# Redirect Chain Checker (`mighty_monk/redirect-chain-checker`) Actor

Analyze HTTP redirect chains for any URL. Returns full redirect path, final URL, status codes, and loop detection. Perfect for SEO audits and affiliate link checks.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/mighty_monk/redirect-chain-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Harsh](https://apify.com/mighty_monk) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Developer tools
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 12 total users, 6 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 url checkeds

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Redirect Chain Checker

**Analyze HTTP redirect chains for any URL — no browser required.**

Redirect Chain Checker is an Apify Actor built for SEO professionals, developers, and marketers who need to audit how URLs resolve across the web. Enter one or more URLs and get a complete picture of every hop: status codes, `Location` headers, final destination, redirect count, loop detection, and response times.

Ideal for:

- **SEO audits** — verify 301/302 chains, spot redirect loops, and confirm canonical destinations
- **Affiliate link checks** — trace tracking URLs to their landing pages
- **Site migrations** — validate redirect rules after domain or path changes
- **API & integration testing** — confirm endpoints resolve as expected

### Features

- Follows HTTP redirects manually (301, 302, 303, 307, 308) using native `fetch`
- Returns the full redirect chain with status codes and `Location` headers
- Detects redirect loops automatically
- Configurable max redirects, per-request timeout, and custom User-Agent
- Processes multiple URLs in a single run
- Graceful error handling — failed URLs are recorded without stopping the run

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `urls` | `string[]` | Yes | — | URLs to check for redirect chains |
| `maxRedirects` | `integer` | No | `10` | Max redirects to follow per URL (1–50) |
| `timeoutMs` | `integer` | No | `10000` | Per-request timeout in milliseconds |
| `userAgent` | `string` | No | `ApifyRedirectChecker/1.0` | User-Agent header for requests |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
    "https://google.com"
  ],
  "maxRedirects": 10,
  "timeoutMs": 10000
}
```

### Output

Each checked URL produces one dataset item:

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `inputUrl` | `string` | Original URL submitted |
| `finalUrl` | `string` | Final URL after all redirects |
| `statusCode` | `integer` | HTTP status of the final response |
| `redirectChain` | `array` | Ordered hops: `{ url, status, location }` |
| `totalRedirects` | `integer` | Number of redirect responses |
| `isLoop` | `boolean` | `true` if a redirect loop was detected |
| `responseTimeMs` | `integer` | Total time to resolve the chain (ms) |
| `error` | `string` | Present only when the check failed |

#### Example output

```json
{
  "inputUrl": "https://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
  "finalUrl": "https://httpbin.org/get",
  "statusCode": 200,
  "redirectChain": [
    { "url": "https://httpbin.org/redirect/3", "status": 302, "location": "/redirect/2" },
    { "url": "https://httpbin.org/redirect/2", "status": 302, "location": "/redirect/1" },
    { "url": "https://httpbin.org/redirect/1", "status": 302, "location": "/get" },
    { "url": "https://httpbin.org/get", "status": 200, "location": null }
  ],
  "totalRedirects": 3,
  "isLoop": false,
  "responseTimeMs": 1240
}
```

### How it works

1. The Actor reads `urls` from input and processes each one sequentially.
2. For each URL, it sends HTTP GET requests with `redirect: 'manual'` so redirects are not followed automatically.
3. On 3xx responses, it reads the `Location` header and follows the chain until a non-redirect response, a loop, an error, or `maxRedirects` is reached.
4. Results are saved to the default dataset via `Actor.pushData()`.

### Run locally

```bash
apify run
```

Set test input in `storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json`:

```json
{
  "urls": ["https://httpbin.org/redirect/3", "https://google.com"]
}
```

### Deploy to Apify

```bash
apify login
apify push
```

### Resources

- [Apify SDK for JavaScript](https://docs.apify.com/sdk/js)
- [Actor input schema](https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/development/input-schema)
- [Dataset storage](https://docs.apify.com/sdk/js/docs/guides/result-storage#dataset)

# Actor input Schema

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

List of URLs to analyze for HTTP redirect chains.

## `maxRedirects` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of redirects to follow per URL before stopping.

## `timeoutMs` (type: `integer`):

Timeout in milliseconds for each HTTP request in the chain.

## `userAgent` (type: `string`):

Custom User-Agent header sent with each request.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
    "https://google.com"
  ],
  "maxRedirects": 10,
  "timeoutMs": 10000,
  "userAgent": "ApifyRedirectChecker/1.0"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
        "https://google.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("mighty_monk/redirect-chain-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 = { "urls": [
        "https://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
        "https://google.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("mighty_monk/redirect-chain-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).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://httpbin.org/redirect/3",
    "https://google.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call mighty_monk/redirect-chain-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,mighty_monk/redirect-chain-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/3ygdHqOVLW0bn70v6/builds/WmZm3u0gLaO06P7H5/openapi.json