> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.proxyscrape.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# SERP API overview

> Query Google search results as structured JSON over a single authenticated GET request.

The **SERP API** returns parsed Google search results as JSON. You make a single
`GET` request to the search host, authenticated with **HTTP Basic Auth**, and get
back the organic results, related searches, and — optionally — the raw HTML of
the results page.

<Note>
  The SERP API is billed by **credits**: each successful search consumes credits from
  your active SERP API plan. Add a SERP API package and top up credits from the
  [dashboard](https://dashboard.proxyscrape.com/v2/services/serp-api).
</Note>

## How it works

1. **Order a SERP API package** and create a **sub-user** from the dashboard. Each
   sub-user has its own `username` / `password` — these are the credentials you
   send as HTTP Basic Auth.
2. **Send a `GET` request** to the search host with your query parameters. See the
   [Search reference](/api-reference/serp-api/search) for the full parameter list.
3. **Read the JSON response** — organic results live under `results[0].Organic`.

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://serp.api.proxyscrape.com/?q=proxyscrape&gl=us&hl=en&start=0&rawhtml=0" \
  -u "<sub-user-username>:<sub-user-password>"
```

## Authentication

Every request uses **HTTP Basic Auth**. The username and password are the
credentials of a **SERP API sub-user**, not your ProxyScrape account login.

* Create and manage sub-users in the dashboard under **Services → SERP API**.
* Credentials are sent with the standard `Authorization: Basic <base64>` header —
  any HTTP client's basic-auth helper (`-u` for cURL, `auth` for axios/requests)
  builds this for you.

## Try it in the dashboard

The **SERP API playground** lets you build a request, run it against your own
sub-user, and copy ready-to-run code in NodeJS, Python, PHP, and cURL:

[Open the SERP API playground →](https://dashboard.proxyscrape.com/v2/services/serp-api)

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Search reference" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/api-reference/serp-api/search">
    Full parameter list, response shape, and code samples for the search endpoint.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Product page" icon="box" href="https://proxyscrape.com/products/serp-api">
    Pricing, credit packages, and feature overview.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>