SerpApi Upgrade & Migration

Overview

The main migration path: google-search-results (legacy) to serpapi (current official package). The API itself is stable -- changes are in client library interfaces, not the REST API.

Instructions

Python: google-search-results to serpapi

# BEFORE: Legacy package
from serpapi import GoogleSearch
search = GoogleSearch({"q": "test", "api_key": key})
result = search.get_dict()

# AFTER: New official package
import serpapi
client = serpapi.Client(api_key=key)
result = client.search(engine="google", q="test")
# Result is already a dict -- no get_dict() needed

# Migration steps
pip uninstall google-search-results
pip install serpapi

# Update imports across codebase
# OLD: from serpapi import GoogleSearch
# NEW: import serpapi

Node.js: google-search-results-nodejs to serpapi

// BEFORE: Legacy
import { GoogleSearch } from 'google-search-results-nodejs';
const search = new GoogleSearch('api_key');
search.json({ q: 'test', engine: 'google' }, (result) => { ... });

// AFTER: Current (Promise-based)
import { getJson } from 'serpapi';
const result = await getJson({ engine: 'google', q: 'test', api_key: key });
// No callbacks -- uses Promises natively

Key Changes

Aspect	Legacy	Current
Python import	`from serpapi import GoogleSearch`	`import serpapi`
Python init	`GoogleSearch(params_dict)`	`serpapi.Client(api_key=key)`
Python search	`search.get_dict()`	`client.search(engine="google", q=...)`
Node import	`google-search-results-nodejs`	`serpapi`
Node pattern	Callback-based	Promise/async-await
Engine param	Via class name (GoogleSearch, BingSearch)	Via `engine` parameter

Migration Checklist

Replace package: pip install serpapi / npm install serpapi
Update all imports
Replace class-per-engine with engine parameter
Replace callbacks with async/await (Node.js)
Remove .get_dict() calls (Python -- result is already dict)
Test all search queries return expected structure
Update CI dependencies

Resources

Next Steps

For CI integration, see serpapi-ci-integration.