feat: Remove Actor deployment files and simplify to HTTP server

[jirispilka]

This PR removes the Apify Actor deployment infrastructure and simplifies the codebase to focus on the HTTP server implementation for local development and testing.

Summary

The project is transitioning away from being deployed as an Apify Actor. All Actor-specific files, configurations, and deployment logic have been removed, and the codebase has been refactored to be a standalone HTTP server.

Key Changes

• Removed Actor deployment files:

  • .actor/ directory containing ACTOR.md, Dockerfile, actor.json, and input_schema.json
  • Actor-specific source files: src/actor/server.ts, src/actor/const.ts, src/actor/types.ts, src/actor/utils.ts, and src/actor/README.md

• Simplified main entry point (src/main.ts):

  • Removed all Apify Actor SDK imports and initialization (Actor.init(), Actor.getInput(), etc.)
  • Removed standby mode detection and conditional logic
  • Removed debug actor execution path
  • Now simply creates and starts the Express HTTP server
  • Removed async/await from SIGINT handler since no Actor cleanup is needed

• Renamed and refactored server file:

  • src/actor/server.ts → src/dev_server.ts with updated comment to reflect local development purpose
  • Moved TransportType and Routes enums from src/actor/const.ts directly into the file
  • Removed host parameter from createExpressApp() function
  • Simplified 404 error message (removed help message that referenced the host)

• Updated dependencies:

  • Removed apify package dependency (kept apify-client for API interactions)

• Updated imports:

  • Changed ApifyClientOptions import from apify to apify-client
  • Updated test files to import from src/dev_server.js instead of src/actor/server.js

• Cleaned up type definitions:

  • Removed debugActor and debugActorInput from the Input type

Implementation Details

The server now operates purely as an HTTP server without any Actor-specific lifecycle management. Environment variables are simplified to just APIFY_TOKEN, HOST, and PORT. The application is designed for local development and testing scenarios rather than deployment on the Apify platform.

https://claude.ai/code/session_01H5wf2UswqdY2HKNJ9r2uR6

[claude]

No bugs found, but this is a significant architectural change (removing the entire Apify Actor deployment pathway and simplifying to a standalone HTTP server) that warrants a human review before merging.

Extended reasoning...

Overview

This PR removes the Apify Actor deployment infrastructure across 19 files: deletes .actor/ config (Dockerfile, actor.json, input_schema.json, ACTOR.md), removes src/actor/ source files, dramatically simplifies src/main.ts (no more Actor.init(), Actor.getInput(), standby mode detection, or debug actor path), renames/moves src/actor/server.ts → src/dev_server.ts, removes the apify npm dependency (keeping apify-client), and updates all imports and tests accordingly.

Security Risks

No new security-sensitive code is introduced. The core HTTP server logic in dev_server.ts appears structurally identical to what was in src/actor/server.ts — only the import paths and the removed host parameter for the 404 message differ. The APIFY_TOKEN check remains in main.ts.

Level of Scrutiny

While the individual changes are mechanically clean (mostly deletions and import updates), this is a significant architectural decision: permanently removing the Actor deployment pathway that the project previously supported. A human should confirm the team intends to fully abandon Actor deployment mode and that no downstream consumers (npm package users, production deployments) depend on the removed behavior before this lands.

Other Factors

The PR is labeled tested. No bugs were found. The package-lock.json diff shows a large reduction in transitive dependencies (crawlee, got-scraping, header-generator, etc.) by removing the apify SDK. This is all expected given the stated goal.

[MQ37]

Hey @jirispilka, reviewing this architectural change.

While dropping the heavy dependencies and Standby mode is great, this PR completely removes the .actor/ scaffolding and src/main.ts. The issue is that the apify/actors-mcp-server actor is heavily hardcoded as a test target in our integration suites.

Specifically, it's used in these exact places:
Public Repo (apify-mcp-server)

• tests/const.ts (defines ACTOR_MCP_SERVER_ACTOR_NAME)
• tests/integration/suite.ts (used for addActor(), keyword searches, fetch-actor-details, actor:tool execution syntax, structured output parsing, and call-actor validation)

Internal Repo (apify-mcp-server-internal)

• test/integration/src/server-suite.ts (used to test adding/calling an Actorized MCP server and as a search keyword)

It will actually not break the tests right now as the Actor is still deployed on staging and prod. However, if we ever remove that Actor (or need to update its schema/behavior for tests in the future), we would not be able to easily re-deploy since the source code will no longer exist in this repo.

A total test suite rework across both repos isn't really feasible right now. To unblock this, we should either create a new, minimal dummy Actor MCP server (perhaps a small separate dummy Actor in this repo) strictly for the tests to target, or keep the existing setup.

Thoughts on the dummy Actor approach?

[jirispilka]

@MQ37 oh, thanks! I forgot about the actors-mcp-server Actor again :(

What I will do is to move it to a different repository so that we have it somewhere.
Here it just complicates the codebase and looks messy.

I planned to suggest Robert or Vojta to implement a single super-Actor that we will use for all the tests.
It should have normal mode, mcp server. timeouts. Then we will just need one signle Actor for all the tests

[MQ37]

@MQ37 oh, thanks! I forgot about the actors-mcp-server Actor again :(

What I will do is to move it to a different repository so that we have it somewhere. Here it just complicates the codebase and looks messy.

I planned to suggest Robert or Vojta to implement a single super-Actor that we will use for all the tests. It should have normal mode, mcp server. timeouts. Then we will just need one signle Actor for all the tests

Yes, I agree - let's YOLO and merge this PR and then we can give it to the guys as a first task, I think it will be cool first task. Feel free to merge but please first let's create an issue for this so we do not forget.

[MQ37]

⏫ Please see my comment above - pre-approving.

[jirispilka]

⏫ Please see my comment above - pre-approving.

No worries, I will create a new repo first

[jirispilka]

Copy of the repo is here: https://github.com/apify/actor-old-mcp-server