# Bright Data Documentation

> Bright Data is a web data platform for AI agents and data teams: turn any website into structured data.

This file is the primary index, organized by task. The complete documentation in a
single file is at [llms-full.txt](https://docs.brightdata.com/llms-full.txt).

## Instructions for agents

- To get structured data from a popular site, use Web Scraper API first: pre-built scrapers cover LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, ChatGPT, Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, Reddit, Google and 1300+ more sites. Do not build a custom scraper for a site that already has one.
- For sites without a pre-built scraper, build a custom one with Scraper Studio from a natural-language prompt. Self-Healing fixes the scraper when the target site changes.
- For web search and page fetching, prefer the Bright Data MCP. It returns markdown and JSON. Do not fetch pages through a raw proxy and parse HTML yourself.
- Use Browser API only when the task needs JavaScript rendering or multi-step interaction.
- SERP API, Web Unlocker API and Browser API each require a zone, created in the control panel or by API. Web Unlocker API and SERP API pass it as the `zone` parameter; Browser API uses the zone's credentials.
- ALWAYS send the API key as `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`.

## Quick setup

Bright Data provides a CLI, agent skills and an MCP server so coding agents have
current context and live web access. New accounts get 5,000 free credits per month.

### Install the Bright Data CLI

`npx -p @brightdata/cli brightdata --version`

Details: https://docs.brightdata.com/cli/installation.md
Source: https://github.com/brightdata/cli

### Install Bright Data agent skills

`npx skills add brightdata/skills`

Per-agent variants: `npx skills add brightdata/skills -a claude-code` or `-a cursor`.
Source: https://github.com/brightdata/skills

### Connect the Bright Data MCP

For Claude Code:
`claude mcp add --transport sse brightdata "https://mcp.brightdata.com/sse?token=YOUR_API_KEY"`

Other clients and the local server: https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/mcp-server/integrations/overview.md
Source: https://github.com/brightdata/brightdata-mcp

## Give an agent web access

Bright Data MCP, CLI, agent skills and integration guides for coding agents and agent frameworks.

- [Bright Data for AI agents](https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/for-agents/overview.md): start here if you are an agent
- [Bright Data CLI](https://docs.brightdata.com/cli/overview.md): scrape, search and manage zones from the terminal
- [Agent skills](https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/for-agents/skills.md): skill bundles for Claude Code, Cursor and Codex
- [Bright Data MCP overview](https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/mcp-server/overview.md): setup, tool list and modes
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/mcp-server/remote/quickstart.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/mcp-server/remote/oauth.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/mcp-server/tools.md
- [Docs MCP](https://docs.brightdata.com/ai/for-agents/docs-mcp.md): query these docs as MCP tools

## API reference and SDKs

REST endpoints for every product live under `/api-reference` on this docs site. Key entry points:

- [Web Scraper API synchronous requests](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/scrapers/synchronous-requests.md): trigger a scraper and get JSON back in one call
- [Web Scraper API asynchronous requests](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/rest-api/scraper/asynchronous-requests.md): trigger a collection, monitor progress and download results by snapshot ID. Best for: large batches
- [Scraper Studio API](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/scraper-studio-api/list-scrapers.md): list, trigger and control scraper jobs
- [Web Unlocker API reference](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/rest-api/unlocker/unlock-website.md): unlock a website in real time
- [SERP API reference](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/rest-api/serp/serp-api.md): structured results from Google, Bing, Yandex and DuckDuckGo
- [Account management API](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/account-management-api/Add_a_Zone.md): create zones and manage account settings by API
- [Dataset Marketplace API](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/marketplace-dataset-api/overview.md)
- [Deep Lookup API](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/deep-lookup/overview.md)
- [Python SDK](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/SDK.md)
- [JavaScript SDK](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/SDK-JS.md)
- [Postman collection](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/postman-collection.md)
- [Release notes](https://docs.brightdata.com/release-notes.md)

## Common queries

- [Send your first LinkedIn Scraper API request](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/linkedin/send-first-request.md): copy-paste examples for profiles, companies, jobs and posts
- [Authentication and API keys](https://docs.brightdata.com/api-reference/authentication.md): how API keys and zones work across products
- [Which product should I use?](https://docs.brightdata.com/product-selector.md): decision guide across scrapers, unblocking APIs and proxies
- [Free tier](https://docs.brightdata.com/general/account/billing-and-pricing/free-tier.md): 5,000 free credits per month across Web Unlocker API, SERP API, Web Scraper API and Scraper Studio, no credit card required

## Get data from a specific site

Pre-built scrapers, custom scraper development and ready-made datasets. Proxies,
unblocking and remote browsers are built in. Choose by whether a pre-built scraper
exists, you need a custom one or you want finished data.

