serpapi-prod-checklist

# SerpApi Production Checklist ## Checklist ### API Key & Authentication - [ ] API key stored in secret manager (not env files) - [ ] Backend proxy for all client-side search requests - [ ] Key not exposed in frontend bundles or logs - [ ] Usage monitoring configured ### Credit Budget - [ ] Monthly search volume estimated - [ ] Plan tier matches expected volume - [ ] Response caching implemented (LRU or Redis) - [ ] Archive API used for result retrieval (free) - [ ] Budget alerts set (e.g., 80% threshold) ### Error Handling - [ ] Check `search_metadata.status` before using results - [ ] Handle `error` field in responses - [ ] Retry on 500/timeout (max 2 retries) - [ ] Graceful fallback when credits exhausted - [ ] Log search IDs for debugging (`search_metadata.id`) ### Performance - [ ] Response caching with appropriate TTL - [ ] Rate limiting per plan tier (see `serpapi-rate-limits`) - [ ] Async search for non-critical queries - [ ] Proxy endpoint rate-limited to prevent abuse ### Health Check ```typescript app.get('/health', async (req, res) => { try { const account = await fetch( `https://serpapi.com/account.json?api_key=${process.env.SERPAPI_API_KEY}` ).then(r => r.json()); res.json({ status: account.plan_searches_left > 0 ? 'healthy' : 'degraded', serpapi: { plan: account.plan_name, remaining: account.plan_searches_left, used: account.this_month_usage, }, }); } catch { res.status(503).json({ ...