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Overview

One API for crawling, scraping, search, screenshots, and AI extraction. Bearer auth, JSON in, JSON out, optional streaming. Pay per request with credits, or run a flat monthly rate on Unlimited.

QuickstartDeveloper quickstartInstall the SDK, export your API key, and make your first request.3 mins
Request
import requests, json

headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer $SPIDER_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
}

json_data = {"limit":5,"url":"https://example.com"}

response = requests.post('https://api.spider.cloud/crawl', 
  headers=headers, json=json_data, stream=True)

with response as r:
    r.raise_for_status()
    
    buffer = b""

    for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=8192):
        if chunk:
            buffer += chunk
            try:
                data = json.loads(buffer.decode('utf-8'))
                print(data)
                buffer = b""
            except json.JSONDecodeError:
                continue
CrawlFollow links across entire sites. Set depth, limit, and domain scope.
ScrapeFetch a single page as HTML, markdown, text, or structured JSON.
SearchSearch the web and scrape the results in one request.
ScreenshotCapture full-page screenshots with Chrome rendering.
StreamingProcess pages as they finish instead of waiting for the full result.
AI ExtractionExtract structured data from any page using AI or CSS selectors.
Data ConnectorsStream results directly to S3, Google Cloud, Azure Blob, Sheets, or Supabase.
Anti-Bot BypassAutomatic fingerprint rotation, stealth mode, and retry engine to bypass bot protection.
Proxy ModeGeo-routing across residential and ISP proxies in 100+ countries.
Browser CloudFull cloud browsers via CDP WebSocket. Playwright and Puppeteer compatible with stealth, proxies, and recording.
Fetch API (Alpha)AI-configured per-website scrapers. Discovers selectors automatically, caches and reuses.

How it works

Every request runs three stages concurrently. A 500-page crawl typically completes in under 20 seconds. Every response includes a costs object and timing data so you can benchmark it yourself.

01FetchRetrieve the page with HTTP or a headless Chrome session.
02ProcessRender JavaScript, rotate proxies, handle anti-bot challenges.
03DeliverConvert to markdown, HTML, JSON, or bytes and stream back.

API Endpoints

All endpoints accept JSON and return JSON. Authenticate with a Bearer token.

MethodPathDescription
POST/crawlStart from a URL and follow links to discover and fetch multiple pages.
POST/scrapeFetch a single page and return its content in any format.
POST/searchSearch the web and optionally scrape the results.
POST/screenshotCapture a full-page screenshot as base64 PNG.
POST/unlimited/*Scrape, crawl, and links at a flat monthly rate.Unlimited
POST/ai/*Prompt-guided scrape, crawl, search, links, and browser.AI Studio
POST/fetch/{domain}/{path}AI-configured per-website scraper with cached configs. (Alpha)
GET/data/scraper-directoryBrowse optimized scraper configs for popular websites.
HTTPproxy.spider.cloudRoute requests through intelligent residential and ISP proxies.
WSbrowser.spider.cloudConnect a Playwright or Puppeteer client to a cloud browser via CDP.

Unlimited plan

Buy concurrency instead of paying per request. One unit of concurrency is one request in flight, and everything you run through it is covered by the flat monthly rate. Plans start at $40/mo for 2 units and scale to any whole number you need. When every unit is busy, the API answers immediately with 429 and a Retry-After header. Nothing queues, and nothing extra is billed. See the Unlimited reference, pricing, or manage your plan.

/unlimited/scrapeOne page, same parameters as /scrape.
/unlimited/crawlFollow links across a site, same as /crawl.
/unlimited/linksCollect links only, same as /links.

Requests and responses match the standard endpoints, so moving a job onto Unlimited means changing the path and nothing else. Every route also answers at /v1/unlimited/.... AI endpoints stay metered in credits and are billed separately.

AI endpoints

Describe the result you want in a prompt and Spider works out the selectors, pagination, and clicks for you. These routes need an AI Studio plan on the account, and the calls are metered in credits on top of it rather than covered by Unlimited. See AI Studiofor parameters and AI pricingfor per-call rates.

/ai/scrapePull structured fields off a single page from a prompt.
/ai/crawlCrawl a site and extract the same shape from every page.
/ai/searchSearch the web and extract from the results.
/ai/linksFind the links that match what you asked for.
/ai/browserDrive a real browser through steps you describe.
AI Studio plans
Starter$6/mo1 req/s
Lite$30/mo5 req/s
Standard$125/mo10 req/s
Scale$600/mo25 req/s
Enterprise$2,000/moCustom

Every plan includes all five AI routes. The tier sets your rate limit, and credits for each call are billed on top. Start or change one on the AI Studio pricing page.

Request modes

Pick how Spider fetches each page. See Conceptsfor the trade-offs.

smartDefault
Automatically picks between HTTP and Chrome based on the page.
httpFast
Static HTML only. The fastest and cheapest mode.
browserJS / SPA
Full browser rendering. Use for SPAs or bot-protected sites.

Proxy mode

Route any Spider request through proxy.spider.cloud and Spider picks the pool, rotates IPs, and handles geo-routing. Use country_code to target a country and proxy to pick a pool. Works with Crawl, Scrape, Screenshot, Search, and Links. See the Proxy API referencefor pricing.

residentialReal-user IPs across 100+ countries.
ispStable datacenter IPs with the highest throughput.

Browser cloud

Full cloud browsers over a CDP WebSocket at wss://browser.spider.cloud/v1/browser?token=YOUR-API-KEY. Connect Playwright or Puppeteer with connectOverCDP(). Sessions include built-in stealth, proxy rotation, and optional session recording. 100 concurrent browsers on every plan. See the Browser API referenceor grab the spider-browsernpm package.

Credits

Pay-as-you-go usage is measured in credits at $1 per 10,000 credits. Each page has a base cost; Chrome rendering, proxy usage, and AI extraction add on top. Failed requests, timeouts, and blocked pages cost zero. Every response includes a costs object with a per-request breakdown, and the live balance is on the usage page. Requests on Unlimited routes meter no credits at all.

Guides