Britannica API: Get article
Finds the best-matching Britannica encyclopedia article for a topic and returns its introduction, quick facts, section headings, update date and main image.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Britannica.
Inputs
Values from the run on Oct 31, 2026, shown under Output.
- Topic, required
topic Topic, person, place, or event to look up, for example Marie Curie.
photosynthesis
Input as JSON
{ "topic": "photosynthesis"}Output
{ "title": "photosynthesis", "summary": "photosynthesis, the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy. During photosynthesis in green plants, light energy is captured and used to convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.", "description": "Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy.", "quick_facts": [ { "label": "Key People", "value": "Robert Hill; Joseph Priestley; Melvin Calvin; Jean Senebier; Jan Ingenhousz" }, { "label": "Related Topics", "value": "photosystem II; pheophytin; cyclic electron flow; Hill reaction; carbon fixation" }, { "label": "On the Web", "value": "National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Chloroplasts and Other Plastids (Sep. 18, 2026)" } ], "article_link": "https://www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis" , "last_updated": "2026-09-18", "main_image_link": "https://cdn.britannica.com/22/94122-050-93F6BAE0/trees-plants-carbon-dioxide-sunlight-sugars-water.jpg" , "section_headings": [ "Importance of photosynthesis", "Evolution of the process", "General characteristics" ]}Code
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"britannica.com/get_article","input":{"topic":"photosynthesis"}}' # Save as fous.py, then run: python3 fous.pyimport json, os, timefrom urllib.error import HTTPErrorfrom urllib.request import Request, urlopenAPI = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" KEY = os.environ["FOUS_API_KEY"]HEADERS = { "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}", "Content-Type": "application/json" ,}def call(url, body=None): data = json.dumps(body).encode() if body else None request = Request(url, data, HEADERS) try: with urlopen(request, timeout=120) as r: return r.status, json.load(r) except HTTPError as error: message = json.load(error)["error"]["message"] raise RuntimeError(message) from errorstatus, run = call(API, { "method": "britannica.com/get_article" , "input": { "topic": "photosynthesis" }})# 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while status == 202: time.sleep(2) status, run = call(f"{API}/{run['id']}")print(json.dumps(run["data"], indent=2))// Save as fous.mjs, then run: node fous.mjsconst api = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" ;const headers = { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FOUS_API_KEY}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" ,};let response = await fetch(api, { method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify({ "method": "britannica.com/get_article" , "input": { "topic": "photosynthesis" } }), signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000),});let run = await response.json();// 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while (response.status === 202) { await new Promise((done) => setTimeout(done, 2_000)); response = await fetch(`${api}/${run.id}`, { headers }); run = await response.json();}if (!response.ok) throw new Error(run.error.message);console.log(run.data);# Connect your agent to Fous once, over MCP (Streamable HTTP):# https://api.fous.com/mcp# Set FOUS_API_KEY first: create a key at https://app.fous.com/keys.# Claude Codeclaude mcp add \ --scope user \ --transport http fous https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Codexcodex mcp add fous \ --url https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --bearer-token-env-var FOUS_API_KEY# Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline and morenpx -y add-mcp https://api.fous.com/mcp -g -n fous \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Then ask your agent:# "Use Fous to run britannica.com/get_article# with {"topic":"photosynthesis"}"Over HTTP, the answer’s data holds the output. A run still going after 30 seconds answers 202 with its id: ask GET /v1/runs/{id} until it ends.
Schema
Input schema
{ "type": "object", "required": [ "topic" ], "properties": { "topic": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "description": "Topic, person, place, or event to look up, for example Marie Curie." } }}Output schema
{ "type": "object", "required": [ "title", "description", "summary", "quick_facts", "section_headings", "last_updated", "main_image_link", "article_link" ], "properties": { "title": { "type": "string", "description": "Article title." }, "summary": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Opening paragraphs in plain text." }, "description": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Short description of the article." }, "quick_facts": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "label", "value" ], "properties": { "label": { "type": "string" }, "value": { "type": "string" } }, "additionalProperties": false }, "description": "Facts shown on the article page." }, "article_link": { "type": "string", "description": "Britannica article URL." }, "last_updated": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "format": "date", "description": "Article update date, if shown." }, "main_image_link": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Main image URL, if shown." }, "section_headings": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Section headings in article order." } }, "additionalProperties": false}- Price
- 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free.
- Method
britannica.com/get_article- Returns
- title, description, summary, quick facts, section headings, last updated, main image link, article link
Use it from your agent
Give your agent this line. It reads SKILL.md, gets a Fous API key and connects the Fous MCP server. Its run then takes the method britannica.com/get_article with the inputs above.
Ask your agent
- Pull up the Britannica entry on the Ottoman Empire and give me the intro summary plus the quick facts box
- I need a quick overview of Ada Lovelace: her key facts, the main sections of a reputable encyclopedia article about her, and when it was last revised
- What does Encyclopaedia Britannica say about the Treaty of Westphalia? Include the article link and main image
- Get me an encyclopedia-style summary of Mount Kilimanjaro with its quick facts and a picture
- Look up photosynthesis in an authoritative encyclopedia and list the section headings so I can outline my report
See more
All Britannica methodsSearches Britannica for encyclopedia articles and returns their titles, short descriptions, article links and images when shown. Excludes other search formats such as videos, questions and stories.
britannica.com/search_articlesReturns the opening summary, short description, main image, article link and last edit time for a Wikipedia topic in the chosen language. For ambiguous names it uses the top matching article and lists up to five alternatives.
wikipedia.org/get_article_summaryReturns the full text of a Wikipedia article in ordered sections, with its last edit time, reference count and visible categories, in any language edition. Footnotes, tables and navigation material are excluded; a topic that is not an exact title uses the best search match.
wikipedia.org/get_full_articleReturns the labeled facts, in order, from the information box of a Wikipedia article in any language edition. Articles without an information box have no facts.
wikipedia.org/get_key_factsFinds a topic on the main English Fandom wiki for a franchise (picked from Fandom's cross-wiki search, or given as a wiki or article link) and returns the article's opening paragraphs, infobox facts, section headings, main image and links.
fandom.com/get_wiki_articleFinds an ESPN league or team by name and lists the latest headlines ESPN publishes for it, newest first.
espn.com/list_newsFinds a WHO fact sheet by health topic in the WHO fact-sheet directory. Returns its key facts, overview and sections in page order.
who.int/get_fact_sheetReads the text and details of a BBC News article from its link or headline. Live coverage pages return the latest entries available.
bbc.com/read_article