Convert any URL to HTML

Use attr: 'html' when your consumer needs markup instead of Markdown or plain text. Microlink can fetch the source document, optionally render it in a browser, and expose the resulting HTML through a data field.

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://example.com' URL with 'data' & 'meta' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://example.com&data.html.attr=html

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://example.com" \
  -d "data.html.attr=html" \
  -d "meta=false"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://example.com', {
  data: {
    html: {
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "data.html.attr": "html",
    "meta": "false"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://example.com",
  data.html.attr: "html",
  meta: "false"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://example.com",
    "data.html.attr" => "html",
    "meta" => "false"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://example.com")
    q.Set("data.html.attr", "html")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://example.com', {
  data: {
    html: {
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false
})

Read the HTML document from data.html.

Return HTML directly

Add embed: 'html' when the API URL itself should return HTML:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://example.com' URL with 'data', 'meta' & 'embed' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://example.com&data.html.attr=html&embed=html

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://example.com" \
  -d "data.html.attr=html" \
  -d "meta=false" \
  -d "embed=html"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://example.com', {
  data: {
    html: {
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "data.html.attr": "html",
    "meta": "false",
    "embed": "html"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://example.com",
  data.html.attr: "html",
  meta: "false",
  embed: "html"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://example.com",
    "data.html.attr" => "html",
    "meta" => "false",
    "embed" => "html"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://example.com")
    q.Set("data.html.attr", "html")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    q.Set("embed", "html")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://example.com', {
  data: {
    html: {
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

The response body is HTML and the content type is text/html.

The same request as a raw URL:

https://api.microlink.io?url=https://example.com&data.html.attr=html&meta=false&embed=html

Extract a fragment instead of the full document

Use a selector when you only need one part of the page:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview' URL with 'data', 'meta' & 'embed' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview&data.html.selector=main&data.html.attr=html&embed=html

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview" \
  -d "data.html.selector=main" \
  -d "data.html.attr=html" \
  -d "meta=false" \
  -d "embed=html"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview', {
  data: {
    html: {
      selector: "main",
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview",
    "data.html.selector": "main",
    "data.html.attr": "html",
    "meta": "false",
    "embed": "html"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview",
  data.html.selector: "main",
  data.html.attr: "html",
  meta: "false",
  embed: "html"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview",
    "data.html.selector" => "main",
    "data.html.attr" => "html",
    "meta" => "false",
    "embed" => "html"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview")
    q.Set("data.html.selector", "main")
    q.Set("data.html.attr", "html")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    q.Set("embed", "html")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://microlink.io/docs/api/getting-started/overview', {
  data: {
    html: {
      selector: "main",
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

With a selector, attr: 'html' returns the matched element HTML for the selected page region.

Render JavaScript pages

When the initial HTML is empty because the page is client-rendered, turn on browser rendering and wait for the content wrapper:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://microlink.io' URL with 'data', 'prerender', 'waitForSelector', 'meta' & 'embed' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://microlink.io&data.html.selector=main&data.html.attr=html&prerender&waitForSelector=main&embed=html

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://microlink.io" \
  -d "data.html.selector=main" \
  -d "data.html.attr=html" \
  -d "prerender=true" \
  -d "waitForSelector=main" \
  -d "meta=false" \
  -d "embed=html"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://microlink.io', {
  data: {
    html: {
      selector: "main",
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  prerender: true,
  waitForSelector: "main",
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://microlink.io",
    "data.html.selector": "main",
    "data.html.attr": "html",
    "prerender": "true",
    "waitForSelector": "main",
    "meta": "false",
    "embed": "html"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://microlink.io",
  data.html.selector: "main",
  data.html.attr: "html",
  prerender: "true",
  waitForSelector: "main",
  meta: "false",
  embed: "html"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://microlink.io",
    "data.html.selector" => "main",
    "data.html.attr" => "html",
    "prerender" => "true",
    "waitForSelector" => "main",
    "meta" => "false",
    "embed" => "html"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://microlink.io")
    q.Set("data.html.selector", "main")
    q.Set("data.html.attr", "html")
    q.Set("prerender", "true")
    q.Set("waitForSelector", "main")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    q.Set("embed", "html")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://microlink.io', {
  data: {
    html: {
      selector: "main",
      attr: "html"
    }
  },
  prerender: true,
  waitForSelector: "main",
  meta: false,
  embed: "html"
})

Use prerender only when the page needs browser execution before HTML extraction.

Next step

Use Data extraction: Page preparation for waits, clicks, scrolling, browser settings, and CSS cleanup. Use Convert a PDF URL to HTML when the source URL is a PDF.