> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developers.oxylabs.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developers.oxylabs.io/products/web-api.md).

# Oxylabs Web API

Live web search and page reading for applications and AI agents.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Pre-launch.** The Web API is in active development. Some scraper-side details are not final, and each is flagged where it appears. See [Errors → Still being decided](/products/web-api/errors.md#still-being-decided) for the full list.
{% endhint %}

The Web API gives your application two things the open internet makes surprisingly hard: **find the right pages**, and **read them reliably**.

## The two endpoints

| Endpoint                                         | Gives you                                        | Use it when                                |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| [`POST /v1/search`](/products/web-api/search.md) | Ranked results — title, description, URL         | You don't know which page holds the answer |
| [`POST /v1/scrape`](/products/web-api/scrape.md) | One page as Markdown, HTML, JSON or a screenshot | You know the URL and need what's on it     |

They are designed to be used together: **search to find, scrape to read.** Search descriptions are snippets, so anything you need to be accurate about comes from a scrape.

## Why not just fetch the page yourself

A plain HTTP request gets you the markup a server hands to an anonymous script, which for a large share of the commercial web means a challenge page, a consent wall, an empty JavaScript shell, or content priced and stocked for the wrong country. `/v1/scrape` handles rendering, geo context and access so your code deals with content instead of counter-measures.

## Start here

New here? [**Quickstart**](/products/web-api/quickstart.md) runs your first search and scrape in about two minutes. Everything else is in the navigation.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://developers.oxylabs.io/products/web-api.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.