Archive.org
Metadata and file listings for Internet Archive items
The Internet Archive's metadata endpoint returns everything it knows about an item: its files, formats, checksums, servers and descriptive fields, all as JSON. Just append an item identifier to /metadata/ — no key, no signup. Handy for building on top of the Archive's books, audio, video and web collections.
GET https://archive.org/metadata/nasa
{
"created": 1782843816,
"d1": "ia601607.us.archive.org",
"d2": "ia801607.us.archive.org",
"dir": "/6/items/nasa",
"files": [
{
"name": "__ia_thumb.jpg",
"source": "original",
"size": "5399",
"format": "JPEG Thumb"
}
]
}curl "https://archive.org/metadata/nasa"const res = await fetch("https://archive.org/metadata/nasa");
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("https://archive.org/metadata/nasa")
print(res.json())/metadata/nasaPROBEDMetadata and file listings for Internet Archive items
/metadataSchema or metadata descriptor.
/metadata/1Metadata details by ID (example: 1).
/metadata?limit=10Schema or metadata descriptor.
/metadata/search?q=testSearch by query parameters.
/metadata/principleofrelat00eins/Schema or metadata descriptor.
We probe a documented GET and expect 2xx JSON — full uptime and health score. Export includes every documented route below.
Stable. No schema drift observed since monitoring began — the response shape has not changed under our checks.
Archive.org: common questions
Is Archive.org free to use?
Yes — Archive.org is a free open data API. Free tier: Free — limits not published. Whether the free tier allows commercial use is unclear — check the provider docs.
Does Archive.org need an API key?
No — Archive.org needs no API key or signup. You can call it straight away; rate limits still apply (Unpublished).
Can I call Archive.org from the browser?
Yes — Archive.org returns CORS headers over HTTPS, so front-end code can fetch it directly with no backend proxy. Use the fetch snippet on this page, or hit "Run live" to try it now.
Is Archive.org up right now?
As of our last scheduled check, Archive.org is unmonitored. We re-probe it every sweep — the status badge and uptime chart above always show the latest.