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| --- | ||||||||
| title: Agent Skills and MCPC | ||||||||
| sidebar_label: Agent Skills and MCPC | ||||||||
| description: Use Apify Agent Skills and MCPC to give AI coding assistants web scraping, data extraction, and automation capabilities through MCP servers. | ||||||||
| sidebar_position: 1.5 | ||||||||
| slug: /integrations/agent-skills | ||||||||
| --- | ||||||||
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| import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs'; | ||||||||
| import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem'; | ||||||||
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| [Apify Agent Skills](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills) give AI coding assistants pre-built capabilities for web scraping, data extraction, and automation. Skills work with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and other AI tools that support [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/). | ||||||||
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| [MCPC](https://github.com/apify/mcp-cli) is a command-line client for MCP that connects your terminal and AI agents to any MCP server - including Apify's. | ||||||||
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| Together, they let you add Apify's scraping and automation tools to any AI coding assistant with a single command. | ||||||||
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| ## Prerequisites | ||||||||
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| - An [Apify account](https://console.apify.com/sign-up) with an [API token](https://console.apify.com/account#/integrations) | ||||||||
| - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) version 20.6 or later | ||||||||
| - An AI coding assistant that supports MCP (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Codex, Gemini CLI) | ||||||||
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| ## Install Agent Skills | ||||||||
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| Agent Skills are pre-built skill files that AI coding assistants automatically discover and use for context. Install them in your project directory: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npx skills add apify/agent-skills | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| This adds skill definitions to your project. No additional configuration is needed - your AI assistant picks them up automatically. | ||||||||
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| ### Available skills | ||||||||
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| The [apify/agent-skills](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills) repository contains official Apify skills. The community-maintained [apify/awesome-skills](https://github.com/apify/awesome-skills) repository contains additional skills contributed by the community. | ||||||||
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| :::note Skills consolidation | ||||||||
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There was a problem hiding this comment. Choose a reason for hiding this commentThe reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more. we can remove this skill consolidation comment, it's not needed and will be done by time we publish this |
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| The Apify team is consolidating the official Agent Skills repository into two core skills. Check the [repository](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills) for the latest available skills. | ||||||||
| ::: | ||||||||
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| ### How skills work | ||||||||
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| Each skill is a Markdown file (`SKILL.md`) that describes a capability and its tools. When an AI coding assistant opens your project, it reads these files and gains the ability to: | ||||||||
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| - Search and run Actors from [Apify Store](https://apify.com/store) | ||||||||
| - Extract data from websites, social media, and e-commerce platforms | ||||||||
| - Export results as JSON or CSV, or display them in chat | ||||||||
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| Skills use [MCPC](#install-mcpc) under the hood to communicate with MCP servers and execute Apify Actor calls. | ||||||||
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| ## Install MCPC | ||||||||
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| MCPC is the command-line bridge between AI agents and MCP servers. Install it globally: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npm install -g @apify/mcpc | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### Connect to the Apify MCP server | ||||||||
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| Authenticate and create a session: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # Log in with OAuth (opens browser) | ||||||||
| mcpc login mcp.apify.com | ||||||||
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| # Create a named session | ||||||||
| mcpc connect mcp.apify.com @apify | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| You can also authenticate with a bearer token: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| mcpc connect https://mcp.apify.com @apify \ | ||||||||
| --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### Explore available tools | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # List all tools in your session | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-list | ||||||||
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| # Get details about a specific tool | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-get search-actors | ||||||||
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| # Call a tool | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors keywords:="website crawler" | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### Use the interactive shell | ||||||||
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| The interactive shell lets you explore tools and test calls: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify shell | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### JSON mode for scripting | ||||||||
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| Add `--json` to any command for machine-readable output. This is useful for piping results into scripts or other tools: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-list --json | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors keywords:="web scraper" --json | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ## Configure AI coding assistants | ||||||||
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|
There was a problem hiding this comment. Choose a reason for hiding this commentThe reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more. This whole section down is wrong and contains unnecessarily duplicate information. I don't have time to fix it entirely myself. Please read the https://github.com/apify/agent-skills repo again. You actually DON'T need to install the Apify MCP server itself, the connection is handled through mcpc utility. What you DO NEED however is to store the Apify API token in the .env file and this piece is missing here |
