Apify MCP: 'Actor not found' (wrong Actor ID or name)

Copy the exact Actor ID from the Console. "Actor not found" almost always means the string you passed is not an Actor: a typo, a display name instead of the ID, or a renamed Actor. The Console's Actor page shows the canonical ID; use it verbatim.

Actor not found

The fix

1. Open the Actor in the Apify Console and copy the Actor ID (format like username/actor-name or the long ID).

Expected: you have the exact string, case intact.

1. Replace the actor value in your tool call or server args with the copied string.

Expected: no retyping, no guessing.

1. Retry the call.

Expected: the Actor resolves and starts.

When this applies

• The Actor exists in the Console but the MCP call 404s it.
• You typed the name from memory or copied it from a chat message.

When it does NOT apply

• record-or-token-not-found: visibility/auth problem, different skill.
• The ID is right but runs fail: see the FAILED run skill.

Tool and version compatibility

• @apify/actors-mcp-server and the Apify API; ID formats are platform-wide.

Variant phrasings

Apify Actor 404 but it exists

Same fix. "Exists in the Console" plus "404 from the API" equals a string mismatch.

Renamed my Actor, now not found

Renames change the name part of the ID. Re-copy the new canonical ID.

Why it happens

Actor identity is the exact ID string, not the display title. Humans remember titles; the API matches IDs. Any drift (case, dashes, old name after a rename) 404s.

Edge cases

• Store Actors use IDs too; "the popular web scraper" is not an identifier.
• Some tools accept the short name only within your own account; the full username/name form works everywhere.
• If the Actor was deleted, the ID 404s permanently; check the Console trash/recent deletions.