SerpApi Install & Auth

Overview

Install the SerpApi client library and configure API key authentication. SerpApi provides structured JSON results from Google, Bing, YouTube, and 15+ search engines. Auth is API-key-based via the api_key parameter or SERPAPI_API_KEY env var.

Prerequisites

• SerpApi account at serpapi.com
• API key from serpapi.com/manage-api-key
• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.8+

Instructions

Step 1: Install Client

# Python (official)
pip install serpapi

# Node.js (official)
npm install serpapi

# Alternative Python package (legacy but widely used)
pip install google-search-results

Step 2: Configure API Key

# .env
SERPAPI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

Step 3: Verify Connection (Python)

import serpapi, os

client = serpapi.Client(api_key=os.environ["SERPAPI_API_KEY"])
result = client.search(engine="google", q="test", num=1)
print(f"Connected! Search ID: {result['search_metadata']['id']}")

Step 4: Verify Connection (Node.js)

import { getJson } from 'serpapi';

const result = await getJson({
  engine: 'google', q: 'test', num: 1,
  api_key: process.env.SERPAPI_API_KEY,
});
console.log(`Connected! Search ID: ${result.search_metadata.id}`);

Step 5: Check Account

curl "https://serpapi.com/account.json?api_key=$SERPAPI_API_KEY" | jq '{
  plan: .plan_name, used: .this_month_usage, remaining: .plan_searches_left
}'

Output

Connected! Search ID: 64a1b2c3d4e5f6
{ plan: "Developer", used: 42, remaining: 4958 }

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Invalid API key	Wrong or missing key	Check serpapi.com/manage-api-key
Your account is disabled	Exceeded limits	Upgrade or wait for monthly reset
ModuleNotFoundError	Not installed	pip install serpapi

Resources

• SerpApi Dashboard
• Python Integration
• Account API

Next Steps

Proceed to serpapi-hello-world for your first search.