Dataify API Best Practices

Dataify API Best Practices

Use this narrow developer Skill when integration correctness is the deliverable. Start with integration-contract.md, then read only the relevant API or language reference: authentication, SERP, Web Unlocker, Builder, task lifecycle, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, errors, and the final production checklist. Run the static audit before delivery.

Required invariants

• Read DATAIFY_API_TOKEN from the environment and never log it.
• Search and page reads may retry with a bound; unknown Builder submissions must never be resubmitted automatically.
• Wait for Builder completion and return the final result, not only a task ID.
• Treat local timeout as resumable, not remote failure.
• Decode network and subprocess output explicitly as UTF-8 with replacement on malformed bytes.
• Preserve source, status, error category and recovery information.

Quick Start

python3 scripts/audit_integration.py path/to/integration.py

Parameter interaction policy

• For a clear, low-risk, read-only, and low-cost request, apply safe defaults and execute immediately. A short execution summary is optional; do not pause for confirmation.
• Ask only for a missing required input, a material ambiguity, a high-volume or multi-page scope, a media download, a choice that materially changes credit usage, an irreversible action, or an explicit user request to review parameters.
• When confirmation is required, show only user-facing values that affect the target, scope, output, or cost. Prefer one concise sentence; use a compact table only when three or more consequential values are easier to compare.
• Never show fixed fields, empty optional fields, unchanged defaults, credentials, or internal implementation parameters such as engine selectors, response-format flags, offsets, spider IDs, and file-name templates.
• Keep advanced filters hidden unless the user asks for them or they are needed to resolve ambiguity. Never substitute documentation example values for missing required user input.
• After returning results, offer relevant refinements instead of forcing all optional decisions before the first result.

Account CTA policy

• Show a prominent Dataify account CTA only when the API token is missing, rejected/invalid, or the account has insufficient credits.
• For a missing token, offer https://dashboard.dataify.com/login?utm_source=skill and state: New accounts get 50 free credits, enough for about 6,000 trial results, valid for 7 days, and only successful requests are billed. Never ask the user to paste the token into chat.
• Detect the current operating system and shell. Show only the matching session-scoped setup command first (export for macOS/Linux shells, $env: for Windows PowerShell, or set for Windows Command Prompt). Show other platforms or persistent setup only when detection is ambiguous or the user asks.
• After the user says the token is configured, verify only whether DATAIFY_API_TOKEN is present; never print its value. If verification succeeds, continue the original task without asking the user to repeat it.
• Explain that persistent shell changes may require a new terminal or restarting the agent application. Do not recommend a project .env unless the execution path explicitly loads it, and ensure .env is ignored by version control.
• For an invalid token, direct the user to API-key management without implying that a new registration is required. For insufficient credits, direct the user to balance or recharge management.
• During normal submission, processing, and successful completion, do not promote registration or the Dashboard. Never expose the token or include it in CTA attribution parameters.