> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Key Point:** We strongly recommend using our [official client
> libraries](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/client-libs) wherever you can. All Google provided client libraries are implemented using gRPC, except for the [Perl
> library](https://github.com/googleads/google-ads-perl/) which uses the REST interface. Unless you are specifically looking for details about REST, consult the [gRPC
> documentation](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc) for reference documentation that covers our official client libraries.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** If you are new to the Google Ads API, we recommend reading the [Getting
> Started](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/get-started/make-first-call) guide first, which covers how to set up your account and make your first API call. Make sure to follow the *curl* tab.

While we recommend using Google's official [client
libraries](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/client-libs) wherever possible for application development,
the REST interface can be useful in cases where you just want to issue a
one-time request to the Google Ads API, such as when you want to test the
behavior of an endpoint or to debug a request.

For these situations, the reference pages provide an interactive
[Google Ads API Explorer](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/developer-toolkit/api-explorer) (**Try this method**
panel) that you can use to send a single request to the Google Ads API to verify its
behavior.

To use it, you need the **customer ID** for the account you want to issue the
request against. Access to that account is also required so you can
authenticate with a Google Account using OAuth (plus a `login-customer-id`
header if accessing the account through a manager account; [developer
tokens](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/api-policy/developer-token) were sunset on September 9, 2026 and are optional).

Once you have these details, visit a reference page such as
[`GoogleAdsService/Search`](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/reference/rpc/v26/GoogleAdsService/Search) and use the
**Try this method** panel on the right to send your request.