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DataCite API

Free DataCite API with no key: DOI metadata for research datasets, software and preprints, complementing Crossref's journal coverage. Tested example.

No API key requiredHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 20 Aug 2026

What is the DataCite API?

The DataCite API is a free, key-free API providing DOI metadata for research outputs that are not journal articles — datasets, software, preprints, images and physical samples — complementing Crossref's coverage of publications.

DataCite and Crossref split the DOI world between them: Crossref registers DOIs for journal articles and books, DataCite for research data, software, preprints and other outputs. If a DOI is not in Crossref, DataCite is where to look next.

Its `resourceTypeGeneral` field is the practical hook — you can filter to just datasets, or just software, which is how you build a research data discovery tool rather than another literature search.

Quick facts

Base URL
https://api.datacite.org
Authentication
No API key for reads. Registering DOIs requires a repository account.
Rate limit
No published hard limit; fair use expected.
Pricing
Free metadata; DOI registration is a paid membership service.
CORS
Not enabled — call it from your server
Official docs
Read the docs

How to use the DataCite API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 20 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. Search research DOIs

GET https://api.datacite.org/dois?page%5Bsize%5D=1

curl
curl 'https://api.datacite.org/dois?page%5Bsize%5D=1'
JavaScript (fetch)
const res = await fetch("https://api.datacite.org/dois?page%5Bsize%5D=1");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);
Python (requests)
import requests

res = requests.get("https://api.datacite.org/dois?page%5Bsize%5D=1", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())
Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "10.5281/zenodo.20181854",
      "type": "dois",
      "attributes": {
        "doi": "10.5281/zenodo.20181854",
        "identifiers": [],
        "creators": [
          {
            "nameType": "Personal",
            "affiliation": [
              "Tripdatabase"
            ],
            "familyName": "Tripdatabase",
            "name": "Tripdatabase",
            "nameIdentifiers": []
          }
        ],
        "titles": [
          {
            "title": "What percentage of people experience shoulder problems after cervical neck dissection, and how many do not recover?"
          }
        ],
        "publisher": "Zenodo",
        "container": {},
        "publicationYear": 2026,
        "subjects": [
          {
            "subject": "shoulder problems"
          },
          {
            "subject": "cervical neck dissection"
          },
          {
            "subject": "recovery"
          },
          {
            "subject": "surgery complications"
          },
          {
            "subject": "orthopaedics"
          }
        ],
        "contributors": [],
        "dates": [
          {
            "date": "2026-05-14",
            "dateType": "Issued"
          }
        ],
        "language": null,
        "types": {
          "schemaOrg": "CreativeWork",
          "resourceTypeGeneral": "Text",
          "citeproc": "article",
          "bibtex": "misc",
          "ris": "GEN",
          "resourceType": "Other"
        },
        "relatedIdentifiers": [
          {
            "relationType": "IsIdenticalTo",

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
doispathOptionalDOI search and listing. dois
querystringOptionalElasticsearch-style search query. climate
page[size]integerOptionalResults per page, max 1000. 25
resource-type-idstringOptionalFilter by output type. dataset
client-idstringOptionalFilter by the repository that registered the DOI. cern.zenodo

Response fields

meta.totalinteger
Total matching DOIs.
data[].idstring
The DOI itself.
data[].attributes.titlesarray
Title records.
data[].attributes.creatorsarray
Authors or creators with affiliations and ORCIDs.
data[].attributes.publisherstring
Repository or publisher.
data[].attributes.types.resourceTypeGeneralstring
Dataset, Software, Text, Image and so on.
data[].attributes.rightsListarray
Licence terms.

What you can build with the DataCite API

  • Discover research datasets and software by topic
  • Resolve a DOI that Crossref does not recognise
  • Track outputs registered by a specific repository
  • Build research data citation tooling

Common errors and how to fix them

Bracket parameters rejected

page[size] contains square brackets.

Fix: URL-encode them as %5B and %5D if your HTTP client does not.

DOI not found

It may be a Crossref DOI.

Fix: Crossref registers journal articles; DataCite registers data and software. Try both.

Deeply nested attributes

Records follow the JSON:API convention.

Fix: Read data[].attributes.titles[0].title rather than a top-level field.

DataCite API — frequently asked questions

Is the DataCite API free?

Yes, reading metadata requires no API key. Registering DOIs is a paid membership service for repositories.

How does DataCite differ from Crossref?

They split the DOI space. Crossref registers journal articles and books; DataCite registers datasets, software, preprints and other research outputs. If a DOI is not in one, check the other.

Can I search only for datasets?

Yes, filter with resource-type-id=dataset, or read resourceTypeGeneral on each record. That is the main way to build a research data discovery tool.

Why are the records so nested?

It follows the JSON:API specification, so everything sits under data[].attributes rather than at the top level.

Tools that pair with this API

Alternatives to DataCite API

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DataCite is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 20 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.