How to schedule a scraper in n8n without duplicate rows
You get a daily n8n workflow that posts new Zillow listings to Slack once each, keyed on the listing's Zillow ID, so a scheduled scraper never repeats rows. The key is a Remove Duplicates step that remembers what earlier runs passed on, set on a stable ID from the Actor's output rather than on row position.
Checked 2026-11-12
Do it now
The workflow from Zillow new listings to Slack, ready to import into n8n: Zillow For-Sale, Rent & Sold Listing Extractor on Apify, then Slack.
n8n workflowzillow-new-listings-to-slack.n8n.json
{
"name": "Zillow new listings to Slack",
"nodes": [
{
"id": "59d08e6e-40bc-41cd-aa42-7dc4c7458a43",
"name": "Run by hand",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [
0,
0
],
"parameters": {}
},
{
"id": "9cfbd20e-2bbe-45e3-a516-579a781c8283",
"name": "Every day",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1.2,
"position": [
0,
200
],
"parameters": {
"rule": {
"interval": [
{
"triggerAtHour": 8
}
]
}
},
"notes": "Activate the workflow to run on this schedule."
},
{
"id": "65367e9a-e79c-4a4c-afa9-284974bc9cd3",
"name": "Run Apify Actor",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
"typeVersion": 4.2,
"position": [
260,
100
],
"parameters": {
"method": "POST",
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nimbryxo-studio~zillow-for-sale-rent-and-sold-listing-extractor/run-sync-get-dataset-items",
"authentication": "genericCredentialType",
"genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
"sendBody": true,
"specifyBody": "json",
"jsonBody": "{\n \"search\": \"Austin, TX\",\n \"mode\": \"BUY\",\n \"maxItems\": 50,\n \"endPage\": 1,\n \"fsboOnly\": false,\n \"foreclosureOnly\": false,\n \"auctionOnly\": false,\n \"newConstructionOnly\": false,\n \"includePending\": false,\n \"openHouseOnly\": false,\n \"priceReducedOnly\": false,\n \"scrapeDetails\": false,\n \"daysOnZillow\": \"1\",\n \"sortBy\": \"newest\"\n}",
"options": {
"timeout": 310000
}
},
"notes": "Actor: nimbryxo-studio/zillow-for-sale-rent-and-sold-listing-extractor. Select a Header Auth credential: name Authorization, value Bearer + your Apify token. Edit the JSON body to change the input.",
"notesInFlow": false
},
{
"id": "95b79d0e-0b04-45f9-a61b-48b8510d59c3",
"name": "Only records not sent before",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.removeDuplicates",
"typeVersion": 2,
"position": [
500,
100
],
"parameters": {
"operation": "removeItemsSeenInPreviousExecutions",
"logic": "removeItemsWithAlreadySeenKeyValues",
"dedupeValue": "={{ $json.zpid }}",
"options": {
"scope": "node",
"historySize": 10000
}
},
"notes": "Remembers each zpid it has passed on (up to 10,000) across runs, so a record is sent once. Needs n8n 1.64 or later."
},
{
"id": "7e6ab456-47a6-472f-a7b3-946282da1fc3",
"name": "Send to Slack",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.slack",
"typeVersion": 2.3,
"position": [
740,
100
],
"parameters": {
"select": "channel",
"channelId": {
"__rl": true,
"value": "",
"mode": "list"
},
"text": "={{ [$json.price, $json.address, $json.url].filter(v => v !== undefined && v !== null && v !== '').join(' | ') }}",
"otherOptions": {}
},
"notes": "Pick your Slack credential and channel."
