Tutorial

How to Scrape Google Maps with cURL

Step-by-step guide to scraping Google Maps search results using cURL and the Scavio API. Get local results, addresses, ratings as structured JSON.

Google Maps contains valuable data — local results, addresses, ratings, review counts, and more. Scraping this data directly means dealing with anti-bot detection, CAPTCHAs, IP rotation, and constantly breaking selectors. The Scavio API handles all of that and returns clean, structured JSON from a single POST request.

This tutorial shows you how to scrape Google Maps using cURL and the Scavio API. By the end, you will have a working cURL script that fetches real-time Google Maps data and parses the results.

Prerequisites

  • A terminal with cURL installed (pre-installed on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+)
  • A Scavio API key (free tier includes 500 credits/month — no credit card required)

Step 1: Install Dependencies

curl is built into cURL, so there is nothing to install.

Bash
# cURL is pre-installed on macOS, Linux, and Windows 10+

Step 2: Make Your First Google Maps Search

Send a POST request to the Scavio Google Maps API endpoint with your query. The API returns structured JSON with local results, addresses, ratings, and more.

Bash
curl -X POST "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: your_scavio_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"coffee shops near me","tbs":"lcl"}'

Step 3: Example Response

The API returns structured JSON. Here is an example response for a Google Maps search:

JSON
{
  "search_metadata": { "status": "success" },
  "local_results": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "title": "Blue Bottle Coffee",
      "address": "450 W 15th St, New York, NY 10011",
      "rating": 4.4,
      "reviews": 892,
      "phone": "(212) 555-0123",
      "hours": "Open until 7 PM",
      "type": "Coffee shop"
    }
  ]
}

Every field is structured and typed — no HTML parsing, no CSS selectors, no regex extraction. Your cURL code can access any field directly.

Step 4: Full Working Example

Here is a complete, runnable cURL script that searches Google Maps and prints the results:

Bash
#!/bin/bash
# Scrape Google Maps search results using Scavio API.
# Returns structured JSON with local results, addresses, ratings, and more.

SCAVIO_API_KEY="${SCAVIO_API_KEY:-your_scavio_api_key}"
QUERY="${1:-coffee shops near me}"

curl -s -X POST "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: $SCAVIO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"coffee shops near me","tbs":"lcl"}' | python3 -m json.tool

Why Use Scavio Instead of Scraping Google Maps Directly?

  • No proxy management. Direct scraping requires rotating proxies to avoid IP bans. Scavio handles all of this server-side.
  • No CAPTCHA solving. Google Maps aggressively blocks automated requests. Scavio returns clean data every time.
  • Structured JSON output. No HTML parsing or CSS selector maintenance. Get typed, consistent data from every request.
  • Multi-platform in one API. Search Google, Amazon, YouTube, and Walmart from the same API key with the same authentication pattern.
  • Free tier included. 500 credits/month with no credit card required. Each search costs 1 credit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scraping publicly available data from Google Maps is generally legal, but you should review Google Maps's Terms of Service. Using the Scavio API avoids the legal gray areas of direct scraping since Scavio handles all data collection through proper channels and returns structured results via API.

Direct scraping of Google Maps requires managing proxies, CAPTCHAs, rate limits, and anti-bot detection. The Scavio API handles all of this for you. Send a POST request with your query and get structured JSON back — no proxy management or browser automation needed.

The Scavio API returns structured JSON with local results, addresses, ratings, review counts, phone numbers, business hours, website URLs. All data is returned in a clean, consistent format that is easy to parse in cURL.

Scavio offers a free tier with 500 credits per month. Each API request costs 1 credit regardless of which platform you search. No credit card required to start. Paid plans start at $30/month for higher volumes.

Scavio returns Google Maps results in 1-3 seconds on average. Results are fetched in real time from Google Maps — there is no caching layer or stale data. Every request returns live results.

Start Scraping Google Maps with cURL

Get your free Scavio API key and start fetching Google Maps data in cURL. 500 free credits/month — no credit card required.