Google Scholar contains valuable data -- paper titles, paper URLs, SERP snippets, 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 Scholar using Ruby and the Scavio API. By the end, you will have a working Ruby script that fetches real-time Google Scholar data and parses the results.
Prerequisites
- Ruby installed on your machine
- A Scavio API key (free tier includes 50 credits on signup -- no credit card required)
Step 1: Install Dependencies
Install net/http to make HTTP requests:
# net/http and json are in Ruby's standard libraryStep 2: Make Your First Google Scholar Search
Send a POST request to the Scavio Google Scholar API endpoint with your query. The API returns structured JSON with paper titles, paper URLs, SERP snippets, and more.
# Scavio has no Google Scholar endpoint, so citation counts and author lists are not
# available. This runs a Google web search - narrow it with site:arxiv.org or
# filetype:pdf.
require "net/http"
require "json"
api_key = "sk_live_your_key"
query = "retrieval augmented generation 2024"
uri = URI("https://api.scavio.dev/api/v2/google")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request["Authorization"] = "Bearer #{api_key}"
request["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
request.body = { query: query }.to_json
response = http.request(request)
data = JSON.parse(response.body)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(data)Step 3: Example Response
The API returns structured JSON. Here is an example response for a Google Scholar search:
{
"search_parameters": { "q": "cold brew coffee", "hl": "en", "gl": "us" },
"organic_results": [
{
"position": 1,
"title": "how do you guys make cold brew? : r/Coffee",
"link": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/oi7rm7/how_do_you_guys_make_cold_brew/",
"snippet": "i wanna learn how to make cold brew coffee but theres a lot of ways...",
"source": "Reddit"
}
],
"related_searches": [{ "query": "cold brew ratio", "link": "https://www.google.com/search?q=cold+brew+ratio" }],
"response_time": 2841,
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 4821
}Every field is structured and typed -- no HTML parsing, no CSS selectors, no regex extraction. Your Ruby code can access any field directly.
Step 4: Full Working Example
Here is a complete, runnable Ruby script that searches Google Scholar and prints the results:
require "net/http"
require "json"
# Search Google Scholar data with the Scavio API.
# POST /api/v2/google - rows come back under organic_results.
# Scavio has no Google Scholar endpoint, so citation counts and author lists are not
# available. This runs a Google web search - narrow it with site:arxiv.org or
# filetype:pdf.
API_URL = "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v2/google"
def search_google_scholar(query)
api_key = ENV.fetch("SCAVIO_API_KEY")
uri = URI(API_URL)
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request["Authorization"] = "Bearer #{api_key}"
request["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
request.body = { query: query }.to_json
response = http.request(request)
raise "Scavio API error: #{response.code}" unless response.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
JSON.parse(response.body)
end
data = search_google_scholar("retrieval augmented generation 2024")
puts JSON.pretty_generate(data)Why Use Scavio Instead of Scraping Google Scholar Directly?
- No proxy management. Direct scraping requires rotating proxies to avoid IP bans. Scavio handles all of this server-side.
- No CAPTCHA solving. Google Scholar 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. 50 credits on signup with no credit card required. Each search costs 1 credit.