# OpenAlex API

> OpenAlex returns scholarly papers and institution research summaries as a workflow and API.

OpenAlex searches scholarly papers by required topic words, with optional institution, publication-year, open-access, and sorting inputs. Get institution research summarizes an institution’s output, annual works and citations, leading topics, and coauthors of institution-linked works.

- Page: https://fous.com/tools/openalex
- Handle: `@openalex`
- Category: [Science](https://fous.com/tools/category/science)
- Source website: https://openalex.org
- Last verified: Sep 29, 2026

## Methods

### Get institution research

Operation `get_institution_research`, version 1. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.

Summarise an institution’s research output from its name, including annual output, leading topics and authors. Annual citations count citations received by works published that year; leading authors are coauthors of institution-linked works, not necessarily employees.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `institution` | string | yes | `"MIT"` | Name of the university, hospital or company, for example MIT or Pfizer. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "institution"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "institution": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Name of the university, hospital or company, for example MIT or Pfizer.",
      "examples": [
        "MIT",
        "Pfizer"
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "institution": "MIT"
    },
    {
      "institution": "Pfizer"
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `city` | string or null | `"Cambridge"` |  |
| `name` | string | `"Massachusetts Institute of Technology"` |  |
| `type` | string or null | `"education"` | Institution category in words. |
| `country` | string or null | `"United States"` |  |
| `homepage` | string or null | `"https://web.mit.edu"` |  |
| `ror_link` | string or null | `"https://ror.org/042nb2s44"` |  |
| `top_topics` | array |  |  |
| `top_topics[].name` | string | `"Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies"` |  |
| `top_topics[].works` | integer | `9611` |  |
| `top_topics[].openalex_link` | string | `"https://openalex.org/T10048"` |  |
| `top_authors` | array |  |  |
| `top_authors[].name` | string | `"Brian Zambri"` |  |
| `top_authors[].works` | integer | `3076` |  |
| `top_authors[].openalex_link` | string | `"https://openalex.org/A5004625476"` |  |
| `total_works` | integer | `428599` |  |
| `openalex_link` | string | `"https://openalex.org/I63966007"` |  |
| `total_citations` | integer | `82199297` |  |
| `openalex_institution_id` | string | `"I63966007"` |  |
| `works_and_citations_by_year` | array |  |  |
| `works_and_citations_by_year[].year` | integer | `2017` |  |
| `works_and_citations_by_year[].works` | integer | `12715` |  |
| `works_and_citations_by_year[].citations` | integer | `904194` |  |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "institution": "MIT"
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "city": "Cambridge",
  "name": "Massachusetts Institute of Technology",
  "type": "education",
  "country": "United States",
  "homepage": "https://web.mit.edu",
  "ror_link": "https://ror.org/042nb2s44",
  "top_topics": [
    {
      "name": "Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies",
      "works": 9611,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/T10048"
    },
    {
      "name": "Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions",
      "works": 7350,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/T10224"
    },
    {
      "name": "High-Energy Particle Collisions Research",
      "works": 6258,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/T10527"
    }
  ],
  "top_authors": [
    {
      "name": "Brian Zambri",
      "works": 3076,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/A5004625476"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael James Mills",
      "works": 2877,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/A5019602067"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anja Schmidt",
      "works": 2875,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/A5041318032"
    }
  ],
  "total_works": 428599,
  "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/I63966007",
  "total_citations": 82199297,
  "openalex_institution_id": "I63966007",
  "works_and_citations_by_year": [
    {
      "year": 2017,
      "works": 12715,
      "citations": 904194
    },
    {
      "year": 2018,
      "works": 13543,
      "citations": 862407
    },
    {
      "year": 2019,
      "works": 17991,
      "citations": 856075
    }
  ]
}
```

### Search papers

Operation `search_papers`, version 1. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.

Search scholarly works by topic, with optional institution, publication-year, and open-access filters. Returns up to 100 papers ranked by relevance, citations, or newest publication date.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `sort` | string | no | `"newest"` | Order of results, for example most_cited. |
| `query` | string | yes | `"machine learning"` | Topic words to find in scholarly works, for example microplastics in drinking water. |
| `end_year` | integer | no | `2024` | Latest publication year to include, for example 2024. |
| `start_year` | integer | no | `2023` | Earliest publication year to include, for example 2020. |
| `institution` | string | no | `"Stanford University"` | Institution name to filter author affiliations, for example Stanford University. |
| `max_results` | integer | no | `3` | Maximum papers to return, for example 20. |
| `open_access_only` | boolean | no | `true` | Include only open-access works, for example true. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "query"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "sort": {
      "enum": [
        "relevance",
        "most_cited",
        "newest"
