> 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-scraper-api/features/http-context-and-job-management/headers-cookies-method.md).

# Headers, Cookies, Method

Find out how to customize headers, cookies, or HTTP method when scraping with Web Scraper API.

Web Scraper API maximizes website access efficiency by using headers and cookies predefined by our team. If needed, you can define your own headers, cookies, and the HTTP method.

## Custom headers

If you require your own headers, you can use them by adding the `context:force_headers` parameter and setting it to `true` when submitting a scraping job. Web Scraper API will send your custom headers together with the predefined headers set and then use them to access the website.

#### Code example

```json
{
    "context": [
        {
            "key": "force_headers",
            "value": true
        },
        {
            "key": "headers",
            "value": {
                "Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.5"
            }
        }
    ],
    "source": "universal",
    "url": "https://example.com"
}
```

## Custom cookies

If you require your own cookies, you can use them by adding the `context:force_cookies` parameter and setting it to `true` when submitting a scraping job. Web Scraper API will send your custom cookies together with the predefined cookies set and then use them to access the website. If you also want to reuse the same proxy IP address, check out the [proxy sessions](/products/web-scraper-api/features/localization/proxy-location.md#sessions) documentation.

#### Code example

```json
{
    "context": [
        {
            "key": "force_cookies",
            "value": true
        },
        {
            "key": "cookies",
            "value": [
                {
                    "key": "NID",
                    "value": "1234567890"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "source": "universal",
    "url": "https://example.com"
}
```

## HTTP Method

`universal` source uses the `GET` HTTP method by default.

If you need to post data to the target website, you must set the HTTP method to `POST` and provide a Base64-encoded `POST` request body in `context:content`. The example below posts `hello=world` (Base64: `aGVsbG89d29ybGQ=`) to a page that echoes the request back, so you can see the body in the `data` field of the returned content.

#### Code example

```json
{
    "source": "universal",
    "url": "https://httpbin.org/post",
    "context": [
        {
            "key": "http_method",
            "value": "post"
        },
        {
            "key": "content",
            "value": "aGVsbG89d29ybGQ="
        }
    ]
}
```


---

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