Basic Search

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&type=search"

Parameters:

q - Search query (required)
type - Search type: search (default), news, images, videos
engine - Search engine: google (default), bing, yahoo, duckduckgo
google_domain - Google domain: google.com, google.co.jp, etc.
gl - Country: us, jp, uk, de, etc.
hl - Language: en, ja, de, fr, etc.
num - Number of results (default: 10)
start - Pagination offset (default: 0)
safe - Safe search: active, off
filter - Filter results: 0 (all), 1 (filter similar)
tbm - Specific search: isch (images), vid (videos), nws (news)
tbs - Advanced search operators (date range, etc.)

News Search

Google News

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&type=search&tbm=nws"

Time-Based News:

# Past hour
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:h"

# Past 24 hours
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:d"

# Past week
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:w"

# Past month
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:m"

# Past year
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:y"

Advanced Search

Date Range Search:

# Specific date range (CDATE: YYYY-MM-DD)
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:2025-01-01,cd_max:2025-12-31"

File Type Search:

# PDF files
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}&api_key={apiKey}&tbs=ift:pdf"

# Specific site
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}+site:docs.anthropic.com&api_key={apiKey}"

Exact Phrase:

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=\"exact phrase\"&api_key={apiKey}"

Exclude Words:

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={query}+-{exclude}&api_key={apiKey}"

OR Search:

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q={term1}+OR+{term2}&api_key={apiKey}"

Response Format

{
  "search_metadata": {
    "id": "search_id",
    "status": "Success",
    "created_at": "2026-02-01 00:00:00 UTC",
    "total_time_taken": 1.23,
    "request_url": "https://...",
    "google_url": "https://..."
  },
  "search_parameters": {
    "q": "search query",
    "engine": "google",
    "google_domain": "google.com"
  },
  "search_information": {
    "total_results": 1000000,
    "time_taken": 0.45
  },
  "organic_results": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "title": "Page Title",
      "link": "https://example.com",
      "snippet": "Page description...",
      "date": "Feb 1, 2026"
    }
  ],
  "answer_box": {...},
  "people_also_ask": [...],
  "related_questions": [...],
  "knowledge_graph": {...}
}

Usage Examples

Search for Latest LLM Versions

# Claude latest version
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=Claude+4+latest+version+2026&api_key={apiKey}&gl=us&hl=en" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

# GPT-5 release date
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=GPT-5+release+date&api_key={apiKey}" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

# Gemini 2 Pro updates
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=Gemini+2+Pro+updates+2026&api_key={apiKey}" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

Tech Trends & Libraries

# Latest Python features
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=Python+3.14+new+features&api_key={apiKey}" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

# React 19 changes
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=React+19+changes+2026&api_key={apiKey}" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

# OpenAI API changelog
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=OpenAI+API+changelog+2026&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:w" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

Japanese Search

# Japanese results
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=AIエージェント最新情報&api_key={apiKey}&gl=jp&hl=ja&google_domain=google.co.jp" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

Competitive Research

# Search specific company
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=OpenAI+competitors+2026&api_key={apiKey}" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

# AI industry news (past week)
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=AI+industry&api_key={apiKey}&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:w" | jq '.organic_results[:5]'

Helper Scripts

Quick Search

#!/bin/bash
# ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh

API_KEY=$(cat ~/.clawdbot/serpapi-config.json | jq -r '.apiKey')
QUERY="${1:-AI news}"

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=$(printf '%s' "$QUERY" | jq -sRr @uri)&api_key=$API_KEY&num=10" \
  | jq '.organic_results[] | {position, title, link, snippet}'

News Search (Past 24h)

#!/bin/bash
# ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search_news_24h.sh

API_KEY=$(cat ~/.clawdbot/serpapi-config.json | jq -r '.apiKey')
QUERY="${1:-AI}"

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=$(printf '%s' "$QUERY" | jq -sRr @uri)&api_key=$API_KEY&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:d&num=10" \
  | jq '.organic_results[] | {position, title, link, date, snippet}'

Japanese Search

#!/bin/bash
# ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search_ja.sh

API_KEY=$(cat ~/.clawdbot/serpapi-config.json | jq -r '.apiKey')
QUERY="${1:-AI}"

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=$(printf '%s' "$QUERY" | jq -sRr @uri)&api_key=$API_KEY&gl=jp&hl=ja&google_domain=google.co.jp&num=10" \
  | jq '.organic_results[]'

Latest LLM Info

#!/bin/bash
# ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search_llm.sh

API_KEY=$(cat ~/.clawdbot/serpapi-config.json | jq -r '.apiKey')
QUERY="${1:-Claude 4}"

curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?q=$(printf '%s' "$QUERY" | jq -sRr @uri)+latest+version+2026&api_key=$API_KEY&gl=us&hl=en&num=5" \
  | jq '.organic_results[] | {title, link, snippet}'

Country & Language Codes

Google Domains

google.com - US (default)
google.co.jp - Japan
google.co.uk - United Kingdom
google.de - Germany
google.fr - France

Country Codes (gl)

us - United States
jp - Japan
uk - United Kingdom
de - Germany
fr - France

Language Codes (hl)

en - English
ja - Japanese
de - German
fr - French
es - Spanish

Time-Based Search Operators (tbs)

qdr:h - Past hour
qdr:d - Past 24 hours
qdr:w - Past week
qdr:m - Past month
qdr:y - Past year
cdr:1,cd_min:YYYY-MM-DD,cd_max:YYYY-MM-DD - Custom date range

Use Cases for OpenClaw

Real-Time Information Gathering

# Check latest LLM API pricing
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh "OpenAI API pricing 2026"

# Check if a library version is outdated
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh "React 19 release date"

# Verify breaking changes
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh "Python 3.14 breaking changes"

Competitive Intelligence

# Latest AI startup funding
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search_news_24h.sh "AI startup funding"

# New AI tools released
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search_news_24h.sh "new AI tool launch"

Technical Problem Solving

# Find recent solutions
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh "Node.js memory leak 2026"

# Check if others have the same issue
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/serpapi/scripts/search.sh "error code 0x80070005 Windows 11"

Rate Limits

Check your SerpAPI plan for specific limits:

Free plan: 100 searches/month
Paid plans: Higher limits available

Notes

SerpAPI provides real-time Google search results
Results are always fresh (no caching by default)
Supports multiple search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo)
Can extract structured data (knowledge graph, answer boxes, etc.)
Useful for LLMs to access current web information

Comparison with Brave Search API

Feature	SerpAPI	Brave Search API
Source	Google results	Brave index
Freshness	Real-time	Real-time
Privacy	Standard Google	Privacy-focused
Coverage	Google's index	Brave's independent index
Cost	Free tier available	Free tier available
Use case	Latest trends, Google-specific results	Privacy-focused search

Both APIs complement each other - use SerpAPI for Google-specific results and maximum coverage, use Brave Search for privacy-focused alternative search.

serpapi

SerpAPI - Google Search API

Configuration

API Endpoints

Google Search