Apify Local Dev Loop

Overview

Build and test Apify Actors on your local machine before deploying to the platform. The Apify CLI (apify run) emulates the platform environment locally — creating storage directories for datasets, key-value stores, and request queues — giving you a tight edit → run → inspect loop with no cloud round-trip.

Prerequisites

• npm install -g apify-cli (global CLI)
• apify login completed with valid token
• Node.js 18+

Authentication

The CLI authenticates with your Apify API token. Run apify login once (it stores the token under ~/.apify/), or export APIFY_TOKEN in the shell for non-interactive use. Local runs (apify run) do not require auth — only apify push / apify call reach the platform. Never commit the token or a plaintext .env containing it.