# Scraperapi Java Sdk > Best-practices reference for the ScraperAPI Java SDK (com.scraperapi:sdk Maven artifact). Consult whenever the user is writing, debugging, or reviewing Java code that calls ScraperAPI. Use when user asks: "scrape a website with Java and ScraperAPI", "ScraperAPI Java example", "how do I add ScraperAPI to my Maven project", "Java ScraperAPI render", "ScraperAPI Java fluent API", "ScraperAPI Java premium proxy", "ScraperAPI Java error handling", "ScraperAPI Java retry". Covers Maven/Gradle setup, the fluent builder API, all request parameters, the escalation ladder, async jobs, structured data calls, error handling, and credit costs. Note: Transmits user-supplied queries, URLs, and content to ScraperAPI. - Skill: `scraperapi/scraperapi-java-sdk` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add scraperapi/scraperapi-java-sdk` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/scraperapi/scraperapi-java-sdk/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Integrations & APIs - Author: scraperapi (https://skillmd.com/u/scraperapi) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/scraperapi/scraperapi-java-sdk --- # ScraperAPI — Java SDK Best Practices **Requires:** Java 8+, Maven or Gradle, `SCRAPERAPI_API_KEY` environment variable. ## Setup ### Maven ```xml com.scraperapi sdk 1.2 ``` ### Gradle ```groovy implementation 'com.scraperapi:sdk:1.2' ``` ### Client instantiation ```java import com.scraperapi.ScraperApiClient; ScraperApiClient client = new ScraperApiClient(System.getenv("SCRAPERAPI_API_KEY")); ``` Never hardcode the API key. Read it from the environment every time. ## Basic Usage The Java SDK uses a **fluent builder** pattern. Chain parameter methods onto the result of `.get()`, then call `.result()` to block and retrieve the HTML. ```java // Simple GET — returns HTML as a String String html = client.get("https://example.com/").result(); // With parameters — chain before .result() String html = client.get("https://example.com/") .render(true) .result(); // Multiple parameters String html = client.get("https://example.com/") .render(true) .countryCode("us") .result(); ``` ## Decision Guide | Situation | Approach | |-----------|---------| | Single URL, synchronous | `.get(url)..result()` | | Page loads content via JavaScript | Chain `.render(true)` | | Site blocks datacenter proxies | Chain `.premium(true)` | | Toughest anti-bot protection | Chain `.ultraPremium(true)` | | Multi-step / paginated flow on same domain | Chain `.sessionNumber(n)` | | Transient failures expected | Chain `.retry(n)` | | 20+ URLs or batch jobs | Async endpoint via `HttpClient` | | Supported platform (Amazon, Google, etc.) | Structured data endpoint | ## Parameter Reference ### Rendering ```java // Render JavaScript before returning HTML // Use when: page is a React/Vue/Angular SPA, or initial scrape returns empty content // Cost: +10 credits String html = client.get("https://spa-site.com/").render(true).result(); // Wait for a DOM element before capturing (requires render) String html = client.get("https://spa-site.com/") .render(true) .waitForSelector(".product-list") .result(); ``` Don't call `.render(true)` by default — try without it first. It adds cost and latency. ### Proxies and Geotargeting ```java // Route through a country-specific proxy — no extra credit cost String html = client.get("https://example.com/").countryCode("gb").result(); // Premium residential/mobile IPs — for sites that block datacenter proxies // Cost: 10 credits (25 with render) String html = client.get("https://hard-site.com/").premium(true).result(); // Ultra-premium — for the toughest anti-bot protections // Cost: 30 credits (75 with render) // Note: incompatible with custom headers String html = client.get("https://hardest-site.com/").ultraPremium(true).result(); ``` `premium` and `ultraPremium` are mutually exclusive — never chain both. Escalation order: standard (1 cr) → render (10 cr) → premium (10 cr) → ultraPremium (30 cr). ### Sessions (Sticky Proxy) ```java // Reuse the same proxy IP across requests — useful for pagination and multi-step flows // Sessions expire 15 minutes after last use; any integer is a valid ID String page1 = client.get("https://example.com/page1").sessionNumber(42).result(); String page2 = client.get("https://example.com/page2").sessionNumber(42).result(); ``` ### Device Type and Autoparse ```java // Emulate a mobile browser user-agent String html = client.get("https://example.com/").deviceType("mobile").result(); // Return structured JSON for supported sites (Amazon, Google, etc.) String json = client.get("https://amazon.com/dp/B09V3KXJPB").autoparse(true).result(); ``` ### Retry ```java // Override the default retry count (default: 3) // ScraperAPI retries failed requests for up to 70 seconds internally; // .retry() controls how many times the SDK retries after a non-200 response String html = client.get("https://flaky-site.com/").retry(5).result(); ``` Do not set very low timeouts — the SDK defaults are calibrated to allow ScraperAPI's internal retry window (up to 70 seconds). Setting a 5-second client timeout will cause false failures. ## Escalation Ladder