Skill v1.0.0
currentAutomated scan100/100version: "1.0.0" name: web-scraper-api description: Production-grade web scraping with automatic anti-bot bypass, structured JSON parsing for 40+ targets, and geo-targeting. Use when the user needs to scrape web pages, extract product data, get search results, or collect structured data from supported e-commerce and search platforms without worrying about getting blocked and when geo targeting is required.
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 responsePOST https://data.oxylabs.io/v1/queries # Push-Pull jobs, callbacks, storageContent-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 `universal` for unsupported sites - works with any URL
- Enable `parse: true` for 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