| name | serpapi |
| description | SerpApi search engine results API via curl. Use this skill to scrape Google, Bing, YouTube, and other search engines. |
| vm0_secrets | ["SERPAPI_API_KEY"] |
SerpApi
Use SerpApi via direct curl calls to scrape search engine results from Google, Bing, YouTube, and more.
Official docs: https://serpapi.com/search-api
When to Use
Use this skill when you need to:
- Scrape Google search results (organic, ads, knowledge graph)
- Search Google Images, News, Videos, Shopping
- Get local business results from Google Maps
- Scrape other search engines (Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo, etc.)
- Monitor SERP rankings for SEO analysis
Prerequisites
- Sign up at SerpApi
- Go to Dashboard and copy your API key
- Store it in the environment variable
SERPAPI_API_KEY
export SERPAPI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
Pricing
- Free tier: 100 searches/month
- API key is passed as a query parameter
api_key
Important: When using $VAR in a command that pipes to another command, wrap the command containing $VAR in bash -c '...'. Due to a Claude Code bug, environment variables are silently cleared when pipes are used directly.
bash -c 'curl -s "https://api.example.com" -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"'
How to Use
All examples below assume you have SERPAPI_API_KEY set.
Base URL: https://serpapi.com/search
1. Basic Google Search
Search Google and get structured JSON results:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=artificial+intelligence&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.organic_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, snippet}
2. Search with Location
Search from a specific location:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=best+coffee+shops&location=San+Francisco,+California&gl=us&hl=en&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.organic_results[:3]'
Parameters:
location: City, state, or addressgl: Country code (us, uk, de, etc.)hl: Language code (en, de, fr, etc.)
3. Google Image Search
Search for images:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_images&q=sunset+beach&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.images_results[:3] | .[] | {title, original, thumbnail}
4. Google News Search
Search news articles:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_news&q=technology&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.news_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, source, date}
5. Google Shopping Search
Search products:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_shopping&q=wireless+headphones&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.shopping_results[:3] | .[] | {title, price, source}
6. YouTube Search
Search YouTube videos:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=youtube&search_query=python+tutorial&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.video_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, channel, views}
7. Google Maps / Local Results
Search local businesses:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_maps&q=restaurants&ll=@40.7128,-74.0060,15z&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.local_results[:3] | .[] | {title, rating, address}
Parameters:
ll: Latitude, longitude, and zoom level (e.g., @40.7128,-74.0060,15z)
8. Pagination
Get more results using the start parameter:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=machine+learning&start=0&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.organic_results | length'
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=machine+learning&start=10&api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '.organic_results | length'
9. Check Account Info
Check your API usage and credits:
bash -c 'curl -s "https://serpapi.com/account?api_key=${SERPAPI_API_KEY}"' | jq '{plan_name, searches_per_month, this_month_usage}
Supported Engines
| Engine | Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Google Search | engine=google | Web search results |
| Google Images | engine=google_images | Image search |
| Google News | engine=google_news | News articles |
| Google Shopping | engine=google_shopping | Product search |
| Google Maps | engine=google_maps | Local businesses |
| YouTube | engine=youtube | Video search |
| Bing | engine=bing | Bing web search |
| DuckDuckGo | engine=duckduckgo | Privacy-focused search |
Common Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
q | Search query (required) |
engine | Search engine to use |
location | Geographic location for search |
gl | Country code (e.g., us, uk) |
hl | Language code (e.g., en, de) |
start | Pagination offset (0, 10, 20...) |
num | Number of results (max 100) |
safe | Safe search (active or off) |
device | Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet) |
Guidelines
- Use specific engines: Use
google_images, google_news etc. instead of tbm parameter for cleaner results
- Add location for local searches: Use
location and gl for geo-targeted results
- Cache results: SerpApi caches results by default; use
no_cache=true for fresh data
- Monitor usage: Check
/account endpoint to track API credits
- Use jq filters: Filter large JSON responses to extract only needed data
