# API Parameters

In order to customise the response from the Google API, you have to pass certain query parameters to your request. As we discussed in the [*Getting Started*](/google-search-api/getting-started.md) section, the Google API supports multiple search types. Because each type has its own particularities, the Google API has two sets of parameters:

* **General parameters**, applicable to any of the search engines
* **Search type specific parameters**, applicable to specific search engines

We will cover the General parameters here and present the specific ones in the sections dedicated to each search engine.

### Google API General Parameters

<table><thead><tr><th width="182">Parameter</th><th width="148" align="center">Type</th><th>Description </th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code>api_key</code> <br> <mark style="color:red;background-color:red;">Required</mark> </td><td align="center"><code>string</code></td><td>Specify your unique <a href="/pages/gQS2pzDn8tldtEL5y1PH#the-api-key">API key</a> to authenticate with the API. Your API key can be found in your account dashboard.</td></tr><tr><td><code>engine</code><br> <mark style="color:red;background-color:red;">Required</mark> </td><td align="center"><code>string</code></td><td>The engine of the API. Check each <a href="/pages/xBH8gGRMhuOZJ7sliEhc">Search Type</a>'s engine on the designated page. </td></tr></tbody></table>


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.webscrapingapi.com/google-search-api/getting-started/api-parameters.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.