusMessage` in the error text, or check the full run logs in Apify Console.
Actor run finishes with status `TIMED-OUT`	Timeout too short for the workload	Increase the `timeout_secs` parameter (use 600+ for large crawls)
Agent selects the wrong tool	Too many tools registered or ambiguous prompt	Reduce the number of registered tools, add more context to the prompt, or use a more capable model
Empty results from social media tools	Private or geo-restricted profile	Verify the profile is public. Test with a known public account first.

strands-agents

SKILL.mdskills/strands-agents/SKILL.md

strands-agents

Source Location

🧠 Master Agent Prompt & Capabilities

title: Strands Agents SDK integration sidebar_label: Strands Agents SDK description: >- Integrate Apify with the Strands Agents SDK to give your AI agents web scraping, search, crawling, and social media capabilities through 18 prebuilt tools. sidebar_position: 20 slug: /integrations/strands-agents

Prerequisites

Installation

Environment variables

Configure your model provider

Amazon Bedrock

OpenAI

Anthropic

Ollama (local)

Quick start

Choose the right tool set

Examples

Web research agent

Social media monitoring agent

Run any Actor from Apify Store

Tool reference

Core tools

apify_scrape_url

apify_run_actor

apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset

apify_get_dataset_items

apify_run_task

apify_run_task_and_get_dataset

Search and crawling tools

apify_google_search_scraper

apify_google_places_scraper

apify_youtube_scraper

apify_website_content_crawler

apify_ecommerce_scraper

Social media tools

apify_instagram_scraper

apify_linkedin_profile_posts

apify_linkedin_profile_search

apify_linkedin_profile_detail

apify_twitter_scraper

apify_tiktok_scraper

apify_facebook_posts_scraper

Production environment best practices

Troubleshooting

Resources

Related in other

limits-colimits

ddttom-allaboutv2-claude-skills-block-collection-and-party

nodnarbnitram-claude-code-extensions-claude-skills-esphome-confi

`apify_scrape_url`

`apify_run_actor`

`apify_run_actor_and_get_dataset`

`apify_get_dataset_items`

`apify_run_task`

`apify_run_task_and_get_dataset`

`apify_google_search_scraper`

`apify_google_places_scraper`

`apify_youtube_scraper`

`apify_website_content_crawler`

`apify_ecommerce_scraper`

`apify_instagram_scraper`

`apify_linkedin_profile_posts`

`apify_linkedin_profile_search`

`apify_linkedin_profile_detail`

`apify_twitter_scraper`

`apify_tiktok_scraper`

`apify_facebook_posts_scraper`