# Wikipedia API: Get article summary

> Returns 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.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia.

- Page: https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/get-article-summary
- Method: `wikipedia.org/get_article_summary`, version 2
- Website: wikipedia.org
- Returns: article title, short description, summary, main image link, article link, last edit time, other possible articles
- Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing)
- Sign-in: none needed
- Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free
- Verified: Nov 2, 2026

## Inputs

| Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `topic` | string | yes | `"Eiffel Tower"` | The topic or name to look up, for example Eiffel Tower or Taylor Swift. |
| `language` | string | no |  | Wikipedia language name or code, for example Spanish or es. Defaults to English. Default "English". |

## Output

From a run on Oct 23, 2026. Its input:

```json
{
  "topic": "Eiffel Tower"
}
```

Its output:

```json
{
  "summary": "The Eiffel Tower is a lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.",
  "article_link": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower",
  "article_title": "Eiffel Tower",
  "last_edited_at": "2026-10-15T18:04:23+00:00",
  "main_image_link": "https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Eiffel_Tower_logo.svg/330px-Eiffel_Tower_logo.svg.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail",
  "short_description": "Tower in Paris, France",
  "other_possible_articles": []
}
```

## Run it

From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output:

```bash
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"method":"wikipedia.org/get_article_summary","input":{"topic":"Eiffel Tower"}}'
```

From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`.

## Ask your agent

- Give me a quick overview of the Great Barrier Reef from Wikipedia, including the main image
- What's the short description and intro paragraph for Marie Curie? I'd like it in French.
- Summarize who Lionel Messi is and tell me when his page was last edited
- I need the opening summary of the Wikipedia article on Mercury — and if it's ambiguous, show me the other possible matches
- Pull the intro and article link for Machu Picchu in Spanish (es)

## Input schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "topic"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "topic": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The topic or name to look up, for example Eiffel Tower or Taylor Swift."
    },
    "language": {
      "type": "string",
      "default": "English",
      "description": "Wikipedia language name or code, for example Spanish or es. Defaults to English."
    }
  }
}
```

## Output schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "article_title",
    "short_description",
    "summary",
    "main_image_link",
    "article_link",
    "last_edited_at",
    "other_possible_articles"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "summary": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "The opening paragraph as plain text, when available."
    },
    "article_link": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Link to the selected Wikipedia article."
    },
    "article_title": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Title of the selected article."
    },
    "last_edited_at": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "format": "date-time",
      "description": "When the article was last edited, as an ISO 8601 date-time with offset."
    },
    "main_image_link": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "Link to the main article image, when available."
    },
    "short_description": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "Short description of the article, when available."
    },
    "other_possible_articles": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": [
          "title",
          "short_description",
          "link"
        ],
        "properties": {
          "link": {
            "type": "string"
          },
          "title": {
            "type": "string"
          },
          "short_description": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ]
          }
        },
        "additionalProperties": false
      },
      "description": "Up to five alternative articles for an ambiguous topic; otherwise empty."
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## See more

- [Wikipedia API: Get full article](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/get-full-article.md): Returns 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 API: Get key facts from an article](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/get-key-facts.md): Returns 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 API: Get page views](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/get-page-views.md): Returns human-reader view counts for a Wikipedia article by day or month, with totals, daily averages and the peak period.
- [Wikipedia API: Search articles](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/search-articles.md): Searches a Wikipedia language edition by keywords and returns matching articles in relevance order, with descriptions, snippets, word counts, last edit dates and links.
- [Wikipedia API: Get Wikipedia On this day](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org/get-on-this-day.md): Returns Wikipedia's On this day events, births, deaths and holidays for a month and day, in a chosen Wikipedia language; events, births and deaths come newest year first.
- [Britannica API: Get article](https://fous.com/methods/britannica.com/get-article.md): Finds the best-matching Britannica encyclopedia article for a topic and returns its introduction, quick facts, section headings, update date and main image.
- [Fandom API: Get a wiki article](https://fous.com/methods/fandom.com/get-wiki-article.md): Finds 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.
- [World Health Organization API: Get WHO fact sheet](https://fous.com/methods/who.int/get-fact-sheet.md): Finds a WHO fact sheet by health topic in the WHO fact-sheet directory. Returns its key facts, overview and sections in page order.
- [All Wikipedia methods](https://fous.com/methods/wikipedia.org.md)