# Google autocomplete

> What Google suggests as someone types: about 15 completions of a partial search, best first.

- **Request:** `GET https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/google/autocomplete`
- **Auth:** `x-api-key` header ([get a free key](https://lurkapi.com/login?next=/dashboard))
- **Cost:** 1 credit per call. Validation errors, `401`/`402`/`429` rejections and `5xx` failures are free; `not_found` is charged ([how charging works](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#credits)).
- **MCP tool:** `google_autocomplete` on `https://api.lurkapi.com/mcp`
- **Freshness:** responses are cached for up to 6 hours
- **Try it live:** https://lurkapi.com/docs/google/autocomplete#try (no signup)
- **Platform:** [Google](https://lurkapi.com/docs/google.md) (google.com)
- **Web page:** https://lurkapi.com/docs/google/autocomplete

## When to use this

Use it for keyword research (what people search around a term) or to build search-as-you-type. Pass what's typed so far as `query`; `region` and `language` pick the market, US English by default.

These are the suggestions Chrome's address bar shows. Most are searches (`type` query); some are websites (`navigation`, with the URL in `value`) or instant answers (`calculator`: `= 4` for `2+2`). An unusual query can have none.

## Parameters

All parameters go in the query string.

| Name | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `query` | string | yes |  |  | What's typed so far, e.g. `best coff`. | `best coff` |
| `region` | string | no | `US` |  | Suggestions for searchers in this country: a 2-letter code (US, GB, DE…). |  |
| `language` | string | no | `en` |  | The searchers' language, e.g. `en`, `de` or `pt-BR`. |  |

## Example request

Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with your key, or set `LURKAPI_KEY` for the code. [Get a free key](https://lurkapi.com/login?next=/dashboard).

curl:

```bash
curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/google/autocomplete?query=best+coff" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

JavaScript:

```js
const params = new URLSearchParams({
  query: "best coff",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/google/autocomplete?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.LURKAPI_KEY },
});
const data = await res.json();
if (!data.success) throw new Error(`${data.code}: ${data.error}`);
console.log(data.suggestions);
```

Python:

```python
import os
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/google/autocomplete",
    params={
        "query": "best coff",
    },
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["LURKAPI_KEY"]},
    timeout=60,
)
data = res.json()
if not data["success"]:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{data['code']}: {data['error']}")
print(data["suggestions"])
```

## Example response

A real response from this endpoint, captured from the live API and trimmed to a couple of items. Strings over 96 characters (mostly signed media URLs) are cut short and end in `…`.

200 OK (application/json):

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "credits_remaining": 999999,
  "credits_charged": 1,
  "suggestions": [
    {
      "value": "best coffee",
      "type": "query",
      "title": null
    },
    {
      "value": "best coffee near me",
      "type": "query",
      "title": null
    }
  ]
}
```

## Response fields

Every field of a successful response. `[]` marks a list: `a[].b` is the `b` of each item in `a`. **nullable** fields can be `null`; **optional** fields can be missing.

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `success` | `true` | Always true here; errors have `success: false`. |
| `credits_remaining` | `number` | Your balance after this call. On anonymous playground calls: free tries left today. |
| `credits_charged` | `number` | Credits this call cost; 0 on free endpoints. On anonymous playground calls: tries used (1). |
| `suggestions` | `object[]` | Google's suggestions, best first: usually 15, plus an instant answer when there is one. Empty when Google has none. |
| `suggestions[].value` | `string` | The suggestion: a search, a URL (`navigation`) or Google's answer (`calculator`). |
| `suggestions[].type` | `string` | What it is: `query` (a search), `navigation` (a website) or `calculator` (an instant answer). Others are rare. |
| `suggestions[].title` | `string`, nullable | The page's title for `navigation`, `Calculator` for answers; null for searches. |

## Caching and freshness

Responses are cached for up to 6 hours, so a repeat call within that window can return the same data. It still costs 1 credit.

## Errors

Errors return `{ success: false, error, code, docs }` with the HTTP status below. Validation errors, `401`/`402`/`429` rejections and `5xx` failures are free; `not_found` is charged ([how charging works](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#credits)). [All error codes](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#errors).

| Status | Code | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 401 | `missing_api_key` | No API key. Send it in the `x-api-key` header. |
| 401 | `invalid_api_key` | The key is unknown or was revoked. |
| 402 | `insufficient_credits` | Not enough credits for this call. Buy a pack or wait for tomorrow's top-up. |
| 403 | `account_suspended` | This account is suspended. Contact support@lurkapi.com. Never charged. |
| 405 | `method_not_allowed` | Endpoints take GET with query params. |
| 429 | `rate_limited` | Too many calls at once. Wait for the `retry-after` seconds, then retry. |
| 500 | `internal_error` | Something broke on our side. Retry; 5xx errors are free. |
| 502 | `upstream_error` | The platform didn't give a usable answer. Retry; 5xx errors are free. |
| 503 | `upstream_busy` | All our connections to the platform are busy. Retry in a few seconds; 5xx errors are free. |
| 504 | `upstream_timeout` | The platform took over 30 seconds to answer (90 for web pages). Retry; timeouts are free. |

## Use it in Claude

Once LurkAPI is [connected to Claude](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#claude), this endpoint is the `google_autocomplete` tool. Ask in plain English, for example:

Ask Claude:

```text
Use LurkAPI's google_autocomplete with query "best coff" and summarize what you find.
```

Claude calls `google_autocomplete` with arguments like these, and each call costs 1 credit:

Tool arguments:

```json
{
  "query": "best coff"
}
```

Tool results are compact to save tokens: no nulls or empty lists, one URL per image or video, transcripts as plain text unless you pass `timestamps=true`. A result over 45,000 characters comes in parts: its `_note` gives the `offset` for the rest, and later parts are free for 15 minutes. `trim=false` returns the full response.

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