---
title: "Apify / Scrape the Meta Ad Library"
description: "Apify tool apify-meta-ads-library-search on looot: input fields, $0.06 per call, output shape, and code to run it with curl, JavaScript or Python."
sidebar:
  hidden: true
---

{/* Generated by scripts/generate-api-reference.mjs from data/api-reference.json. Do not edit. */}

Scrapes publicly running Facebook and Instagram ads for a page or an Ad Library search URL. Send startUrls; maxItems (1 to 100) and timeout (5 to 120 s) bound the run. Returns an Apify run object with status and defaultDatasetId, read the ads with apify-dataset-items.

- **Tool id:** `apify-meta-ads-library-search`
- **Provider:** [Apify](/providers/apify)
- **Job:** [Search the Meta ad library](/reference/jobs/ads-meta-search) (`ads.meta.search`)
- **Price:** $0.06 per call. A call that fails at the provider costs $0.

## Inputs

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `activeStatus` | string | no | active \| inactive \| empty for both |
| `onlyTotal` | boolean | no | true returns just the ad count |
| `resultsLimit` | integer | no | max ads per URL |
| `startUrls` | array | yes | Page URL or Ad Library search URL |
| `maxItems` | integer | no | server-side result cap; set it on every call. Example: 10 |
| `maxTotalChargeUsd` | number | no | Hard USD ceiling Apify enforces on this run's pay-per-event charges. Example: 0.04 |
| `timeout` | integer | no | Seconds before Apify itself aborts the run server-side (submit-then-poll now, not bounded by the gateway's 15s outbound-fetch window). Bounded 5-300. Example: 60 |

## Output

Shape of the run's `result`, checked against 1 real answer:

```txt
{ data: { id, meta: { origin, userAgent }, actId, stats: { metamorph, netRxBytes, netTxBytes, cpuAvgUsage, cpuMaxUsage, memAvgBytes, memMaxBytes, rebootCount, runTimeSecs, computeUnits, inputBodyLen, restartCount, durationMillis, migrationCount, resurrectCount, cpuCurrentUsage, memCurrentBytes }, output: { dataset }, status, userId, buildId, options: { build, maxItems, diskMbytes, timeoutSecs, memoryMbytes, maxTotalChargeUsd, isMaxTotalChargeUsdSetByUser }, standby, exitCode, startedAt, consoleUrl, eventUsage: { ecommerce-enrichment: { ... }, apify-default-dataset-item: { ... } }, finishedAt, ... ...
```

The shape is cut here. Signed in, `looot inspect apify-meta-ads-library-search` prints all of it.

## Run it

Every call needs your API token in `LOOOT_TOKEN`; [Sign in](/get-started/sign-in#use-the-token-in-scripts-and-agents) shows how to get one. Each run also needs a new idempotency key, so a retry never pays twice. With `wait: 30` the answer comes back inline when the run ends within 30 seconds. Otherwise you get the running run back: poll `GET /v1/runs/<runId>`.

Example input with placeholder values:

<CodeGroup>

```bash curl
curl -X POST "https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOOOT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{"endpointId":"apify-meta-ads-library-search","input":{"startUrls":[],"timeout":60,"maxItems":10,"maxTotalChargeUsd":0.04},"wait":30}'
```

```js JavaScript
const response = await fetch("https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LOOOT_TOKEN}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Idempotency-Key": crypto.randomUUID(),
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    endpointId: "apify-meta-ads-library-search",
    input: {
      startUrls: [],
      timeout: 60,
      maxItems: 10,
      maxTotalChargeUsd: 0.04,
    },
    wait: 30,
  }),
});
const run = await response.json();
console.log(run.status, run.result);
```

```python Python
import os
import uuid

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.looot.ai/v1/runs",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['LOOOT_TOKEN']}",
        "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()),
    },
    json={
        "endpointId": "apify-meta-ads-library-search",
        "input": {
            "startUrls": [],
            "timeout": 60,
            "maxItems": 10,
            "maxTotalChargeUsd": 0.04,
        },
        "wait": 30,
    },
    timeout=90,
)
run = response.json()
print(run["status"], run.get("result"))
```

</CodeGroup>

To let looot pick among every provider of this job instead, send `job:ads.meta.search` as `endpointId`; see [the job page](/reference/jobs/ads-meta-search).