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This guide helps you unlock your first website in under 5 minutes using the Bright Data Unlocker API.
It is designed for developers who want to validate their setup quickly and see real results without diving into advanced configuration. By the end of this guide, you will:
  • Verify your Unlocker API setup
  • Send a live unlock request
  • Receive clean HTML or JSON content from a target website

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What you need before starting (1 minute)

Make sure you already have:
  • A Bright Data account
  • An active Unlocker API zone
  • An API key generated for that zone
You can find your zone name and API key in the Overview tab of your Unlocker API in the Bright Data Control Panel. If you haven’t created an Unlocker API yet, follow Create Your First Unlocker API before continuing.

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Step 1: Choose a test website (30 seconds)

Select a public URL to test your first unlock request. Good examples: Make sure the URL:
  • Is publicly accessible
  • Starts with https:// or http://

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Step 2: Understand what you’re about to send (30 seconds)

The Unlocker API works through a single REST endpoint. You will send:
  • Your API key (for authentication)
  • Your Unlocker API zone name
  • The target URL you want to unlock
Bright Data will automatically:
  • Select the best proxy network
  • Handle anti-bot protections
  • Retry failed attempts if needed

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Step 3: Send your first unlock request (2 minutes)

Replace the placeholders below with your actual values:
  • YOUR_API_KEY
  • YOUR_ZONE_NAME
  • YOUR_TARGET_URL
Example request: POST https://api.brightdata.com/request Headers:
  • Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
  • Content-Type: application/json
Body: 
{
  "zone": "YOUR_ZONE_NAME",
  "url": "YOUR_TARGET_URL",
  "format": "raw"
}
This request asks the Unlocker API to fetch the target page and return the unlocked response as raw HTML.

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Step 4: Review the response (30 seconds)

If the request is successful, you will receive:
  • HTTP status: 200 OK
  • A response body containing unlocked content
  • HTML or JSON, depending on the format you requested
If you can see the page content, your Unlocker API is working correctly.

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Common issues and quick fixes (30 seconds)

  • 401 Unauthorized
    Authentication is missing or invalid
    → Verify the Authorization header and API key
  • 400 Bad Request
    Request payload is invalid
    → Ensure zone, url, and format are present
  • Content looks incomplete
    → Try another public URL or review Configuration options

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What you just accomplished

In under 5 minutes, you:
  • Authenticated with the Unlocker API
  • Sent a real unlock request
  • Retrieved clean, usable content from a website
This confirms your setup is correct and ready for real workloads.

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Where to go next

Once your first request works, you can:
  • Enable geolocation for region-specific content
  • Use asynchronous requests for large batches
  • Configure premium domains for harder targets
  • Explore Send Your First Request for advanced examples
  • Review Troubleshooting if you encounter errors