Media, Film & Knowledge

Books & Authors API

The Books & Authors API returns book and author data as clean JSON.

8 actionsLive JSON1,000 free creditsMCP-ready

🤖 Using an AI assistant? Copy this link into ChatGPT / Claude / Cursor — it reads every endpoint and parameter instantly and tells you if this API fits your use case.

The primary book_detail endpoint returns a book's title, authors, covers, subjects, description, page count, publishers, languages and editions, and you can search, pull an author and their works, browse subjects and trending, list editions and get an ebook. It is built for reading apps, catalog tools and literary research that need book metadata without a scraper. One ReefAPI key, one shared credit pool, the standard envelope.

Live example

Real request and response JSON

Captured from the indexed primary action, search, on Jul 18, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC.

Captured request

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://api.reefapi.com/books/v1/search",
  "headers": {
    "x-api-key": "$REEF_KEY",
    "content-type": "application/json"
  },
  "body": {
    "q": "the hunger games"
  }
}

Captured response

{
  "ok": true,
  "meta": {
    "api": "books",
    "endpoint": "search",
    "mode": "live",
    "latency_ms": 4352.3,
    "record_count": 20,
    "bytes": 38505,
    "cache_hit": false,
    "completeness_pct": 100,
    "requests": 1,
    "total": 204,
    "page": 1,
    "num_returned": 20
  },
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "title": "The Hunger Games",
        "subtitle": null,
        "authors": [
          "Suzanne Collins"
        ],
        "author_olids": [
          "OL1394359A"
        ],
        "olid": "OL5735363W",
        "key": "OL5735363W",
        "first_publish_year": 2008,
        "edition_count": 142,
        "covers": {
          "small": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646537-S.jpg",
          "medium": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646537-M.jpg",
          "large": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646537-L.jpg"
        },
        "isbn": [
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]"
        ],
        "languages": [
          "tur",
          "fre",
          "heb"
        ],
        "subjects": [
          "severe poverty",
          "starvation",
          "oppression"
        ],
        "number_of_pages_median": 399,
        "ratings": {
          "average": 4.115,
          "count": 539
        },
        "reading_log": {
          "want_to_read": 5767,
          "currently_reading": 458,
          "already_read": 931
        },
        "ebook_access": "borrowable",
        "has_fulltext": true,
        "ia_id": "jieyouxi0000coll",
        "first_sentence": "When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.",
        "openlibrary_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5735363W"
      },
      {
        "title": "The Hunger Games Trilogy (Hunger Games / Catching Fire / Mockingjay)",
        "subtitle": null,
        "authors": [
          "Suzanne Collins"
        ],
        "author_olids": [
          "OL1394359A"
        ],
        "olid": "OL15518787W",
        "key": "OL15518787W",
        "first_publish_year": 2010,
        "edition_count": 29,
        "covers": {
          "small": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12878880-S.jpg",
          "medium": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12878880-M.jpg",
          "large": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12878880-L.jpg"
        },
        "isbn": [
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]"
        ],
        "languages": [
          "cat",
          "pol",
          "ger"
        ],
        "subjects": [
          "Romance",
          "Drama",
          "Young adult fiction"
        ],
        "number_of_pages_median": 1136,
        "ratings": {
          "average": 4.529,
          "count": 17
        },
        "reading_log": {
          "want_to_read": 360,
          "currently_reading": 15,
          "already_read": 41
        },
        "ebook_access": "borrowable",
        "has_fulltext": true,
        "ia_id": "dietributevonpan0000suza_u1a0",
        "first_sentence": null,
        "openlibrary_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15518787W"
      },
      {
        "title": "Mockingjay",
        "subtitle": null,
        "authors": [
          "Suzanne Collins"
        ],
        "author_olids": [
          "OL1394359A"
        ],
        "olid": "OL14908941W",
        "key": "OL14908941W",
        "first_publish_year": 2010,
        "edition_count": 98,
        "covers": {
          "small": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646459-S.jpg",
          "medium": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646459-M.jpg",
          "large": "https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12646459-L.jpg"
        },
        "isbn": [
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]",
          "[redacted-phone]"
        ],
        "languages": [
          "vie",
          "fre",
          "pol"
        ],
        "subjects": [
          "New York Times bestseller",
          "Sci-fi",
          "Young Adult"
        ],
        "number_of_pages_median": 424,
        "ratings": {
          "average": 3.775,
          "count": 267
        },
        "reading_log": {
          "want_to_read": 932,
          "currently_reading": 56,
          "already_read": 480
        },
        "ebook_access": "borrowable",
        "has_fulltext": true,
        "ia_id": "ziyouhuanmeng0000coll",
        "first_sentence": null,
        "openlibrary_url": "https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14908941W"
      }
    ],
    "numFound": 204,
    "page": 1,
    "start": 0,
    "q": "the hunger games"
  }
}

