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

> ## Agent Instructions
> Automate.ax automations are TypeScript programs.
> Use Bun for installation and command examples.
> Use Automate.ax for the product name and automate.ax for the package, CLI, and domain.
> Treat documented public APIs as current; do not invent transitional or deprecated names.

# Start Actor

> Starts an Apify Actor run and returns its initial state.

`apify.startActor` starts an Apify Actor run and returns its initial state.

## Example

```ts automations/apify-start-actor.automation.ts theme={null}
import { automation, onHttpRequest } from "automate.ax"
import { apify } from "automate.ax/apify"

export default automation("Start Actor", () => {
  onHttpRequest({ scope: "automation" })

  apify.startActor({
    actorId: "apify/web-scraper",
    input: { startUrls: [{ url: "https://example.com" }] },
    memoryMbytes: 1024,
  })
})
```

## Inputs

| Field               | Type      | Required | Description                                 |
| ------------------- | --------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `actorId`           | `string`  | Yes      | Actor ID or `username/name` reference.      |
| `input`             | JSON      | No       | Actor-defined input.                        |
| `build`             | `string`  | No       | Build tag or number.                        |
| `maxItems`          | `number`  | No       | Maximum paid dataset items.                 |
| `maxTotalChargeUsd` | `number`  | No       | Maximum total charge in US dollars.         |
| `memoryMbytes`      | `number`  | No       | Power-of-two memory from 128 to 32768 MB.   |
| `restartOnError`    | `boolean` | No       | Restart after a container error.            |
| `timeoutSecs`       | `number`  | No       | Maximum run time; `0` disables the timeout. |

## Output

Returns the Actor run, including its ID, status, storage IDs, timestamps, options, and usage. Dates are ISO 8601 strings.

The action returns immediately after Apify creates the run. Starting the same Actor twice creates two runs, so automatic retries are disabled after an uncertain provider response.