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fix: add missing max_items to Actor.start, Actor.call and Actor.call_task #1166

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vdusek merged 2 commits into from
Oct 7, 2026
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fix: add missing max_items to Actor.start, Actor.call and Actor.call_task #1166

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4df4756
feat: add max_items to Actor.start, Actor.call and Actor.call_task
vdusek Oct 7, 2026
e3e01d0
docs: clarify that max_items caps the charge, not the output
vdusek Oct 7, 2026
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12 changes: 12 additions & 0 deletions src/apify/_actor.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -936,6 +936,7 @@ async def start(
token: str | None = None,
content_type: str | None = None,
build: str | None = None,
max_items: int | None = None,
max_total_charge_usd: Decimal | None = None,
restart_on_error: bool | None = None,
memory_mbytes: int | None = None,
Expand All @@ -955,6 +956,8 @@ async def start(
content_type: The content type of the input.
build: Specifies the Actor build to run. It can be either a build tag or build number. By default,
the run uses the build specified in the default run configuration for the Actor (typically latest).
max_items: Maximum number of dataset items you are charged for, for pay-per-result Actors. It caps the
charge, not the output, so the run can return fewer or more items than this.
Comment on lines +959 to +960

@barjin barjin Oct 8, 2026

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Afaik this is a legacy-only option for the PPE Actors (that have been migrated from PPR, which is not a thing anymore).

iirc it only does something in case your Actor has the apify-default-dataset-item event. For other PPE / free Actors, this is no-op. This can imo be surprising, given the very human-friendly name (max_items), which might suggest otherwise.

run = Actor.start('a-ppe-actor', max_items=50) # returns 50 items, as it was PPR before
run = Actor.start('b-ppe-actor', max_items=50) # returns 1000 items, as it implements other events

Can we be perhaps more vocal about this in the docstring (and propose max_total_charge_usd as the better / more modern option)?

Alternatively, we could drop it from the Python SDK altogether, if we haven't released yet 😅

@barjin barjin Oct 8, 2026

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Also, this https://github.com/apify/apify-core/issues/24320

max_total_charge_usd: A limit on the total charged amount for pay-per-event Actors.
restart_on_error: If true, the Actor run process will be restarted whenever it exits with
a non-zero status code.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -988,6 +991,7 @@ async def start(
run_input=run_input,
content_type=content_type,
build=build,
max_items=max_items,
max_total_charge_usd=max_total_charge_usd,
restart_on_error=restart_on_error,
memory_mbytes=memory_mbytes,
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1042,6 +1046,7 @@ async def call(
token: str | None = None,
content_type: str | None = None,
build: str | None = None,
max_items: int | None = None,
max_total_charge_usd: Decimal | None = None,
restart_on_error: bool | None = None,
memory_mbytes: int | None = None,
Expand All @@ -1062,6 +1067,8 @@ async def call(
content_type: The content type of the input.
build: Specifies the Actor build to run. It can be either a build tag or build number. By default,
the run uses the build specified in the default run configuration for the Actor (typically latest).
max_items: Maximum number of dataset items you are charged for, for pay-per-result Actors. It caps the
charge, not the output, so the run can return fewer or more items than this.
max_total_charge_usd: A limit on the total charged amount for pay-per-event Actors.
restart_on_error: If true, the Actor run process will be restarted whenever it exits with
a non-zero status code.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1099,6 +1106,7 @@ async def call(
run_input=run_input,
content_type=content_type,
build=build,
max_items=max_items,
max_total_charge_usd=max_total_charge_usd,
restart_on_error=restart_on_error,
memory_mbytes=memory_mbytes,
Expand All @@ -1121,6 +1129,7 @@ async def call_task(
task_input: dict | None = None,
*,
build: str | None = None,
max_items: int | None = None,
restart_on_error: bool | None = None,
memory_mbytes: int | None = None,
timeout: timedelta | Literal['inherit'] | None = None,
Expand All @@ -1141,6 +1150,8 @@ async def call_task(
token: The Apify API token to use for this request (defaults to the `APIFY_TOKEN` environment variable).
build: Specifies the Actor build to run. It can be either a build tag or build number. By default,
the run uses the build specified in the default run configuration for the Actor (typically latest).
max_items: Maximum number of dataset items you are charged for, for pay-per-result Actors. It caps the
charge, not the output, so the run can return fewer or more items than this.
restart_on_error: If true, the Task run process will be restarted whenever it exits with
a non-zero status code.
memory_mbytes: Memory limit for the run, in megabytes. By default, the run uses a memory limit specified
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1171,6 +1182,7 @@ async def call_task(
run = await task_client.call(
task_input=task_input,
build=build,
max_items=max_items,
restart_on_error=restart_on_error,
memory_mbytes=memory_mbytes,
run_timeout=task_call_timeout,
Expand Down
24 changes: 24 additions & 0 deletions tests/unit/actor/test_actor_helpers.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -117,6 +117,30 @@ async def test_start_actor(apify_client_async_patcher: ApifyClientAsyncPatcher,
assert apify_client_async_patcher.calls['actor']['start'][0][0][0].resource_id == actor_id


@pytest.mark.parametrize(
('client_resource', 'client_method', 'sdk_method'),
[
pytest.param('actor', 'start', 'start', id='start'),
pytest.param('actor', 'call', 'call', id='call'),
pytest.param('task', 'call', 'call_task', id='call_task'),
],
)
async def test_max_items_forwarded_to_client(
apify_client_async_patcher: ApifyClientAsyncPatcher,
fake_actor_run: Run,
client_resource: str,
client_method: str,
sdk_method: str,
) -> None:
"""`max_items` passed to `Actor.start`, `Actor.call` or `Actor.call_task` reaches the API client."""
apify_client_async_patcher.patch(client_resource, client_method, return_value=fake_actor_run)

async with Actor:
await getattr(Actor, sdk_method)('some-id', max_items=42)

assert apify_client_async_patcher.calls[client_resource][client_method][0][1]['max_items'] == 42


async def test_abort_actor_run(apify_client_async_patcher: ApifyClientAsyncPatcher, fake_actor_run: Run) -> None:
apify_client_async_patcher.patch('run', 'abort', return_value=fake_actor_run)
run_id = 'some-run-id'
Expand Down
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