> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bulkgrid.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Backend Integration

> Use Bulkgrid from your backend or worker layer for safer, cleaner production integrations.

Bulkgrid should normally sit behind your backend, not inside browser code.

## Why this is the default architecture

* API keys stay private
* retries and polling stay in one place
* run IDs can be stored durably
* your application can normalize results before exposing them to users

## Recommended flow

1. your application sends a request to your backend
2. your backend calls Bulkgrid
3. your backend stores the run ID for async workflows
4. a worker or scheduled task polls for completion when needed
5. your backend returns normalized results to the rest of your system

## Example

<CodeGroup>
  ```js Node.js theme={null}
  import { BulkgridClient } from '@bulkgrid/sdk';

  const client = new BulkgridClient({
    apiKey: process.env.BULKGRID_API_KEY ?? '',
    baseUrl: process.env.BULKGRID_BASE_URL ?? '',
  });

  const data = await client.search({
    query: 'pricing',
    limit: 5,
  });
  return data.results;
  ```

  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl "$BULKGRID_BASE_URL/api/v1/search" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H "x-api-key: $BULKGRID_API_KEY" \
    -d '{
      "query": "pricing",
      "limit": 5
    }'
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Async workflow recommendation

For extraction, crawl, and deep crawl:

* create the run in an API route or job handler
* persist the run ID and customer context
* move polling to background work when the user should not wait inline
* return a clean status model to your own frontend