# BBC News API

> BBC News provides headlines, article search results and article text as a workflow and API.

BBC News lists headlines from a selected section; provide a section and optionally a maximum number of stories. Search news finds articles matching required search words, with optional date filters, ordering, page number and result count. Read article returns text and details for an article; provide its link or headline. Live coverage returns available latest entries.

- Page: https://fous.com/workflows/bbc-news
- Handle: `@bbc-news`
- Category: [News](https://fous.com/workflows/category/news)
- Source website: https://bbc.com/news
- Last verified: Sep 29, 2026
- Fous is not affiliated with BBC News.

## Methods

### List headlines

Operation `list_headlines`, version 1. 1 credit per call.

List BBC News article headlines in the order shown on a selected section page. Video-only items and non-News links are excluded; some stories do not show a date or author.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `section` | string | no | `"world"` | The news section to list, for example world. |
| `max_results` | integer | no | `4` | Maximum number of stories to return, for example 20. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "section": {
      "enum": [
        "top stories",
        "world",
        "UK",
        "US and Canada",
        "business",
        "technology",
        "science",
        "health"
      ],
      "type": "string",
      "default": "top stories",
      "description": "The news section to list, for example world.",
      "examples": [
        "world",
        "top stories",
        "science"
      ]
    },
    "max_results": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 20,
      "maximum": 50,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Maximum number of stories to return, for example 20.",
      "x-fous-developer": true,
      "examples": [
        4,
        5,
        3
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "section": "world",
      "max_results": 4
    },
    {
      "section": "top stories",
      "max_results": 5
    },
    {
      "section": "science",
      "max_results": 3
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `stories` | array |  | BBC News stories in the order displayed on the section page. |
| `stories[].authors` | array |  |  |
| `stories[].section` | string | `"world"` |  |
| `stories[].summary` | string or null | `"In rare access to Yemen's conflict zone the BBC travels to the front line with pro-government soldiers."` |  |
| `stories[].headline` | string | `"Inside Yemen's front-line city as Houthis battle for control"` |  |
| `stories[].image_link` | string or null | `"https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b03e/live/dca633d0-bab6-11f1-aa85-8f10bc212c53.jpg"` |  |
| `stories[].article_link` | string | `"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw98005ndz7no"` |  |
| `stories[].published_at` | string or null | `"2026-09-27T21:16:31.660000+00:00"` | Publication time if a date appears on the section card. |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "section": "world",
  "max_results": 4
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "stories": [
    {
      "authors": [
        "Nawal Al-Maghafi"
      ],
      "section": "world",
      "summary": "In rare access to Yemen's conflict zone the BBC travels to the front line with pro-government soldiers.",
      "headline": "Inside Yemen's front-line city as Houthis battle for control",
      "image_link": "https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/b03e/live/dca633d0-bab6-11f1-aa85-8f10bc212c53.jpg",
      "article_link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw98005ndz7no",
      "published_at": "2026-09-27T21:16:31.660000+00:00"
    },
    {
      "authors": [
        "Jake Kwon"
      ],
      "section": "world",
      "summary": "Last week Zelensky revealed Ukraine had sent two captured North Koreans to South Korea - which Seoul says was meant to be a secret.",
      "headline": "Seoul summons Ukraine envoy over North Korean prisoner-of-war row",
      "image_link": "https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4afe/live/251cfde0-bb54-11f1-bc1f-3f186ca4140c.jpg",
      "article_link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8ly40xx0dr0o",
      "published_at": "2026-09-28T14:57:31.337000+00:00"
    },
    {
      "authors": [
        "Ghoncheh Habibiazad"
      ],
      "section": "world",
      "summary": "Parastoo Ahmadi was convicted of \"offending public decency\" after singing while wearing a sleeveless dress during a livestreamed concert.",
      "headline": "Iran court upholds lashes sentence for singer who performed without hijab",
      "image_link": "https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6a11/live/e201bf70-bb4c-11f1-bc1f-3f186ca4140c.jpg",
      "article_link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crn45ed1kqqgo",
      "published_at": "2026-09-28T17:15:00.230000+00:00"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Read article

Operation `read_article`, version 1. 1 credit per call.

