SerpAPI Controlled First Search

Overview

Prove authentication, transport, search status, and schema handling with one bounded query and a redacted receipt.

Prerequisites

• An official SerpAPI client already installed
• SERPAPI_KEY loaded from an approved server-side secret store
• A harmless query, expected locale, allowance owner, and live-call approval

Tool Discipline

Use Read, Glob, and Grep to inspect local setup, WebFetch to verify current Google Search parameters, Write or Edit for the smoke-test code and redacted receipt, and Bash(python3:*) or Bash(npm:*) only to run the approved check.

Current Contract

Google Search uses engine=google and query parameter q. JSON responses expose search_metadata.status, a search ID, search parameters, and optional result sections. A successful search may legitimately contain no organic results.