},
{
"id": "a90baaae-94f2-44cb-a52e-8166426d8b7b",
"name": "Setup",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [
0,
-370
],
"parameters": {
"content": "## Zillow For-Sale, Rent & Sold Listing Extractor\n\nSource: [nimbryxo-studio/zillow-for-sale-rent-and-sold-listing-extractor](https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/zillow-for-sale-rent-and-sold-listing-extractor) on Apify.\n\n1. In **Run Apify Actor**, create a Header Auth credential: name `Authorization`, value `Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN` with your token.\n2. Open **Send to Slack** and connect your Slack account.\n3. Edit the JSON body of **Run Apify Actor** to change the input.\n\nGenerated by recipeforagents.com. Validated, not executed: runs are billed to your Apify account.",
"height": 340,
"width": 460,
"color": 6
}
}
],
"connections": {
"Run by hand": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Run Apify Actor",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Every day": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Run Apify Actor",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Run Apify Actor": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Only records not sent before",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Only records not sent before": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Send to Slack",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
},
"pinData": {},
"active": false,
"settings": {
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"meta": {
"templateCredsSetupCompleted": false
},
"tags": []
}Validated, not executed: 11 of 11 checks pass
- It has a nodes array and a connections object
- Every node has a name, type, typeVersion, position and parameters
- Node names are unique
- Every node type is a known n8n core node (or the Apify node)
- Every node uses a typeVersion that n8n ships
- Every connection points at an existing node
- At least one trigger starts the workflow
- Every working node is reachable from a trigger
- Apify calls use POST and a credential for the token
- Actor input matches the Actor's published input schema
- No token or credential value is embedded
Most scheduled-scraper tutorials stop at the Schedule Trigger, and the second run posts everything again. A stable key from the data, a step that remembers keys across executions and a schedule that does not overlap itself are what keep the output clean.
What you need
- n8n 1.64 or later for Remove Duplicates across executions, with the instance timezone set in Settings.
- An Apify Header Auth credential: name Authorization, value Bearer followed by your token.
- A Slack credential and the channel for the alerts.
- A stable ID in the Actor's output; for Zillow that is the property ID.
Where it breaks
Two runs at once can both pass the same listing before either records it, so do not trigger the workflow by hand while the daily run is still going. Keying on the row position or on the listing URL with tracking parameters also lets repeats through; key on an ID field from the output, as this workflow does.
Method
Import the Zillow new listings to Slack workflow and set your n8n instance timezone in Settings so the Every day trigger fires at 08:00 local time.
Add the Header Auth credential on Run Apify Actor and change search in the JSON body to your city or ZIP code; the body already asks for listings added in the last day.
Open Only records not sent before and keep its value on the Zillow property ID; it remembers the IDs from earlier runs and passes only new ones.
Connect Send to Slack to your workspace and channel, run the workflow by hand once, then activate it so the schedule takes over.
Ready-made recipe
Zillow new listings to Slack: an n8n workflow you can import, using Zillow For-Sale, Rent & Sold Listing Extractor.
Troubleshooting
Why does the workflow or script stop with HTTP 408?
The synchronous endpoint waits at most 300 seconds. After that it answers 408 while the run keeps going in Apify. Lower the result limit, or start the run asynchronously, wait for it to finish and then read its dataset.
Source: Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
What do 400, 401, 402 and 403 from the Apify API mean?
Read error.type in the response body. 400 is invalid Actor input. 401 (user-or-token-not-found) means a token reached Apify but it is wrong or revoked. 402 with x402-payment-required means no token reached Apify at all: the n8n credential or the Authorization: Bearer header is missing, and Apify is offering its pay-per-run x402 route for agents instead; any other 402 is an exhausted usage limit on the account that pays for the run. 403 is a token without permission for that Actor or storage.
Source: Apify API: authentication; Apify documentation: agentic payments with x402; Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
n8n says Install this node to use it after import. Why?
The workflow names a node or node version your instance does not have, usually a community node. The workflows here use only built-in nodes at versions n8n has shipped since 1.80, so they import on n8n Cloud and older self-hosted instances without community nodes.
Why does the HTTP Request node time out before Apify answers?
Set the node's Timeout option to at least 300000 ms so n8n waits as long as Apify's synchronous endpoint. The workflows here already set 310000. A failure at exactly 30 seconds points to a proxy in front of n8n.
Why does starting an Actor through the API return run information instead of scraped results?
The Run Actor endpoint starts the Actor and immediately returns a Run object without waiting for completion. For results stored in the default dataset, pass the response's defaultDatasetId to Get dataset items; to wait and receive output directly, use the synchronous endpoint for dataset items or a key-value store record.
Source: Apify Run Actor API
Questions
Why not dedupe on the row number?
Row positions change every run. A stable ID from the data, such as the property ID, stays the same, so the workflow can tell a repeat from a new listing.
Where are the seen IDs stored?
Inside n8n, in the Remove Duplicates node's history for this workflow. Clearing that history makes the next run send everything again.
What if the server was down for a day?
The next run catches up as long as the listings still match the search window; widen the days filter in the body if you expect gaps.
Can I run it hourly?
Yes. Change the Every day trigger to an hourly interval; the duplicate check works the same way, and each run only posts what is new.
Sources
- n8n Schedule Trigger, checked 2026-11-09
- n8n workflows, checked 2026-11-09