Actions

What the Books & Authors API does

Action	Description	Concrete use case	Key params
book_detail	merged book record by ISBN-10/13 or OLID (work OL..W / edition OL..M): title/authors/covers/subjects/description/pages/publishers/languages/editions/identifiers/ratings+distribution/reading-log; queried ISBN always injected	Content platforms call book_detail to get merged book record by ISBN-10/13 or OLID (work OL..W / edition OL..M).	id
search	search books: q OR fielded (title/author/subject/publisher/place/person/isbn/language); rich cards (ratings/reading-log/ebook_access/IA); sort=new\|old\|rating\|want_to_read\|editions; pagination	Research tools call search to search books.	q, query, title, author, subject, ...
author	author by OLID (OL..A) → bio/photo/dates/alternate-names/remote-ids(goodreads/wikidata/viaf/gutenberg)/links + include_works; or query/name → best-match-ranked author list	Community analysts call author to get author by OLID (OL..A) → bio/photo/dates/alternate-names/remote-ids(goodreads/wikidata/viaf/g….	id, query, name, q, include_works, ...
author_works	full paginated bibliography of an author (OL..A): every work with cover, first-publish year and subjects; page/limit pagination over the author's complete catalog	Media monitors call author_works to get full paginated bibliography of an author (OL..A).	id, olid, limit, per_page, page
subjects	browse a subject / genre / theme → ranked work cards PLUS facets (top authors, publishers, related subjects, people, places, time-periods) and work_count/ebook_count; optional ebooks-only and published_in year-range filters; page/limit pagination	Content platforms call subjects to get browse a subject / genre / theme → ranked work cards PLUS facets (top authors, publishers, re….	subject, name, q, genre, ebooks, ...
trending	most popular / trending books for a time window (now\|daily\|weekly\|monthly\|yearly) → ranked work cards (title, authors, cover, year, ebook access); page/limit pagination	Research tools call trending to get most popular / trending books for a time window (now\|daily\|weekly\|monthly\|yearly) → ranked wo….	period, range, limit, per_page, page
editions	every printing / edition of a book (give a work OLID, an edition OLID, or any ISBN) → each edition's ISBN-10/13, publisher, format, publish date/place, page count, language and cover; page/limit pagination	Community analysts call editions to get every printing / edition of a book (give a work OLID, an edition OLID, or any ISBN) → each ed….	id, olid, isbn, limit, per_page, ...
ebook	public-domain full-text (Project Gutenberg): query OR id=Gutenberg-id OR ids=batch; filters languages/topic/sort; returns formats{epub/txt/html/kindle/cover}+download_url+read_url; gutenberg.org OPDS fallback when gutendex is down	Media monitors call ebook to get public-domain full-text (Project Gutenberg).	query, search, q, id, gutenberg_id, ...