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| Set up Agent Skills and MCPC with your preferred AI coding assistant. | ||||||||
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| <Tabs groupId="coding-assistant"> | ||||||||
| <TabItem value="claude-code" label="Claude Code"> | ||||||||
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| 1. Install Agent Skills in your project: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npx skills add apify/agent-skills | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Add the Apify MCP server: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| claude mcp add apify "https://mcp.apify.com" -t http | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Start using skills by asking your assistant to scrape data, extract information, or run Actors. | ||||||||
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| </TabItem> | ||||||||
| <TabItem value="cursor" label="Cursor"> | ||||||||
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| 1. Install Agent Skills in your project: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npx skills add apify/agent-skills | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Create or open `.cursor/mcp.json` and add: | ||||||||
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| ```json | ||||||||
| { | ||||||||
| "mcpServers": { | ||||||||
| "apify": { | ||||||||
| "url": "https://mcp.apify.com" | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Restart Cursor to load the new MCP configuration. | ||||||||
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| </TabItem> | ||||||||
| <TabItem value="vscode" label="VS Code"> | ||||||||
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| 1. Install Agent Skills in your project: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npx skills add apify/agent-skills | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Install an MCP-compatible extension (GitHub Copilot, Cline, or Roo Code). | ||||||||
| 1. Open the extension's MCP configuration and add: | ||||||||
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| ```json | ||||||||
| { | ||||||||
| "mcpServers": { | ||||||||
| "apify": { | ||||||||
| "url": "https://mcp.apify.com" | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| } | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| </TabItem> | ||||||||
| <TabItem value="other" label="Other tools"> | ||||||||
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| For Codex, Gemini CLI, and other tools: | ||||||||
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| 1. Install Agent Skills in your project: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| npx skills add apify/agent-skills | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| 1. Reference skill files directly. Most AI tools automatically discover `AGENTS.md` or `SKILL.md` files in your project directory. | ||||||||
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| 1. If your tool supports MCP, configure it to connect to `https://mcp.apify.com`. | ||||||||
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| </TabItem> | ||||||||
| </Tabs> | ||||||||
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| ## MCPC features | ||||||||
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| ### Session management | ||||||||
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| MCPC maintains persistent sessions that survive across commands: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # List active sessions | ||||||||
| mcpc | ||||||||
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| # Create a session | ||||||||
| mcpc connect mcp.apify.com @apify | ||||||||
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| # Restart a session | ||||||||
| mcpc restart @apify | ||||||||
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| # Close a session | ||||||||
| mcpc close @apify | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### OAuth authentication | ||||||||
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| MCPC stores credentials securely in your OS keychain: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # Log in (opens browser for OAuth flow) | ||||||||
| mcpc login mcp.apify.com | ||||||||
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| # Create a named profile for multiple accounts | ||||||||
| mcpc login mcp.apify.com --profile work | ||||||||
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| # Use a specific profile | ||||||||
| mcpc connect mcp.apify.com @session --profile work | ||||||||
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| # Log out | ||||||||
| mcpc logout mcp.apify.com | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### MCP proxy | ||||||||
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| Expose authenticated sessions as local proxy servers to sandbox AI agents without revealing credentials: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # Start a proxy on port 8080 | ||||||||
| mcpc connect mcp.apify.com @relay --proxy 8080 | ||||||||
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| # Connect through the proxy | ||||||||
| mcpc connect localhost:8080 @sandboxed | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ### Argument syntax | ||||||||
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| Pass arguments to tool calls using `key:=value` syntax: | ||||||||
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| | Input | Parsed type | | ||||||||
| |-------|------------| | ||||||||
| | `count:=10` | Number | | ||||||||
| | `enabled:=true` | Boolean | | ||||||||
| | `greeting:=hello` | String | | ||||||||
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| You can also pass inline JSON or pipe from stdin: | ||||||||
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| ```bash | ||||||||
| # Inline JSON | ||||||||
| mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors '{"keywords":"web scraper"}' | ||||||||
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| # Pipe from stdin | ||||||||
| echo '{"keywords":"web scraper"}' | mcpc @apify tools-call search-actors | ||||||||
| ``` | ||||||||
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| ## Resources | ||||||||
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| - [Agent Skills repository](https://github.com/apify/agent-skills) - Official Apify skills | ||||||||
| - [Awesome Skills repository](https://github.com/apify/awesome-skills) - Community-contributed skills | ||||||||
| - [MCPC repository](https://github.com/apify/mcp-cli) - MCPC source code and documentation | ||||||||
| - [Read the MCPC introduction](https://blog.apify.com/introducing-mcpc-universal-mcp-cli-client/) - Blog post with detailed walkthrough | ||||||||
| - [Apify MCP server](/integrations/mcp) - Full MCP server documentation | ||||||||
| - [Build Actors with AI](/actors/development/quick-start/build-with-ai) - Guide to AI-assisted Actor development | ||||||||
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