      ],
      "type": "string",
      "default": "relevance",
      "description": "Order of results, for example most_cited.",
      "examples": [
        "newest",
        "most_cited"
      ]
    },
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "description": "Topic words to find in scholarly works, for example microplastics in drinking water.",
      "examples": [
        "machine learning",
        "microplastics in drinking water",
        "zzzxxyyvvvqqq171226"
      ]
    },
    "end_year": {
      "type": "integer",
      "maximum": 9999,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Latest publication year to include, for example 2024.",
      "examples": [
        2024
      ]
    },
    "start_year": {
      "type": "integer",
      "maximum": 9999,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Earliest publication year to include, for example 2020.",
      "examples": [
        2023,
        2020
      ]
    },
    "institution": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Institution name to filter author affiliations, for example Stanford University.",
      "examples": [
        "Stanford University"
      ]
    },
    "max_results": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 20,
      "maximum": 100,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Maximum papers to return, for example 20.",
      "x-fous-developer": true,
      "examples": [
        3,
        5,
        2
      ]
    },
    "open_access_only": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": false,
      "description": "Include only open-access works, for example true.",
      "examples": [
        true
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "sort": "newest",
      "query": "machine learning",
      "end_year": 2024,
      "start_year": 2023,
      "institution": "Stanford University",
      "max_results": 3
    },
    {
      "sort": "most_cited",
      "query": "microplastics in drinking water",
      "end_year": 2024,
      "start_year": 2020,
      "max_results": 5,
      "open_access_only": true
    },
    {
      "query": "zzzxxyyvvvqqq171226",
      "max_results": 2
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `papers` | array |  | Matching scholarly works. |
| `papers[].title` | string or null | `"Estimated Sleep-Wake Patterns Obtained From a Large U.S. Sample Using a Home-Based Under-Mattress Sleep-Monitoring Devi` | Paper title. |
| `papers[].venue` | string or null | `"Journal of Sleep Medicine"` | Journal, conference, or other publication venue. |
| `papers[].authors` | string | `"Jennifer Zitser, Andrew Cotton-Clay, Venkat Easwar, Arthur Kinsolving, Philippe H. Kahn, Clete A. Kushida"` | Author names, separated by commas. |
| `papers[].doi_link` | string or null | `"https://doi.org/10.13078/jsm.240020"` | DOI link, when known. |
| `papers[].open_access` | boolean | `true` | Whether the work is open access. |
| `papers[].openalex_link` | string | `"https://openalex.org/W4406078627"` | Paper page on OpenAlex. |
| `papers[].citation_count` | integer or null | `0` | Number of citations recorded. |
| `papers[].openalex_work_id` | string | `"W4406078627"` | OpenAlex work identifier. |
| `papers[].publication_date` | string or null | `"2024-12-31"` | Publication date in YYYY-MM-DD. |
| `papers[].publication_year` | integer or null | `2024` | Year the work was published. |
| `papers[].free_full_text_link` | string or null | `"https://www.e-jsm.org/upload/jsm-240020.pdf"` | Link to a freely available full-text version, when known. |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "sort": "newest",
  "query": "machine learning",
  "end_year": 2024,
  "start_year": 2023,
  "institution": "Stanford University",
  "max_results": 3
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "papers": [
    {
      "title": "Estimated Sleep-Wake Patterns Obtained From a Large U.S. Sample Using a Home-Based Under-Mattress Sleep-Monitoring Device",
      "venue": "Journal of Sleep Medicine",
      "authors": "Jennifer Zitser, Andrew Cotton-Clay, Venkat Easwar, Arthur Kinsolving, Philippe H. Kahn, Clete A. Kushida",
      "doi_link": "https://doi.org/10.13078/jsm.240020",
      "open_access": true,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/W4406078627",
      "citation_count": 0,
      "openalex_work_id": "W4406078627",
      "publication_date": "2024-12-31",
      "publication_year": 2024,
      "free_full_text_link": "https://www.e-jsm.org/upload/jsm-240020.pdf"
    },
    {
      "title": "Advances in Control Systems for Power Electronics in Energy Management",
      "venue": "American Journal Of Power Electronics And Power Systems",
      "authors": " Dr. John Smith",
      "doi_link": "https://doi.org/10.71465/ajpeps2554",
      "open_access": true,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/W7142421929",
      "citation_count": 0,
      "openalex_work_id": "W7142421929",
      "publication_date": "2024-12-31",
      "publication_year": 2024,
      "free_full_text_link": "https://doi.org/10.71465/ajpeps2554"
    },
    {
      "title": "Advancements in Non-Invasive Diagnostics: The Role of Biomedical Engineering",
      "venue": "American Journal of Biomedical Engineering",
      "authors": "Dr. Sarah Thompson, Dr. Michael Harris",
      "doi_link": "https://doi.org/10.71465/ajbe1582",
      "open_access": true,
      "openalex_link": "https://openalex.org/W7143983787",
      "citation_count": 1,
      "openalex_work_id": "W7143983787",
      "publication_date": "2024-12-31",
      "publication_year": 2024,
      "free_full_text_link": "https://australiansciencejournals.com/ajbe/article/download/1582/1678"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Quick start

Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with a Fous API key. To create one, open Developers at the bottom of Fous Studio, turn on Developer mode, then go to API keys (https://app.fous.com/keys). Change the values in `input` to run the same tool on new data.

