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This guide makes a single GET request with the ZenRows Python SDK: create a client, send the request, read the response.
Haven’t installed the SDK yet? Follow Installation first.

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Basic usage

1

Create a client

Import ZenRowsClient and instantiate it with your API key:
from zenrows import ZenRowsClient

client = ZenRowsClient("YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY")
2

Send a GET request

Call client.get() with the URL you want to scrape:
from zenrows import ZenRowsClient

client = ZenRowsClient("YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY")
url = "https://www.scrapingcourse.com/ecommerce/"

response = client.get(url)

print(response.text)
response is a standard requests.Response object.
See The Response Object for everything available on it.
3

Add request parameters

Pass a params dictionary to enable Universal Scraper API features like JavaScript rendering or Premium Proxies:
from zenrows import ZenRowsClient

client = ZenRowsClient("YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY")
url = "https://www.scrapingcourse.com/ecommerce/"

response = client.get(url, params={
    "js_render": True,
    "premium_proxy": True,
    "proxy_country": "us",
})

print(response.text)
params accepts every parameter documented in the Universal Scraper API setup guide, including autoparse, css_extractor, wait_for, block_resources, and outputs. They all work exactly the same way through the SDK.
4

Check the result

Since the SDK doesn’t raise an exception on non-2xx responses, always check the status before using the content:
if response.ok:
    print(response.text)
else:
    print(f"Request failed with status {response.status_code}: {response.text}")
See Error Handling and Retries for how to configure automatic retries so you don’t have to handle every transient failure manually.

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Troubleshooting

  • response.status_code is 401 or similar auth error: Double-check your API key was copied correctly from the ZenRows Request Builder with no extra whitespace. See AUTH002.
  • response.text is empty or looks like an error page, not the target site: The target likely needs js_render=True and/or premium_proxy=True. See REQS002.
  • Request hangs for a long time: Pass a timeout keyword argument, e.g. client.get(url, timeout=60). We recommend not going below 3 minutes for protected sites using js_render.
  • 429 Too Many Requests: You’ve hit your plan’s concurrency or rate limit. See Async Requests and Concurrency.

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Pricing

Cost depends on the params you send, not on the SDK itself:
ConfigurationCost multiplier vs. basic
Basic request (no js_render/premium_proxy)1x
js_render=True5x
premium_proxy=True10x
js_render=True + premium_proxy=True25x
Only successful requests are billed. See ZenRows Pricing for exact per-plan rates.

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

No, params is optional. client.get(url) alone works for public pages with no anti-bot protection.
By design, the SDK returns the requests.Response object even for error status codes. Check response.ok or call response.raise_for_status() yourself. See Error Handling and Retries.
Yes. Create one ZenRowsClient instance and call .get()/.post()/.put() on it as many times as needed; there’s no need to recreate it per request.

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What’s next

POST and PUT Requests

Submit forms or data payloads.

Async Requests and Concurrency

Scrape many URLs in parallel.

Custom Headers

Forward specific headers to the target site.