ScraperAPI: params must come before the url param, and sticky sessions expire after 15 idle minutes

TL;DR

Two ScraperAPI URL details that break scrapers silently.

Fix

1. Two ScraperAPI URL details that break scrapers silently. Expected: you can confirm this matches your situation.

When to use

• You are setting up or using this ScraperAPI feature.
• The symptom matches: params must come before the url param, and sticky sessions expire after 15 idle minutes.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated ScraperAPI issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against ScraperAPI.

Variant phrasings

params must come before the url param, and sticky sessions expire after 15 idle minutes

Why it happens

ScraperAPI docs (via omhqcx/scraperapi-php-integration and qxinmmcc/scraperapi-python-integration README summaries): always put ScraperAPI parameters BEFORE the url parameter in the query string - parameters after the target URL can collide with the target site's own query strings and produce a malformed request. Also: sticky sessions via sessionnumber expire 15 minutes after last use, and any integer is a valid session ID (e.g. sessionnumber=42 keeps the same proxy IP across paginated requests).

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Matched source

Source: Source: https://github.com/omhqcx/scraperapi-php-integration/blob/HEAD/README.md Original query: "ScraperAPI: params must come before the url param, and sticky sessions expire after 15 idle minutes" Key terms: after, before, come, expire, idle, minutes, must, param, params, scraperapi, sessions, sticky

Source: ScraperAPI docs (via omhqcx/scraperapi-php-integration and qxinmmcc/scraperapi-python-integration README summaries): always put ScraperAPI parameters BEFORE the url parameter in the query string - parameters after the target URL can collide with the target site's own query strings and produce a malformed request. Also: sticky sessions via sessionnumber expire 15 minutes after last use, and any integer is a valid session ID (e.g. sessionnumber=42 keeps the same proxy IP across paginated requests).

Verified resolution: Two ScraperAPI URL details that break scrapers silently. One: ScraperAPI params must come before the url param in the query string - anything after the target URL risks colliding with the target's own query params and malforming the request. Two: session_number gives you a sticky proxy IP across paginated or multi-step flows, but the session expires 15 minutes after last use, so a long pause between requests quietly moves you to a fresh IP. Any integer works as the ID; refresh the session by reusing the number.

Source URL: https://github.com/omhqcx/scraperapi-php-integration/blob/HEAD/README.md