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The fastest way to build an API is in the dashboard. You paste a URL, Parse builds the API, and you test and revise it visually before wiring it into your app. This guide walks the full UI flow.

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1. Create a new API

Click + New in the top-left of the nav. Paste the URL you want data from, describe what you need, and Parse either matches an existing API or builds a new one.
New API submission modal
The Contribute to marketplace toggle controls whether your API stays linked to the shared canonical for its domain:
  • On (default) — the build is free, and your API stays in sync with the canonical so you can pull upstream improvements.
  • Off — a fully private, desynced API. This build is charged, and the choice is permanent.
Builds typically take ~60 seconds. You’ll watch progress live, and the API lands in My APIs.

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2. Or start from an existing one

Thousands of sites are already built. Open Discover to search the marketplace and fork or subscribe to an existing API instead of building from scratch.
Marketplace discover page

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3. Test endpoints in the browser

Open any API to see its endpoints. Pick one, fill in the parameters, and hit Send request to run it live and see the real response — no code required. This is the quickest way to confirm an endpoint returns what you expect.
API detail with endpoint tester and revision bar

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4. Revise in plain English

Not quite right? Use the revision bar at the bottom of any API page. Describe the change — “add a search-by-category endpoint”, “include the publish date in get_paper” — and Parse revises the API for you. Mention a specific endpoint with @. Revisions run the same way a build does; the scraper_id stays the same.

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5. Grab a code snippet

Once it works, scroll to Now plug it in. Copy a ready-to-run snippet — cURL, Python, TypeScript, an MCP config, or the OpenAPI spec — with your API’s real URL and IDs already filled in.
Code snippets: cURL, Python, TypeScript, MCP, OpenAPI
The snippet calls the same execution endpoint documented throughout these docs: 
POST https://api.parse.bot/scraper/{scraper_id}/{endpoint_name}

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Next steps

Quickstart

Call your endpoints from code, end to end

Code examples

Full Python & JavaScript clients

Updates

Pull upstream improvements into your API

MCP Server

Connect an AI agent to all your APIs