Code samples

Call search from your stack

curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/books/v1/search \
  -H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"the hunger games"}'

import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.reefapi.com/books/v1/search",
    headers={"x-api-key": REEF_KEY},
    json={
  "q": "the hunger games"
},
)
print(r.json()["data"])

const res = await fetch("https://api.reefapi.com/books/v1/search", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "x-api-key": process.env.REEF_KEY,
    "content-type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "q": "the hunger games"
}),
});
const { ok, data, meta, error } = await res.json();

MCP one-liner

Ask your MCP-connected assistant: call reefapi.books.search with {"q":"the hunger games"}.

Use cases

Who uses this API and why

Reading apps call book_detail to enrich a title with cover, subjects and edition data.
Catalog tools use search and editions to resolve a work across ISBNs and formats.
Discovery products use trending and subjects to surface books by theme.

FAQ

Questions developers ask before integrating

What is the Books & Authors API?

Books & Authors API is a ReefAPI endpoint group for book details, search, authors and free ebooks. It returns live JSON through POST requests under /books/v1.

Is the Books & Authors API free to try?

Yes. ReefAPI starts with 1,000 free credits, no card required. Books & Authors calls use the same shared credit balance as every other ReefAPI engine.

Do I need a Books & Authors login or account?

No login to Books & Authors is needed for the API response. You call ReefAPI with your x-api-key header, and the playground can run live examples before you create a production key.

How fresh is the Books & Authors data?

The page example is captured from a live book_detail call, and production requests fetch live data through ReefAPI rather than a static sample.

How many credits does the Books & Authors API use?

Books & Authors actions currently cost 1 credit per successful call. Failed or blocked calls are free, and all APIs draw from one credit pool.

Can I call Books & Authors from an AI assistant or MCP client?

Yes. Connect ReefAPI once through MCP and your assistant can call books actions with the same key, credit pool and JSON envelope used by normal REST requests.

Is the Books & Authors API a Books & Authors scraper?

It is the managed alternative to a DIY Books & Authors scraper. Instead of building and maintaining your own scraper — proxies, headless browsers, captcha and constant breakage — you call one ReefAPI endpoint and get the same book details, search, authors and free ebooks back as clean JSON.

Why does my Books & Authors scraper keep getting blocked?

Most Books & Authors scrapers break on anti-bot defenses, rate limits and IP bans that need rotating residential proxies and browser fingerprinting to clear. ReefAPI handles all of that for you — no proxies, no captchas, no maintenance — and returns live JSON. Blocked or failed calls are free.

docs / books

Books & Authors

Book details, search, authors and free ebooks.

base /books/v18 endpoints

post/books/v1/book_detail1 credit

merged book record by ISBN-10/13 or OLID (work OL..W / edition OL..M): title/authors/covers/subjects/description/pages/publishers/languages/editions/identifiers/ratings+distribution/reading-log; queried ISBN always injected

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
id	required	—	ISBN-10/13, OR OpenLibrary work id (OL..W), OR edition id (OL..M).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/search1 credit

search books: q OR fielded (title/author/subject/publisher/place/person/isbn/language); rich cards (ratings/reading-log/ebook_access/IA); sort=new|old|rating|want_to_read|editions; pagination

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
q	optional	—	Free-text search. Supply `q` OR at least one fielded param (title/author/subject/publisher/place/person/isbn/language).
title	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on title (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
author	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on author (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
subject	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on subject (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
publisher	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on publisher (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
place	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on place (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
person	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on person (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
isbn	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on isbn (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
language	optional	—	Fielded search filter — match on language (OpenLibrary search). Combinable with other fielded params.
sort	optional	new · old · rating · want_to_read · editions	Result ordering (OpenLibrary sort). Common keys shown; other OpenLibrary sort keys also pass through.
limit = 20	optional	1–100	Results per page (1-100, default 20); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/author1 credit

author by OLID (OL..A) → bio/photo/dates/alternate-names/remote-ids(goodreads/wikidata/viaf/gutenberg)/links + include_works; or query/name → best-match-ranked author list

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
id	optional	—	OpenLibrary author id (OL..A) for a profile. Supply `id` OR a query (`query`/`name`/`q`) for author search.
query	optional	—	Author search text → best-match-ranked list. Supply this OR `id`.
include_works = false	optional	—	Profile mode only: also return the author's top works.
works_limit = 20	optional	1–50	Max works when include_works=true (1-50).
limit = 10	optional	1–50	Results per page (1-50, default 10); out-of-range values are clamped.