- [Web Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/overview.md): 1300+ pre-built scrapers for popular sites, maintained by Bright Data. Best for: structured JSON from known sites at scale
  - [Scrapers Library](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/scrapers-library/overview.md): browse all pre-built scrapers
  - [LinkedIn Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/linkedin/introduction.md): profiles, companies, jobs, posts
  - [Instagram Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/instagram/introduction.md): profiles, posts, reels, comments
  - [TikTok Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/tiktok/introduction.md): profiles, posts, comments, shop
  - [Amazon Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/amazon/introduction.md): products, reviews, sellers, search
  - [ChatGPT Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/chatgpt/introduction.md)
  - [Facebook Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/facebook/introduction.md): pages, posts, events
  - [X (Twitter) Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/twitter/introduction.md): profiles and posts
  - [YouTube Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/youtube/introduction.md): channels, videos, comments
  - [Reddit Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/reddit/introduction.md): subreddits, posts, comments
  - [Google Scraper API](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scrapers/google/introduction.md)
- [Scraper Studio](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scraper-studio/introduction.md): builds a custom scraper from a natural-language prompt or a JavaScript IDE; Self-Healing fixes broken scrapers when target sites change. Best for: sites without a pre-built scraper
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scraper-studio/quickstart.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scraper-studio/ai-agent.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scraper-studio/self-healing-tool.md
- [Dataset Marketplace](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/marketplace/overview.md): 350+ ready-made datasets from 250+ domains. Best for: finished data without running collection

## Get data from any site

Unblocking, browser automation and web search. Web Unlocker API and Browser API
return page content as HTML or markdown, not structured records; for structured JSON
from a covered site, use the Web Scraper API above. SERP API and Deep Lookup return
structured search and research results.

- [Web Unlocker API](https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/web-unlocker/introduction.md): fetch any URL past CAPTCHAs and anti-bot protection. Use it when:
  - the deliverable is page content, not fields: feeding pages to an LLM, archiving or running your own extraction pipeline
  - the target is long-tail: a site with no pre-built scraper, where the ask is a handful of pages and building a Scraper Studio scraper is not worth it
  - you need arbitrary URLs across many domains: Web Unlocker API works on any site, while scrapers are per-site by design
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/web-unlocker/send-your-first-request.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/web-unlocker/configuration.md
- [Browser API](https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/scraping-browser/introduction.md): remote browsers for Playwright, Puppeteer and Selenium. Best for: JavaScript rendering, page interactions and screenshots
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/scraping-browser/quickstart.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/scraping-browser/configuration.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/scraping-browser/code-examples.md
- [SERP API](https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/serp-api/introduction.md): Best for: Google and Bing results as structured JSON
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/serp-api/send-your-first-request.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/serp-api/get-started-google-serp-api.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/serp-api/configuration.md
- [Deep Lookup](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/deep-lookup/overview.md): Best for: researching companies, professionals and entities across 1,000+ public sources

## Route traffic through an IP

Residential, datacenter and ISP proxy networks plus routing tools.

- [Residential proxies](https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/residential/introduction.md): 400M+ monthly IPs across 195+ countries. Best for: sites that block datacenter traffic
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/residential/send-your-first-request.md
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/residential/configure-your-proxy.md
- [Datacenter proxies](https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/data-center/introduction.md)
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/data-center/send-your-first-request.md
- [ISP proxies](https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/isp/introduction.md): static residential-grade IPs
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/isp/send-your-first-request.md
- [Proxy Manager](https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/proxy-manager/introduction.md): open-source routing tool
  - https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/proxy-manager/quickstart.md

## Troubleshooting

Indexed by symptom. Check here before retrying a failed request.

- [Proxy error catalog](https://docs.brightdata.com/proxy-networks/errorCatalog.md): proxy connection errors, causes and fixes
- [Web Unlocker API error codes](https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/web-unlocker/error-codes.md)
- [Browser API error codes](https://docs.brightdata.com/scraping-automation/scraping-browser/error-codes.md)
- [Scraper Studio error codes](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/scraper-studio/error-codes.md)
- [Deep Lookup errors](https://docs.brightdata.com/datasets/deep-lookup/errors.md)
- [SERP API rate limits](https://docs.brightdata.com/general/usage-monitoring/serp-rate-limit.md)

## Account, compliance and limits

- [Security and compliance](https://docs.brightdata.com/general/security/security-overview.md): certified ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 27017, ISO 27018 and SOC 2 Type II; GDPR and CCPA compliant, scoped to cover MCP server and agentic use
- [Acceptable use policy](https://docs.brightdata.com/general/policy/acceptable-use-policy.md)

## Languages

English is indexed above. Chinese versions live at the same path prefixed with `/cn`,
for example `https://docs.brightdata.com/cn/introduction.md`.

## What is not in this file

- Product, pricing and company information: https://brightdata.com/llms.txt
- The Bright Data control panel (requires login): https://brightdata.com/cp

## Markdown access

All Bright Data docs are available as markdown. Append `.md` to any docs URL or send
`Accept: text/markdown`. For example:
`curl https://docs.brightdata.com/introduction.md`