> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lobstr.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# lobstr.io API Documentation

> The most powerful and easy-to-use data collection API. 55+ ready-made crawlers, simple REST endpoints, structured JSON output.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Quick Start" icon="bolt" href="/docs/authentication">
    Get your API key and make your first request in minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="55+ Crawlers" icon="spider-web" href="/docs/list-crawlers">
    Google Maps, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and more — ready to use.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Python SDK" icon="python" href="/docs/sdk">
    Typed models, auto-pagination, sync and async clients.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Core Concepts

The lobstr.io API is built around three primitives:

* **Squid** — a configured scraper instance tied to a crawler and your settings
* **Task** — a URL or keyword the squid will scrape
* **Run** — a single execution of a squid against its tasks

A typical workflow:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Authenticate">
    Include `Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY` in every request. Get your key from the [dashboard](https://app.lobstr.io/dashboard/api).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a squid">
    Pick a crawler (e.g. `google-maps-leads-scraper`) and create a squid with your settings.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add tasks">
    Add URLs or keywords as tasks to the squid.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start a run">
    Trigger a run and poll for completion.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get results">
    Fetch structured JSON results from `GET /v1/results`.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Developer Tools

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Python SDK" icon="python" href="/docs/sdk">
    `pip install lobstrio-sdk`
  </Card>

  <Card title="CLI" icon="terminal" href="/docs/cli">
    `pip install lobstrio`
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Server" icon="robot" href="/docs/mcp">
    Connect Claude or Cursor to the docs.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>