OWASP ZAP Python API Docs | dltHub

OWASP ZAP is an open-source web application security scanner and proxy providing programmatic access to scanning, spidering, and retrieving results via an HTTP JSON API. The REST API base URL is http://localhost:8080 and Requests require an API key (apikey) for actions and some other operations; API is enabled by default in daemon/desktop but the key should be set in the UI or start options..

dlt is an open-source Python library that handles authentication, pagination, and schema evolution automatically. dlthub provides AI context files that enable code assistants to generate production-ready pipelines. Install with uv pip install "dlt[workspace]" and start loading OWASP ZAP data in under 10 minutes.

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What data can I load from OWASP ZAP?

Here are some of the endpoints you can load from OWASP ZAP:

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How do I authenticate with the OWASP ZAP API?

ZAP uses a simple API key (named 'apikey') that must be supplied as a query parameter (apikey=) on action endpoints and some other operations; when using desktop mode set the key under Tools -> Options -> API. Requests are standard HTTP requests to the ZAP host/port (default localhost:8080).

1. Get your credentials

1. Open ZAP Desktop -> Tools -> Options -> API. 2) Enable the API (if not already) and set an API key string. 3) Optionally configure allowed client addresses and enable file transfer. 4) For daemon mode, start ZAP with the -config options or supply the apikey via the ZAP startup configuration.

2. Add them to .dlt/secrets.toml

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[sources.owasp_zap_source]
apikey = "your_zap_api_key_here"

dlt reads this automatically at runtime — never hardcode tokens in your pipeline script. For production environments, see setting up credentials with dlt for environment variable and vault-based options.

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How do I set up and run the pipeline?

Set up a virtual environment and install dlt:

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uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install "dlt[workspace]"

1. Install the dlt AI Workbench:

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dlt ai init --agent <your-agent> # <agent>: claude | cursor | codex

This installs project rules, a secrets management skill, appropriate ignore files, and configures the dlt MCP server for your agent. Learn more →

2. Install the rest-api-pipeline toolkit:

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dlt ai toolkit rest-api-pipeline install

This loads the skills and context about dlt the agent uses to build the pipeline iteratively, efficiently, and safely. The agent uses MCP tools to inspect credentials — it never needs to read your secrets.toml directly. Learn more →

3. Start LLM-assisted coding:

Use /find-source to load data from the OWASP ZAP API into DuckDB.

The rest-api-pipeline toolkit takes over from here — it reads relevant API documentation, presents you with options for which endpoints to load, and follows a structured workflow to scaffold, debug, and validate the pipeline step by step.

4. Run the pipeline:

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python owasp_zap_pipeline.py

If everything is configured correctly, you'll see output like this:

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Pipeline owasp_zap_pipeline load step completed in 0.26 seconds
1 load package(s) were loaded to destination duckdb and into dataset owasp_zap_data
The duckdb destination used duckdb:/owasp_zap.duckdb location to store data
Load package 1749667187.541553 is LOADED and contains no failed jobs

Inspect your pipeline and data:

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dlt pipeline owasp_zap_pipeline show

This opens the Pipeline Dashboard where you can verify pipeline state, load metrics, schema (tables, columns, types), and query the loaded data directly.

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Python pipeline example

This example loads core_urls and ajax_spider_full_results from the OWASP ZAP API into DuckDB. It mirrors the endpoint and data selector configuration from the table above:

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import dlt
from dlt.sources.rest_api import RESTAPIConfig, rest_api_resources

@dlt.source
def owasp_zap_source(apikey=dlt.secrets.value):
    config: RESTAPIConfig = {
        "client": {
            "base_url": "http://localhost:8080",
            "auth": {
                "type": "api_key",
                "apikey": apikey,
            },
        },
        "resources": [
            {"name": "core_urls", "endpoint": {"path": "JSON/core/view/urls/", "data_selector": "urls"}},
            {"name": "ajax_spider_full_results", "endpoint": {"path": "JSON/ajaxSpider/view/fullResults/", "data_selector": "inScope / outOfScope / errors"}}
        ],
    }
    yield from rest_api_resources(config)


def get_data() -> None:
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="owasp_zap_pipeline",
        destination="duckdb",
        dataset_name="owasp_zap_data",
    )
    load_info = pipeline.run(owasp_zap_source())
    print(load_info)

To add more endpoints, append entries from the resource table to the "resources" list using the same name, path, and data_selector pattern.

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How do I query the loaded data?

Once the pipeline runs, dlt creates one table per resource. You can query with Python or SQL.

Python (pandas DataFrame):

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import dlt

data = dlt.pipeline("owasp_zap_pipeline").dataset()
sessions_df = data.core_urls.df()
print(sessions_df.head())

SQL (DuckDB example):

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SELECT * FROM owasp_zap_data.core_urls LIMIT 10;

In a marimo or Jupyter notebook:

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import dlt

data = dlt.pipeline("owasp_zap_pipeline").dataset()
data.core_urls.df().head()

See how to explore your data in marimo Notebooks and how to query your data in Python with dataset.

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What destinations can I load OWASP ZAP data to?

dlt supports loading into any of these destinations — only the destination parameter changes:

Change the destination in dlt.pipeline(destination="snowflake") and add credentials in .dlt/secrets.toml. See the full destinations list.

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Troubleshooting

Authentication failures

ZAP will close the connection without a response if the API key is wrong or if the calling address is not allowed; typical symptoms are connection closed or client library exceptions. Ensure the apikey query parameter matches the key in Tools -> Options -> API and that the client IP is allowed.

File transfer disabled / security blocking

File upload/download is disabled by default; enabling it requires an API key and explicit enabling in the options. If file upload fails, ensure file transfer is enabled and that the request uses multipart/form-data with apikey parameter.

Missing implementor / add-on errors

Some API endpoints rely on add-ons (e.g., Ajax Spider). If you receive a 'no_implementor' error, install the relevant add-on via the ZAP add-ons manager.

Rate limits and pagination

ZAP's API does not implement rate-limiting headers; for long-running scans use view/status endpoints to poll scan progress (ascan/view/status, spider/view/status). Result endpoints typically return full lists; use parameters like start/count (when available) for paging where supported.

Ensure that the API key is valid to avoid 401 Unauthorized errors. Also, verify endpoint paths and parameters to avoid 404 Not Found errors.

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Next steps

Continue your data engineering journey with the other toolkits of the dltHub AI Workbench:

• data-exploration — Build custom notebooks, charts, and dashboards for deeper analysis with marimo notebooks.
• dlthub-runtime — Deploy, schedule, and monitor your pipeline in production.

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dlt ai toolkit data-exploration install
dlt ai toolkit dlthub-runtime install

• How to deploy a pipeline
• How to explore your data in marimo Notebooks
• How to query your data in Python with dataset
• Join the dlt community on Slack