JSON Restrictor

Use json_restrictor to request only the JSON fields your workflow needs.

JSON Restrictor is a SerpApi request parameter that limits the JSON response to selected fields before the response is returned to your Python code. Use it for AI workflows, RAG ingestion, reports, and production jobs that only need a narrow subset of a large engine response.

SerpApi supports json_restrictor for all engines. The Python client forwards the selector string with the rest of your search parameters. See the SerpApi JSON Restrictor documentation for the full selector reference.

Select a Top-Level Section

Return only organic_results:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    location="Austin, Texas",
    json_restrictor="organic_results",
)

for result in results.get("organic_results", []):
    print(result.get("title"))

Select Fields From Each Result

Use [] to apply a selector to every item in an array. Use a subquery to keep multiple fields from each object:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    location="Austin, Texas",
    json_restrictor="organic_results[].{title, link, snippet}",
)

for result in results.get("organic_results", []):
    print(result["title"], result["link"])

The response still uses the normal SerpApi JSON shape, but each matching result only contains the selected fields.

Select One Item or a Slice

Use an array index when you only need one item:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    json_restrictor="organic_results[0]",
)

first_result = results["organic_results"][0]
print(first_result["title"])

Use a half-open array slice when you need a fixed number of items:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    json_restrictor="organic_results[0:3]",
)

organic_results[0:3] keeps indexes 0, 1, and 2.

Combine Multiple Selectors

Separate selectors with commas when your workflow needs more than one part of the response:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    location="Austin, Texas",
    json_restrictor="local_map, organic_results[0]",
)

print(results.get("local_map", {}).get("gps_coordinates"))
print(results["organic_results"][0]["title"])

Nested Fields

Selectors can keep nested values while dropping the surrounding fields you do not use:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    json_restrictor="organic_results[].{title, sitelinks.inline[].link}",
)

This is useful when downstream code only needs a compact list of titles and related links.

Common Selector Patterns

Need	json_restrictor
One top-level section	organic_results
First organic result	organic_results[0]
First three organic results	organic_results[0:3]
One field from every result	organic_results[].title
Multiple fields from every result	organic_results[].{title, snippet}
Nested fields	organic_results[].{title, sitelinks.inline[].link}
Multiple response sections	local_map, organic_results[0]

Practical Guidance

• Start without json_restrictor, inspect the response shape, then add selectors for the fields your workflow actually needs.
• Keep selectors close to the engine response you tested. Different engines expose different result sections and field names.
• If you plan to call next_page() or yield_pages(), include serpapi_pagination in the selector so the client can find the next-page URL.
• If you need a search ID, status, or archive metadata, include search_metadata.

For paginated collection, keep both the fields you want and the pagination metadata:

results = client.search(
    engine="google",
    q="coffee",
    location="Austin, Texas",
    json_restrictor="organic_results[].{title, link}, serpapi_pagination",
)

for page in results.yield_pages(max_pages=3):
    for result in page.get("organic_results", []):
        print(result["title"], result["link"])