---
title: Get started
url: https://docs.apify.com/get-started.md
parents:
  - [Apify documentation](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt)
next: [Run Actors](https://docs.apify.com/get-started/run-actors.md)
---

> ## Documentation index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get started

Apify is a cloud platform for web scraping, data extraction, and automation. Everything on it revolves around *Actors* - serverless programs that run in the cloud. This page explains how the platform fits together and where to start, whether you want to use existing tools or build your own.

## How Apify works

An Actor takes a structured JSON input, performs a job - scraping a website, automating a browser, processing data - and stores its results on the platform. Results typically land in a structured dataset you can export or send elsewhere. You can start an Actor manually in Apify Console, call it through the [API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md), or put it on a [schedule](https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/schedules.md).

Because every Actor shares this input > run > output model, they compose. One Actor's output can feed another, results flow into [integrations](https://docs.apify.com/integrations.md) like Make, Zapier, or n8n, and you can call any Actor from your code like a regular API.

For how the platform is built, what happens during a run, and how workloads stay isolated, see [Platform architecture](https://docs.apify.com/security/architecture.md).

## How Actors get to Apify Store

[Apify Store](https://apify.com/store) holds thousands of public Actors built by Apify and the community. Each one started as code that a developer wrote, deployed to the platform, and published - optionally setting a price, since Store Actors can [earn their developers money](https://docs.apify.com/actors/publishing.md).

You can stand on either side of that exchange. Run other people's Actors to get data without writing code, or build your own - for yourself, your team, or as a product in Store.

## Run your first Actor

The quickest way to understand the platform is to run something. Open [Apify Store](https://apify.com/store), pick an Actor, click **Start**, and watch the results arrive. No code required.

## Choose how to get your data

There are three ways to get the data or automation you need: run an existing Actor, build your own, or hire experts to build one for you. Check whether an existing Actor covers your use case before you build or hire.

* [Run Actors](https://docs.apify.com/get-started/run-actors.md) - use existing Actors from Apify Store to get data or automate a task, no coding required.
* [Build Actors](https://docs.apify.com/get-started/build-actors.md) - build, deploy, and publish your own Actor on the Apify platform when no existing Actor fits your use case.
* [Apify Professional Services](https://apify.com/professional-services) - hire the Apify team to build, run, and maintain a custom solution for you under a service-level agreement.
* [Apify Experts](https://apify.com/partners/find) - hire software houses, consultants, or developers from the Apify partner network to build and maintain a custom solution for you.

## Common next steps

* [Schedule an Actor to run automatically](https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/schedules.md)
* [Trigger Actors from Zapier, Make, n8n, or your own API](https://docs.apify.com/integrations.md)
* [Connect an AI agent to Apify](https://docs.apify.com/agents.md)
* [Set up an organization for your team](https://docs.apify.com/account/collaboration/organization.md)
* [Publish and monetize your own Actor](https://docs.apify.com/actors/publishing.md)