Read the text and details of a BBC News article from its link or headline. Live coverage returns available latest entries.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `article` | string | yes | `"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo"` | BBC News article link or headline, for example "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail". |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "article"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "article": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "BBC News article link or headline, for example \"Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail\".",
      "examples": [
        "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo",
        "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail"
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "article": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo"
    },
    {
      "article": "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail"
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `tags` | array |  |  |
| `authors` | array |  |  |
| `section` | string or null | `"UK"` |  |
| `summary` | string or null | `"The 11-year-old has broken another chess record after a remarkable performance representing England."` |  |
| `headline` | string | `"British chess prodigy, 11, becomes youngest woman grandmaster"` |  |
| `article_id` | string or null | `"cqwyzrg7xm2zo"` |  |
| `paragraphs` | array |  | Full article text in plain-text paragraphs, or latest live entries. |
| `word_count` | integer | `584` |  |
| `article_url` | string | `"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo"` |  |
| `published_at` | string or null | `"2026-09-28T09:11:30.836+00:00"` | First publication date and time, ISO 8601 with offset. |
| `main_image_url` | string or null | `"https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/a406/live/752721d0-bb2c-11f1-a9b8-670e5d9d8eee.jpg"` |  |
| `last_updated_at` | string or null | `"2026-09-28T21:14:07.000+00:00"` | Last update date and time, ISO 8601 with offset. |
| `main_image_caption` | string or null | `"Bodhana first took up chess during the Covid pandemic"` |  |
| `full_text_available` | boolean | `true` |  |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "article": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo"
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "tags": [
    "Chess",
    "London"
  ],
  "authors": [
    "Florence Freeman"
  ],
  "section": "UK",
  "summary": "The 11-year-old has broken another chess record after a remarkable performance representing England.",
  "headline": "British chess prodigy, 11, becomes youngest woman grandmaster",
  "article_id": "cqwyzrg7xm2zo",
  "paragraphs": [
    "A British child chess prodigy has become the youngest player in history to earn the woman grandmaster (WGM) title.",
    "Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, from north-west London, secured her third and final WGM norm - a certified title-level performance - while representing England at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekis…",
    "Speaking to Fide, Sivanandan said she was happy about the achievement but wanted to \"keep making history\"."
  ],
  "word_count": 584,
  "article_url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzrg7xm2zo",
  "published_at": "2026-09-28T09:11:30.836+00:00",
  "main_image_url": "https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/a406/live/752721d0-bb2c-11f1-a9b8-670e5d9d8eee.jpg",
  "last_updated_at": "2026-09-28T21:14:07.000+00:00",
  "main_image_caption": "Bodhana first took up chess during the Covid pandemic",
  "full_text_available": true
}
```

### Search news

Operation `search_news`, version 1. 1 credit per call.

Find BBC News articles matching search words, with publication dates, authors and sections. Date filters and newest order apply to the first 180 search matches; older or less relevant matches may be missed.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `page` | integer | no | `2` | Result page number, for example 2. |
| `sort` | string | no | `"most_relevant"` | Order articles by publication time or search relevance, for example newest. |
| `query` | string | yes | `"climate change"` | Words to look for in BBC News, for example Tesla. |
| `to_date` | string | no | `"2026-09-28"` | Include articles published on or before this date, for example 2026-09-28. |
| `from_date` | string | no | `"2026-01-01"` | Include articles published on or after this date, for example 2026-09-01. |
| `max_results` | integer | no | `4` | Articles per page, up to 50, for example 20. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "query"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "page": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 1,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Result page number, for example 2.",
      "x-fous-developer": true,
      "examples": [
        2
      ]
    },
    "sort": {
      "enum": [
        "newest",
        "most_relevant"
      ],
      "type": "string",
      "default": "newest",
      "description": "Order articles by publication time or search relevance, for example newest.",
      "examples": [
        "most_relevant"
      ]
    },
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "description": "Words to look for in BBC News, for example Tesla.",
      "examples": [
        "climate change",
        "Tesla",
        "zzxqvvv-nonexistent-83748833"
      ]
    },
    "to_date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Include articles published on or before this date, for example 2026-09-28.",
      "examples": [
        "2026-09-28"
      ]
    },
    "from_date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Include articles published on or after this date, for example 2026-09-01.",
      "examples": [
        "2026-01-01"
      ]
    },
    "max_results": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 20,
      "maximum": 50,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Articles per page, up to 50, for example 20.",
      "x-fous-developer": true,
      "examples": [
        4
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "page": 2,
      "sort": "most_relevant",
      "query": "climate change",
      "to_date": "2026-09-28",
      "from_date": "2026-01-01",
      "max_results": 4
    },
    {
      "query": "Tesla"
    },
    {
      "query": "zzxqvvv-nonexistent-83748833",
      "max_results": 4
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `articles` | array |  |  |
| `articles[].link` | string | `"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lrk5lx96po"` |  |
| `articles[].authors` | array |  |  |
| `articles[].section` | string or null | `"News"` |  |
| `articles[].summary` | string or null | `"This summer has seen hot weather records broken, drought and major damage from fires."` |  |
| `articles[].headline` | string | `"How this summer may have been when climate change felt real"` |  |
| `articles[].published_at` | string | `"2026-09-14T05:22:40.383000+00:00"` |  |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "page": 2,
  "sort": "most_relevant",
  "query": "climate change",
  "to_date": "2026-09-28",
  "from_date": "2026-01-01",
  "max_results": 4
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "articles": [
    {
      "link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lrk5lx96po",
      "authors": [
        "David Gregory-Kumar"
      ],
      "section": "News",
      "summary": "This summer has seen hot weather records broken, drought and major damage from fires.",
      "headline": "How this summer may have been when climate change felt real",
      "published_at": "2026-09-14T05:22:40.383000+00:00"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6zj71650lo",
      "authors": [
        "Charlie Stubbs"
      ],
      "section": "News",
      "summary": "The hot, dry weather this summer has meant dairy farmers have had to use lots of their winter feed.",
      "headline": "Longnor dairy farmer calls for help to face climate change",
      "published_at": "2026-09-01T05:06:14.478000+00:00"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93vde0n2l4o",
      "authors": [
        "Matt McGrath"
      ],
      "section": "News",
      "summary": "Climate change and the rising influence of El Niño saw August reach the record for warmest month.",
      "headline": "August joint hottest month on record as climate change and El Niño drive heat",
      "published_at": "2026-09-10T02:05:47.071000+00:00"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Quick start

Call the API with a Fous API key (`FOUS_API_KEY`). To create one, turn on Developer mode in Fous Studio, then open Keys & connections → API keys (https://app.fous.com/keys).

