Books API

Look up books by ISBN, search titles, authors and subjects, and get editions, covers, ratings and author bios as JSON.

The API.SH Books API is built on Open Library's catalog of over 20 million books. Look up an edition by ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 and get title, publishers, pages, subjects, classifications, covers and identifiers; search by keywords, title, author, subject or publisher with language and year filters; read a work with all its editions and readers' rating; browse books by subject; and fetch author bios with their works.

Get a free API key Try it in the playground

5 endpoints
from $1 / 1,000 calls
1,000 free credits / month
failed calls free

Book search

GET https://api.api.sh/books/v1/search

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the Books API

ISBN lookup for catalogs and scanners

Scan a barcode and fill in title, authors, publisher, publish date, pages, format, subjects and cover from the ISBN.

/isbn

Book search in apps

Search by title, author, subject or publisher with language, publication-year and e-book filters, and sort by relevance, newest or rating.

/search

Editions and reading lists

Read a work with every edition and its ISBNs, plus rating distribution, to group editions of the same book.

/work

Recommendations by subject

List the most-edited books on a subject, with related authors, subjects and publishers on the first page, to seed recommendations.

/subject /search

Author pages

Get an author's bio, birth and death dates, photos, Wikidata and VIAF identifiers and works for author profiles.

/author

Books data you get

Field names from real responses. Numbers come parsed, URLs absolute, dates in ISO 8601.

Books API endpoints and prices

Every Books endpoint costs 1 credit per call: credits are $1 per 1,000 on a monthly plan, $2 pay-as-you-go. Pricing

Search and discovery1

Book search

/books/v1/search

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

Profiles and accounts1

Book author

/books/v1/author

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

Products, listings and places3

Book by ISBN /books/v1/isbn	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Books by subject /books/v1/subject	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Book work and editions /books/v1/work	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Call the Books API

Book search: GET https://api.api.sh/books/v1/search

curl "https://api.api.sh/books/v1/search?q=dune" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/books/v1/search",
    params={"q": "dune"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["APISH_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()

const url = new URL("https://api.api.sh/books/v1/search");
url.searchParams.set("q", "dune");

const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.APISH_KEY } });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const data = await res.json();

# Google Sheets (API.SH add-on)
=APISH("/books/v1/search", "q", "dune")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "Books" and "Book search".

# AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor): add the
# API.SH MCP server https://api.sh/mcp

Create a free accountConfirm your email and get 1,000 free credits every month. No card needed.
Create an API keyOne key works for all 483 platforms.
Send the requestJSON back in one call. Add output=csv or output=ndjson for files.

Why API.SH for Books data

Public data only: no Books login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for Books and 482 other platforms
Built and maintained by API.SH, not third-party publishers
Pay per call; errors on our side cost nothing
Live status for every endpoint

API.SH vs the official Books API

Open Library, the source of this data, has its own free APIs, and Google Books offers a free API with a Google key; Goodreads stopped issuing new developer keys. API.SH returns Open Library data with filters, paging and one JSON shape, under the key you use for every other API.SH dataset.

Google Books, Open Library and Hardcover's GraphQL API are free with their own limits and formats, and RapidAPI lists paid book APIs. API.SH is a fit when books are one of several datasets you need, with no-code tools (Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n) and MCP for AI agents.

Books API questions

What book data can I get?+

Edition by ISBN (/books/v1/isbn), book search (/books/v1/search), a work with its editions (/books/v1/work), books by subject (/books/v1/subject) and authors with their works (/books/v1/author).

How much does the Books API cost?+

Every Books endpoint costs 1 credit per call. On a monthly plan 1,000 credits cost $1 (Starter is $50/month for 50,000 credits). Pay-as-you-go is $2 per 1,000 credits, with top-ups from $15 that never expire.

Is there a free books API?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /books/v1/author at 1 credit each. Open Library and Google Books also offer free APIs with their own limits.

What happened to the Goodreads API?+

Goodreads no longer issues new developer keys. For ISBN lookups, ratings, editions and author data, this API is an alternative, and ISBN results include Goodreads and LibraryThing identifiers where Open Library has them.

Can I search books by ISBN?+

Yes. /books/v1/isbn takes an ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 and returns the edition, its work and authors; /books/v1/search also accepts isbn.

Where does the data come from?+

Open Library, the Internet Archive's open book catalog. Ratings and want-to-read counts are Open Library readers'.

Do I need keys for the underlying sources?+

No. One API.SH key covers every endpoint here and the rest of API.SH.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key. 3. Call /books/v1/isbn with an ISBN. Request examples and every parameter are in the docs at https://api.sh/docs. You can also use the JS or Python SDK, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or the MCP server at https://api.sh/mcp.