PubMed API

Search PubMed and pull full records, MeSH terms, references and citing articles as clean JSON.

The API.SH PubMed API turns PubMed into structured JSON. Search with PubMed's own query syntax plus author, journal, publication type, free full text, language and date filters, then pull one record by PMID with its labelled abstract, authors with ORCID and affiliations, journal details, MeSH headings, keywords, grants, DOI, PMCID and reference list. A third route returns similar articles, citing articles, references or reviews for any record.

Get a free API key Try it in the playground

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

Search PubMed

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

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the PubMed API

Literature reviews

Run a PubMed query with publication type and date filters, then pull each record's full abstract and MeSH headings for screening.

/search /article

Citation tracking

List the articles that cite a paper, or its references, to follow how a finding spread through the literature.

/related

Research RAG and AI agents

Give an agent PubMed search and abstract lookups so its answers quote real papers with PMIDs and DOIs.

/search /article

Author and journal monitoring

Search by author or journal sorted by newest to catch new publications from a lab, a competitor or a journal you follow.

/search

Retraction and correction checks

Read a record's linked comments, errata and retractions before you cite it or feed it into a dataset.

/article

PubMed data you get

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

PubMed API endpoints and prices

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

Search and discovery2

Similar, citing and cited articles /pubmed/v1/related	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Search PubMed /pubmed/v1/search	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

More data1

PubMed article

/pubmed/v1/article

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

Call the PubMed API

Search PubMed: GET https://api.api.sh/pubmed/v1/search

curl "https://api.api.sh/pubmed/v1/search?q=crispr+gene+therapy" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/pubmed/v1/search",
    params={"q": "crispr gene therapy"},
    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/pubmed/v1/search");
url.searchParams.set("q", "crispr gene therapy");

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("/pubmed/v1/search", "q", "crispr gene therapy")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "PubMed" and "Search PubMed".

# 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 PubMed data

Public data only: no PubMed login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for PubMed 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 PubMed API

PubMed's official API is NCBI's E-utilities (Entrez). It is free, but you chain separate search, fetch and link calls, parse the XML yourself and need an NCBI API key for higher request rates. API.SH returns the same public PubMed data as one JSON record per call, with abstracts, MeSH terms, references and citing articles already parsed.

Instead of writing your own E-utilities wrapper, maintaining a PubMed scraper on GitHub or comparing Apify listings, API.SH gives you one key, one JSON shape and a fixed price per call.

PubMed API questions

What PubMed data can I get?+

Search results with PMID, title, authors, journal, dates, publication types, DOI, PMCID and citation count (/pubmed/v1/search), one full record with abstract, MeSH headings, keywords, grants and references (/pubmed/v1/article), and similar, citing, referenced or review articles for a record (/pubmed/v1/related).

How much does the PubMed API cost?+

Every PubMed 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 trial?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /pubmed/v1/article at 1 credit each.

Is there an official PubMed API?+

Yes. NCBI runs E-utilities, a free API for PubMed and its other databases. It returns XML across several chained calls and asks for an NCBI API key above a low request rate. API.SH is a simpler option when you want parsed JSON and one key that also covers arXiv, ClinicalTrials.gov and other sites.

Do I need an NCBI account or API key?+

No. API.SH reads public PubMed records only. You use your API.SH key; no NCBI account, NCBI API key or login is involved.

Can I use PubMed search terms like [mh] and [au]?+

Yes. The q parameter accepts PubMed's own syntax, including field tags such as [mh], [au] and [ta] and boolean operators. You can also use the separate author, journal, type, language and date parameters instead.

Can I use the PubMed API from Python?+

Yes. Call it with requests or the API.SH Python SDK and you get JSON back, with no Biopython Entrez setup or XML parsing. Pagination works by passing next_page back as page.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key from the dashboard. 3. Call /pubmed/v1/search with a query, then /pubmed/v1/article with a PMID from the results. 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.