```bash
# First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
: "${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example}"

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 120 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@bbc-news",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "list_headlines",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "section": "world",
    "max_results": 4
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'
```

```python
# Save as fous.py and run with python3 fous.py. No packages needed.
# First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
import json
import os
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

api_key = os.environ.get("FOUS_API_KEY")
if not api_key:
    raise RuntimeError("Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example")

body = json.loads("{\n  \"api\": \"@bbc-news\",\n  \"visibility\": \"public\",\n  \"operation\": \"list_headlines\",\n  \"version\": 1,\n  \"input\": {\n    \"section\": \"world\",\n    \"max_results\": 4\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=120) 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.
// First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
const apiKey = process.env.FOUS_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error("Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example");

const response = await fetch("https://api.fous.com/v1/query", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000),
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "api": "@bbc-news",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "list_headlines",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "section": "world",
    "max_results": 4
  },
  "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);
```

Or describe the data in plain language: send `{"api":"@bbc-news","prompt":"Describe the data you need, with every detail"}` to the same URL. Fous fills in the input, runs the method that fits and returns only the fields you asked for; `data.route.calls[].request` is the exact call it made. Routing is free; the run costs the same.

## Use cases

- Monitor headlines across selected news sections
- Find articles about a company or topic
- Filter news results by publication date
- Summarize article text for research
- Track article authors, sections and publication times

## FAQ

### Is Fous affiliated with BBC News?

No. Fous is not affiliated with BBC News. This workflow reads the public bbc.com website and returns its data.

### How much does it cost?

Each run costs 1 credit. With pay-as-you-go, a credit costs 1¢; monthly plans cost less per credit.

### Do I need a BBC News account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

### How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from bbc.com when you run it; repeating the same request within a day may return the saved result. Fous checks this workflow automatically; it last passed a check on Sep 29, 2026.

### What headlines appear in a BBC News section?

Use List headlines with a section, such as world, and optionally set the maximum number of stories.

### Which BBC News articles mention a topic?

Use Search news with the required search words and optional date filters or newest ordering.

### What does a BBC News article say?

Use Read article with its link or headline to get available text and details.

## Related

- [Fox News API](https://fous.com/workflows/fox-news.md): Fox News returns section-page headlines, keyword-matched articles among up to 100 available results, and readable article text, including the latest live-blog updates.
- [NPR API](https://fous.com/workflows/npr.md): NPR returns displayed section headlines, searchable articles with summaries and publication details, and available article text; date-filtered searches may miss older stories edited much later.
- [Daily Mail API](https://fous.com/workflows/daily-mail.md): Daily Mail provides ordered section headlines with available bylines and times, searches up to 200 published articles excluding syndicated wire stories, and reads public article text and details, including latest live-blog entries shown.
- [CNN API](https://fous.com/workflows/cnn.md): CNN provides section-page headlines and searchable public articles, plus article text; subscriber stories show only a brief public preview, and live blogs include entries.
- [Reuters API](https://fous.com/workflows/reuters.md): Reuters provides international news and reporting, with latest section headlines and keyword search; coverage and article details may be limited by access restrictions and news indexing.
- [Yahoo News API](https://fous.com/workflows/yahoo-news.md): Yahoo News provides section headlines and searchable articles, plus public article text and details; health has no public stories, and search covers a limited results window.
- [The New York Times API](https://fous.com/workflows/the-new-york-times.md): The New York Times provides current section headlines and summaries, keyword-matched public listings with dates, authors, sections and links, and Best Sellers lists for the latest issue or dates within a week.
- [AP News API](https://fous.com/workflows/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 News workflows](https://fous.com/workflows/category/news)