Always start cheapest. Escalate only when the site blocks the previous tier. ```java public static String scrapeWithEscalation(ScraperApiClient client, String url) throws Exception { // Try each tier in order — stop at the first success String[][] tiers = { {}, // 1 credit — standard {"render:true"}, // 10 credits {"premium:true"}, // 10 credits {"premium:true", "render:true"}, // 25 credits {"ultraPremium:true"}, // 30 credits }; // Practical implementation — explicit tier cascade String[] attempts = { "standard", "render", "premium", "premiumRender", "ultraPremium" }; for (String tier : attempts) { try { var req = client.get(url); switch (tier) { case "render": req = req.render(true); break; case "premium": req = req.premium(true); break; case "premiumRender": req = req.premium(true).render(true); break; case "ultraPremium": req = req.ultraPremium(true); break; } String html = req.result(); if (html != null && html.toLowerCase().contains(" submitJob(String url) throws Exception { String body = JSON.writeValueAsString(Map.of("apiKey", API_KEY, "url", url)); HttpRequest req = HttpRequest.newBuilder() .uri(URI.create("https://async.scraperapi.com/jobs")) .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(body)) .header("Content-Type", "application/json") .build(); HttpResponse resp = HTTP.send(req, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString()); return JSON.readValue(resp.body(), Map.class); // {id, statusUrl} } public static String pollJob(Map job, int maxWaitSec) throws Exception { long deadline = System.currentTimeMillis() + maxWaitSec * 1000L; while (System.currentTimeMillis() < deadline) { HttpRequest req = HttpRequest.newBuilder() .uri(URI.create((String) job.get("statusUrl"))) .GET().build(); Map data = JSON.readValue( HTTP.send(req, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString()).body(), Map.class); if ("finished".equals(data.get("status"))) return ((Map) data.get("response")).get("body").toString(); if ("failed".equals(data.get("status"))) throw new RuntimeException("Job " + job.get("id") + " failed"); Thread.sleep(5_000); } throw new RuntimeException("Job " + job.get("id") + " timed out"); } ``` ## Structured Data Endpoints For supported platforms, use structured endpoints instead of raw HTML scraping. ```java public static String structuredGet(String vertical, Map params) throws Exception { StringBuilder query = new StringBuilder("api_key=" + API_KEY); params.forEach((k, v) -> query.append("&").append(k).append("=").append(v)); URI uri = URI.create("https://api.scraperapi.com/structured/" + vertical + "?" + query); HttpRequest req = HttpRequest.newBuilder().uri(uri).GET().build(); HttpResponse resp = HTTP.send(req, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString()); if (resp.statusCode() != 200) throw new RuntimeException("Error " + resp.statusCode()); return resp.body(); } // Google SERP String serp = structuredGet("google/search", Map.of("query", "java web scraping")); // Amazon product String product = structuredGet("amazon/product", Map.of("asin", "B09V3KXJPB")); // Walmart search String items = structuredGet("walmart/search", Map.of("query", "standing desk", "tld", "com")); ``` ## Error Handling ```java public static String safeScrape(ScraperApiClient client, String url) { try { return client.get(url).retry(3).result(); } catch (Exception e) { String msg = e.getMessage() != null ? e.getMessage() : ""; if (msg.contains("401")) throw new RuntimeException("Invalid API key — check SCRAPERAPI_API_KEY", e); if (msg.contains("403")) throw new RuntimeException("Blocked or out of credits — try premium/ultraPremium", e); if (msg.contains("429")) throw new RuntimeException("Rate limit — reduce concurrency or use async", e); if (msg.contains("500") || msg.contains("503")) throw new RuntimeException("Transient error — retry with backoff", e); throw new RuntimeException("Scrape failed: " + url, e); } } ``` Status codes: 200 success, 401 bad key, 403 blocked/no credits, 404 target not found, 429 rate limit, 500/503 transient (not charged — safe to retry with backoff). ## Credit Cost Reference | Request type | Credits | |---|---| | Standard `.result()` | 1 | | `.render(true)` | 10 | | `.premium(true)` | 10 | | `.premium(true).render(true)` | 25 | | `.ultraPremium(true)` | 30 | | `.ultraPremium(true).render(true)` | 75 | ## Documentation - [Java SDK getting started](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java) - [SDK method reference](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java/making-requests/sdk-method) - [JavaScript rendering](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java/making-requests/customizing-requests/rendering-javascript) - [Premium proxy pools](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java/making-requests/customizing-requests/premium-residential-mobile-proxy-pools) - [Autoparse / JSON response](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java/handling-and-processing-responses/output-formats/json-response-autoparse) - [Callbacks (async)](https://docs.scraperapi.com/java/making-requests/async-requests-method/callbacks) - [Dashboard & credits](https://dashboard.scraperapi.com/)