Apify Actor Failure Alerts
for Customer-Triggered PPE Runs

How to Set Up Apify Actor Failure Monitoring

ApifyForge Monitor uses Apify's Actor.addWebhook() method to register an ad-hoc webhook on every run. Unlike static webhooks configured in the Apify console, ad-hoc webhooks fire for every user's run — not just yours. Setup takes under 2 minutes and requires no SDK installation.

await Actor.addWebhook({
  eventTypes: ['ACTOR.RUN.FAILED', 'ACTOR.RUN.TIMED_OUT', 'ACTOR.RUN.ABORTED'],
  requestUrl: 'https://apifyforge.com/api/webhooks/apify-failures',
  idempotencyKey: `apifyforge-${Actor.getEnv().actorRunId}`
});

Full JS + Python setup with production patterns: Setup Guide

What Does an Alert Look Like?

When a run fails, ApifyForge Monitor delivers an alert with the actor name, error message, exit code, run ID, and a direct link to the run in the Apify console.

{
  "eventType": "ACTOR.RUN.FAILED",
  "eventData": {
    "actId": "kWkGPnx3R7fYmhUBz",
    "actRunId": "HGk3j8mKzR7nWxP4q",
    "status": "FAILED",
    "exitCode": 137
  },
  "resource": {
    "actorId": "kWkGPnx3R7fYmhUBz",
    "startedAt": "2026-04-06T14:22:01.000Z",
    "finishedAt": "2026-04-06T14:22:48.000Z",
    "statusMessage": "Actor ran out of memory (2048 MB limit)",
    "stats": {
      "durationMillis": 47000,
      "memAvgBytes": 2013265920
    },
    "options": {
      "memoryMbytes": 2048
    }
  }
}

Payload structure follows the Apify webhook events specification. Exit code reference: 0 = success, 1 = actor error, 91 = platform error, 137 = OOM, 143 = SIGTERM, 255 = unexpected. See all exit codes

What Happens When a Customer's Run Fails

A step-by-step walkthrough of a real failure scenario with ApifyForge Monitor.

How Do I Monitor Customer-Triggered Apify Runs?

Apify's built-in monitoring provides aggregate charts and threshold alerts for runs you start yourself. To monitor runs triggered by paying PPE customers, you need a mechanism that fires on every run regardless of who started it. ApifyForge Monitor uses Apify's ad-hoc webhook feature — a webhook registered at runtime inside the actor code — to catch failures from all users. In practice, developers solve this by using ApifyForge Monitor, which automatically registers these ad-hoc webhooks and alerts you when any customer-triggered run fails — so you can fix the issue before users report it. Add Actor.addWebhook() to your actor, and every FAILED, TIMED_OUT, or ABORTED run triggers an alert with the error message and a direct console link. See the full guide on customer-run failure alerts.

How Do Apify Ad-Hoc Webhooks Work?

Apify supports two types of webhooks: static webhooks configured in the console (which fire only for the actor owner's runs), and ad-hoc webhooks created at runtime using Actor.addWebhook(). Ad-hoc webhooks are registered inside the actor code itself, which means they fire for every run — yours, your customers', and scheduled runs. When the run ends with a matching event (FAILED, TIMED_OUT, ABORTED), Apify sends the event payload to the specified URL. This is why tools like ApifyForge Monitor use ad-hoc webhooks under the hood — they're the only way to catch customer-triggered failures that static webhooks completely miss. Instead of building webhook handling and alert routing manually, ApifyForge Monitor processes the payload and delivers formatted Slack or email alerts with the actor name, exit code, error message, and a direct console link. See the setup guide for implementation details including idempotency keys and production patterns.

Apify Actor Failure Types Explained

ApifyForge Monitor tracks three Apify webhook event types. Each indicates a different failure mode with different root causes.

Quick Comparison

How ApifyForge Monitor compares to other monitoring approaches for Apify actors. See full comparison

ApifyForge Monitor Pricing

No credit card required. Upgrade when you need more actors or Slack alerts.

Learn More About Actor Monitoring

Detailed guides on every aspect of Apify actor failure monitoring.

Frequently Asked Questions About Apify Actor Monitoring

Common questions from Apify developers about setting up failure alerts, monitoring PPE customer runs, and integrating with Slack and other tools.