majiayu000 Oxylabs Web Scraper API
Authentication
Requires HTTP Basic Auth with credentials from environment variables:
curl -u "$OXY_WSA_USERNAME:$OXY_WSA_PASSWORD" ...
Endpoint
POST https://realtime.oxylabs.io/v1/queries # immediate response
POST https://data.oxylabs.io/v1/queries # Push-Pull jobs, callbacks, storage
Content-Type: application/json
Core Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
source |
Yes | Target scraper (e.g., universal, amazon_product, google_search) |
url |
Conditional | URL to scrape (for universal and *_url sources) |
query |
Conditional | Search query or product ID (for *_search and *_product sources) |
parse |
No | Enable structured data parsing (recommended for supported sources) |
render |
No | JavaScript rendering: html or png |
geo_location |
No | Geographic targeting: country/state/city, ZIP/postcode, coordinates, or Criteria ID where supported |
session_id |
No | Reuse the same proxy IP across multiple jobs |
content_encoding |
No | Set to base64 when downloading image files via Realtime or Push-Pull |
user_agent_type |
No | Device/browser preset, e.g., desktop_chrome, mobile_ios, tablet_android |
locale |
No | Interface language / Accept-Language, e.g., de-DE |
callback_url |
No | Push-Pull callback endpoint |
storage_type, storage_url |
No | Push-Pull cloud upload target (gcs, s3, tos, s3_compatible) |
markdown, xhr |
No | Enable markdown or captured XHR result types |
browser_instructions |
No | Rendered browser actions; requires render: "html" |
parsing_instructions, parser_preset |
No | Custom parser rules or saved preset; pair with parse: true |
client_notes |
No | Client-side job tag saved with the job metadata |
domain, subdomain, start_page, pages, limit, store_id, delivery_zip, fulfillment_type |
Source-specific | Marketplace/search/store localization and pagination fields |
user_agent_type values: desktop, desktop_chrome, desktop_edge, desktop_firefox, desktop_opera, desktop_safari, mobile, mobile_android, mobile_ios, tablet, tablet_android, tablet_ios.
Context Parameters
Add these as { "key": "...", "value": ... } objects in context:
| Key | Use |
|---|---|
force_headers, headers |
Merge custom headers with managed headers |
force_cookies, cookies |
Merge custom cookies with managed cookies |
http_method, content |
Use post with Base64-encoded body content |
follow_redirects |
Follow 3xx redirect chains |
successful_status_codes |
Treat specific non-standard HTTP codes as successful |
For multi-format output, enable types in the payload (parse, markdown, xhr, render: "png") and request them with ?type=raw,parsed,png,markdown,xhr.
For batch Push-Pull jobs, use POST /v1/queries/batch with arrays only for query or url; keep all other parameters singular. Maximum batch size is 5,000 values.
Quick Start
Scrape any URL:
curl -X POST 'https://realtime.oxylabs.io/v1/queries' \
-u "$OXY_WSA_USERNAME:$OXY_WSA_PASSWORD" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"source": "universal", "url": "https://example.com"}'
Google search with parsing:
curl -X POST 'https://realtime.oxylabs.io/v1/queries' \
-u "$OXY_WSA_USERNAME:$OXY_WSA_PASSWORD" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"source": "google_search", "query": "best laptops", "parse": true}'
Amazon product by ASIN:
curl -X POST 'https://realtime.oxylabs.io/v1/queries' \
-u "$OXY_WSA_USERNAME:$OXY_WSA_PASSWORD" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"source": "amazon_product", "query": "B07FZ8S74R", "parse": true}'
Choosing the Right Source
- Use specific sources when available (
amazon_product,google_search) - better parsing and reliability - Use
universalfor unsupported sites - works with any URL - Enable
parse: truefor structured JSON output on supported sources
Response Structure
{
"results": [{
"content": "...",
"status_code": 200,
"url": "https://..."
}]
}
With parse: true, content contains structured data (title, price, reviews, etc.) instead of raw HTML.
Available Sources
For the complete list of 40+ supported sources organized by category, see sources.md.
More Examples
For detailed request/response examples including geo-location, JavaScript rendering, and custom headers, see examples.md.
Error Handling
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 200 | Success |
| 400 | Invalid parameters |
| 401 | Authentication failed |
| 403 | Access denied |
| 429 | Rate limit exceeded |
Key Guidelines
- Always set
parse: truefor supported sources to get structured data - Use ZIP codes for US e-commerce geo-location (e.g.,
"90210") - Use country/state format for search engines (e.g.,
"California,United States") - Add
render: "html"for JavaScript-heavy pages - Use
render: ""only to disable automatic forced rendering for force-rendered pages; set client timeouts near 180 seconds for rendered Realtime or Proxy Endpoint requests - Add
content_encoding: "base64"when scraping image URLs, then decoderesults[0].contentbefore saving the file