Open Library Books API
openlibrary.org · Data
Internet Archive Open Library — search 20M+ book records, cover images, author data, and full text for public domain works. No API key required.
Authentication
No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.
Sample Requests
GET
Search books
Search Open Library for books.
https://openlibrary.org/search.json?q=harry potter&limit=3
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://openlibrary.org/search.json?q=harry%20potter&limit=3"
import requests
params = {
"q": "harry potter",
"limit": "3"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://openlibrary.org/search.json",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://openlibrary.org/search.json');
url.searchParams.set('q', 'harry potter');
url.searchParams.set('limit', '3');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://openlibrary.org/search.json")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("q", "harry potter")
q.Set("limit", "3")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://openlibrary.org/search.json")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"q" => "harry potter",
"limit" => "3"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://openlibrary.org/search.json?" . http_build_query([
"q" => "harry potter",
"limit" => "3"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get book by ISBN
Get book details for Hunger Games by ISBN.
https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json"
import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json",
)
print(response.json())const url = 'https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json'; const response = await fetch(url); const data = await response.json(); console.log(data);
package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
targetURL := "https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json"
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780439023481.json";
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- No API key needed
- Search: GET /search.json?q=dune&author=frank+herbert&limit=5
- ISBN lookup: GET /isbn/{isbn}.json
- Author: GET /authors/OL26320A.json
- Cover image: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/{isbn}-L.jpg
What can you build with Open Library Books API?
Open Library Books API is a Data API. Developers commonly use data APIs for:
- enriching your app with third-party datasets
- building data pipelines and ETL workflows
- querying and searching large datasets
- powering research, analysis, and reporting tools
- syncing reference data into your own systems
No authentication required. This API is open — no signup or key needed. Ideal for quick prototypes and public-facing features. Open Library Books API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide