Simple URL Loader / Virtual Cronjob

A lightweight automation actor that loads URLs (instead of just pinging) and returns HTTP status codes and content. It's designed for triggering server-side scripts or checking the actual status of web pages.

Overview

This actor performs HTTP requests to the URLs you provide and returns the results. It waits for the page or script to load fully, making it more reliable than a simple ping for tasks like triggering cron jobs on managed hosting with limited scheduling options.

Key Features

• Loads URLs fully: Waits for the server response, not just a connection.
• Flexible requests: Supports GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and PATCH methods with custom headers and payloads.
• Optional content capture: Can save and return the full response content for checking or processing.
• Simple output: Returns the URL, HTTP status code, status text, and optionally the response body.

Input

Configure the actor using a JSON object with a theUrls array. Each object in the array defines one request.

Required:
* url: The full URL to load.

Optional per URL:
* saveContent: (Boolean) Set to true to save the response content in the output. Default is false.
* method: The HTTP method (e.g., GET, POST). Default is GET.
* payload: Data to send as the request body. Applicable for POST, PUT, DELETE, and PATCH.
* headers: An object containing custom HTTP headers to send.
* userData: (Reserved for future use). For authentication, use custom headers instead.

Input Example

{
  "theUrls": [
    { "url": "https://example.com" },
    {
      "url": "https://example.com/script",
      "method": "POST",
      "payload": "data=value",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer token123" }
    }
  ]
}

Output

The actor returns an array of objects, one for each URL processed. Each object contains:

• url: The loaded URL.
• statusCode: The HTTP status code (e.g., 200, 404, 500).
• statusText: The corresponding HTTP status text (e.g., "OK", "Not Found").
• responseContent: The full response body (e.g., HTML, JSON). This field is only populated if saveContent was set to true for that URL.

How to Use

1. Set up the actor run with your input configuration.
2. The actor will request each URL with the specified method, headers, and payload.
3. It captures the HTTP response and status.
4. Results are available in the dataset, containing the status and, if requested, the content of each page.

This actor is particularly useful for replacing traditional cronjobs on hosting plans with limited scheduling, ensuring scripts are fully executed by waiting for the HTTP response.