IndexMachine API: check and request Google indexing from your own code

Every call sends an API key in the Authorization header. Creating one takes a minute:

1. 1

   Open Settings in the dashboard

   Go to app.indexmachine.co/settings, or choose Settings from your profile menu.

2. 2

   Create a key

   Under API keys press Create key, give it a label and choose Full or Read only.

3. 3

   Copy it once

   The key starts with im_live_ and is shown only once. Keep it on your server or in a secret store, never in a browser, an app or a repository.

Authorization: Bearer im_live_...

• Read only: sites, pages, URL checks, requests and activity.
• Full: also requests indexing, cancels requests and submits to IndexNow. A read-only key that tries gets 403 permission_denied.
• Roll or revoke any key on the Settings page at any time. An account holds up to 10 active keys.

You need an IndexMachine account with your Search Console sites connected (sign-up is free) and the IndexMachine Chrome extension for requests to Google. Requesting indexing and IndexNow submits need a paid plan for the site; without one the API answers 402 upgrade_required.

List the pages Google hasn't indexed

curl "https://api.indexmachine.co/v1/sites/example.com/pages?status=not_indexed" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INDEXMACHINE_API_KEY"

Pages come back ordered by path, 50 per call by default and up to 200 with limit. Send next_cursor back as cursor for the next page; it is null on the last one.

Check a URL, live from Google

curl -G https://api.indexmachine.co/v1/urls/status \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INDEXMACHINE_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "url=https://example.com/blog/new-post" \
  -d live=true

Without live=true the answer says whether the URL is indexed and as of when. With it, Google answers right now, using 1 of 50 live checks per site a day.

Request indexing, preview first

curl https://api.indexmachine.co/v1/indexing_requests \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INDEXMACHINE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/blog/new-post", "preview": true}'

preview: true changes nothing and answers what the request would do, with the same errors a real one would get. Drop it to send the request: the answer is a 202 with the request's id, an honest ETA and the site's Google quota for the day. A page already on Google answers already_indexed and uses nothing; add "force": true to request a re-index. The answer, shortened:

{
  "outcome": "created",
  "request": {
    "id": "c9a1e2b3-4d5f-4a6b-8c7d-9e0f1a2b3c4d",
    "url": "https://example.com/blog/new-post",
    "eta": "2026-10-31T14:05:00Z"
  },
  "quota": {
    "site_used_today": 4,
    "site_limit": 10,
    "resets_at": "2026-11-01T07:00:00Z"
  }
}

Every 4xx and 5xx answer has the same JSON shape. Branch on error.code; error.message is written for people and can change. param names the parameter at fault, and request_id matches the X-Request-Id header (send your own and the API keeps it).

{
  "error": {
    "code": "permission_denied",
    "message": "This key is read-only.",
    "request_id": "req_7f3c2a91b4d84e0f"
  }
}

New codes can be added, so handle an unknown one by its HTTP status.