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/author_works1 credit

full paginated bibliography of an author (OL..A): every work with cover, first-publish year and subjects; page/limit pagination over the author's complete catalog

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
id	required	—	OpenLibrary author id (OL..A). Get one from the `author` action.
limit = 50	optional	1–100	Results per page (1-100, default 50); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/subjects1 credit

browse a subject / genre / theme → ranked work cards PLUS facets (top authors, publishers, related subjects, people, places, time-periods) and work_count/ebook_count; optional ebooks-only and published_in year-range filters; page/limit pagination

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
subject	required	—	Subject / genre / theme to browse (free text; spaces are fine, e.g. 'science fiction', 'historical fiction', 'love', 'cooking').
ebooks = false	optional	—	Only return works that have a readable/borrowable ebook.
published_in	optional	—	Restrict the subject browse to a publish-year range, e.g. 2000-2010.
sort	optional	editions · new · old	Ordering of the subject's works. Known keys shown; others pass through.
limit = 24	optional	1–100	Results per page (1-100, default 24); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/trending1 credit

most popular / trending books for a time window (now|daily|weekly|monthly|yearly) → ranked work cards (title, authors, cover, year, ebook access); page/limit pagination

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
period = daily	optional	now · daily · weekly · monthly · yearly	Trending window. One of now\|daily\|weekly\|monthly\|yearly.
limit = 24	optional	1–100	Results per page (1-100, default 24); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/editions1 credit

every printing / edition of a book (give a work OLID, an edition OLID, or any ISBN) → each edition's ISBN-10/13, publisher, format, publish date/place, page count, language and cover; page/limit pagination

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
id	required	—	A work OLID (OL..W), an edition OLID (OL..M), or any ISBN of the book — all resolve to the work whose editions are listed.
limit = 50	optional	1–100	Results per page (1-100, default 50); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

post/books/v1/ebook1 credit

public-domain full-text (Project Gutenberg): query OR id=Gutenberg-id OR ids=batch; filters languages/topic/sort; returns formats{epub/txt/html/kindle/cover}+download_url+read_url; gutenberg.org OPDS fallback when gutendex is down

Parameter		Allowed / range	Description
query	optional	—	Full-text search of Project Gutenberg. Supply `query` OR `id` (Gutenberg id) OR `ids` (batch) OR a filter.
id	optional	—	A single Project Gutenberg ebook id (digits).
ids	optional	—	Batch of Gutenberg ids (list or comma-separated string).
languages	optional	—	Gutendex language filter — comma-separated ISO 639-1 codes (e.g. en, fr).
topic	optional	—	Gutendex topic filter (matches bookshelf or subject).
sort	optional	popular · ascending · descending	Gutendex ordering. Known keys shown; passed through if Gutendex adds more.
mime_type	optional	—	Gutendex mime_type filter (e.g. application/epub+zip, text/plain).
author_year_start	optional	—	Gutendex filter: author alive on/after this year.
author_year_end	optional	—	Gutendex filter: author alive on/before this year.
copyright	optional	—	Gutendex copyright filter: true\|false\|null (comma-separated to combine).
limit = 32	optional	1–32	Results per page (1-32, default 32); out-of-range values are clamped.
page = 1	optional	1–1000	1-based page number (clamped to 1-1000).

Try in playground →

Example request · book_detail

curl -X POST https://api.reefapi.com/books/v1/book_detail \
  -H "x-api-key: $REEF_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"id":"9780439023528"}'

Response shape

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": { /* the result */ },
  "meta": {
    "latency_ms": 240,
    "record_count": 12,
    "completeness_pct": 100
  },
  "error": null
}