```bash
curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@openalex",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_institution_research",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "institution": "MIT"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'
```

```python
# Save as fous.py and run with python3 fous.py. No packages needed.
import json
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"

body = json.loads("{\n  \"api\": \"@openalex\",\n  \"visibility\": \"public\",\n  \"operation\": \"get_institution_research\",\n  \"version\": 1,\n  \"input\": {\n    \"institution\": \"MIT\"\n  },\n  \"response\": {\n    \"format\": \"json\"\n  }\n}")
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.fous.com/v1/query",
    data=json.dumps(body).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    method="POST",
)
try:
    with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=180) as response:
        result = json.load(response)
except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
    raise RuntimeError(f"HTTP {error.code}: {error.read().decode('utf-8', errors='replace')}") from error
if result.get("success") is False:
    raise RuntimeError(result.get("error", {}).get("message", "Request failed"))
print(json.dumps(result["data"]["output"], indent=2))
```

```typescript
// Save as fous.mts and run with npx tsx fous.mts.
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

const response = await fetch("https://api.fous.com/v1/query", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(180_000),
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "api": "@openalex",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_institution_research",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "institution": "MIT"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}),
});
type ApiResult = { success: boolean; data?: { output: unknown }; error?: { message: string } };
const result: ApiResult = await response.json();
if (!response.ok || result.success === false) {
  throw new Error(result.error?.message ?? `HTTP ${response.status}`);
}
if (!result.data) throw new Error("Missing API response data");
console.log(result.data.output);
```

## Use from an AI assistant

Connect this tool to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and any MCP client as its own MCP server. Each method is a typed tool whose arguments are the method’s input.

- Server URL: `https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/openalex`
- Authorization: `Authorization: Bearer <Fous API key>`

**Tools**

- `get_institution_research`: Get institution research. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.
- `search_papers`: Search papers. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.
- `fous_get_run`: the result of a run that was still going, by its `request_id`. Free.

Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http fous-openalex https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/openalex --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"
```

To give the assistant every tool, connect `https://api.fous.com/mcp`: it finds one with `fous_search_tools` and runs it with `fous_run_tool`. Setup for other clients: https://fous.com/llms-full.txt.

## Use cases

- Find papers about a research topic within selected publication years.
- Filter scholarly works by institution or open-access status.
- Compare an institution’s annual research output and citations.
- Identify an institution’s leading research topics and coauthors.

## FAQ

### Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

### Can I call this OpenAlex tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

### How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

### Do I need a OpenAlex account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

### How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from openalex.org when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.

### Which papers match a topic and publication-year range?

Search papers returns matching scholarly works; provide topic words and optionally set start year and end year.

### Which topics and authors lead an institution’s research?

Get institution research returns leading topics and coauthors of institution-linked works for the institution name provided.

### How many works and citations does an institution have by year?

Get institution research returns annual works and citations for the institution name provided.

## Related

- [Semantic Scholar API](https://fous.com/tools/semantic-scholar.md): Semantic Scholar returns paper and citation search, paper abstracts, summaries, authors and influence, plus author metrics and up to 10 top-cited papers; dates, summaries, PDFs and affiliation matches may be unavailable.
- [Google Scholar API](https://fous.com/tools/google-scholar.md): Google Scholar provides papers, citing papers, ready-made citations and researcher profiles with metrics and up to 20 top-cited papers; public access may be temporarily limited.
- [arXiv API](https://fous.com/tools/arxiv.md): arXiv returns up to 100 matching research preprints or individual paper details, and newly announced subject papers in announcement order; announcement dates may differ from today, and replacements are excluded.
- [Unpaywall API](https://fous.com/tools/unpaywall.md): Find free-to-read scholarly papers and their legal copies.
- [Open Library API](https://fous.com/tools/open-library.md): Open Library returns book search results, catalog details, and author works; availability reflects listed editions, not current loan availability, and catalog details may be missing.
- [ORCID API](https://fous.com/tools/orcid.md): Researcher identifiers and public research records.
- [bioRxiv API](https://fous.com/tools/biorxiv.md): Biology and medicine preprints from bioRxiv and medRxiv.
- [AP News API](https://fous.com/tools/ap-news.md): AP News provides reporting, up to 50 public-page headlines, searchable articles visible in its search, and full text when accessible.
- [All Science tools](https://fous.com/tools/category/science)