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

# Introduction

> Call any website as a structured API

## What is Parse?

Parse turns any website into a structured API you can call over plain HTTP. You build an API once — in the [dashboard](https://parse.bot) or via the API — and then call its typed endpoints from your code, getting clean JSON back. Parse hosts and runs it for you, behind rotating proxies and anti-bot handling, and keeps it working as the site changes.

Endpoints can do more than read. They can **scrape** — search, list, and fetch structured data — and they can **act**: log in, submit forms, and trigger multi-step flows. Anything you could do in a browser can become a typed endpoint.

Most people land here to **call the APIs they've already built**. So that's where we start.

## Calling an API

Every API you build gets a `scraper_id` and one or more named endpoints. Call an endpoint by POSTing to it with your [API key](/authentication):

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api.parse.bot/scraper/{scraper_id}/{endpoint_name} \
  -H "X-API-Key: pmx_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"page": 1}'
```

```json theme={null}
{ "title": "A Light in the Attic", "price": 51.77, "rating": 3 }
```

A successful call returns the endpoint's own JSON. GET endpoints take query-string params instead of a body. You can find an endpoint's exact URL, parameters, and a ready-made code snippet on its page in the dashboard, or by fetching the API's [spec](/quickstart#step-2-poll-for-completion). When a call fails, the HTTP status tells you whose problem it is — see [Errors](/errors).

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/quickstart">
    Call your first endpoint, end to end
  </Card>

  <Card title="Code examples" icon="code" href="/examples">
    Full Python & JavaScript clients
  </Card>

  <Card title="Python SDK" icon="python" iconType="brands" href="/sdk">
    Typed Python clients via the parse CLI
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Building an API

You build APIs two ways:

* **In the dashboard** (most common) — paste a URL, describe what you want, and Parse matches an existing API or builds a new one. You can test endpoints, revise them in plain English, and grab a code snippet, all in the UI. See the [Dashboard guide](/dashboard).
* **Via the API** — `POST /dispatch` with a URL, poll until it's built, then call it. See the [Quickstart](/quickstart).

Either way, the result is the same callable API. You can also start from the **[marketplace](/marketplace)** — thousands of popular sites are already built and free to use.

## What else you can do

* **Manage your APIs** — list (`GET /dispatch/tasks`), inspect (`GET /dispatch/tasks/{id}`), and revise or extend them (`POST /dispatch/tasks/{id}/revise`).
* **Stay current** — pull upstream improvements into your API with the [updates](/updates) flow.
* **Authenticated sites** — build APIs for sites that require login. See [Authenticated APIs](/authenticated-apis).
* **Typed Python clients** — generate fully typed clients for your APIs with the `parse` CLI. See the [Python SDK](/sdk).
* **Export & connect agents** — export any API as OpenAPI 3.1 or MCP tools, or point an AI agent at the hosted [MCP server](/mcp) and get all your APIs as callable tools automatically.

## Base URL & auth

Everything is served from a single host:

```text theme={null}
https://api.parse.bot
```

All endpoints except the public marketplace require your API key in the `X-API-Key` header (keys start with `pmx_`). Create one in the dashboard — see [Authentication](/authentication).

## For AI agents

Parse runs a hosted MCP server at `POST /mcp`. Any MCP-compatible client — Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop — connects with OAuth or an API key and immediately gets the platform tools (search, build, call, revise) plus every one of your APIs as a callable tool. You can also point an agent at `https://parse.bot/llms.txt` for a machine-readable overview.

## Need help?

Reach out any time from the [dashboard](https://parse.bot) — click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner to start a conversation with the team.