OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper

OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper — a fast, reliable openalex scraper that needs no API key. You pay only for the results you get: failed or empty runs are always free.

This openalex scraper runs on the Apify platform, so you can call it from the API, run it on a schedule, or export results to JSON, CSV, Excel, or Google Sheets.

What this scraper does

• Extracts structured openalex data with no browser or API key required
• Returns clean JSON, one record per result — ready for sheets, databases, or apps
• Pay-per-result pricing: you are never charged for a run that returns nothing
• Runs on demand or on a schedule, and integrates with 5,000+ apps via the Apify API and webhooks

What data you get

Each result record includes fields such as:

• Open Alex Id (openAlexId) — e.g. "W4323666400"
• Doi (doi) — e.g. "10.3389/fbioe.2023.1143157"
• Title (title) — e.g. "Off-target effects in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing"
• Publication Year (publicationYear) — e.g. 2023
• Publication Date (publicationDate) — e.g. "2023-03-09"
• Work Type (workType) — e.g. "review"
• Cited By Count (citedByCount) — e.g. 559
• Authors (authors) — e.g. ["Congting Guo", "Xiaoteng Ma", "Fei Gao", "Yuxuan Guo"]
• Institutions (institutions) — e.g. ["Peking University", "Capital Medical University", "Beij...
• Journal (journal) — e.g. "Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology"
• Is Open Access (isOpenAccess) — e.g. true
• Oa Url (oaUrl) — e.g. "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023....
• Url (url) — e.g. "https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1143157"
• Concepts (concepts) — e.g. ["CRISPR", "Genome editing", "Cas9", "Computational biolo...

Input

Field	Type	Description
searchQueries	array	Keyword queries to search OpenAlex for scholarly works, e.g. "machine learning" or "crispr gene editing". O...
maxResults	integer	Maximum number of work records to return per search query (default 50, capped at 10000). Results are fetche...
fromYear	integer	Only return works published in this year or later, e.g. 2023. Applied server-side via OpenAlex's from_publi...

Example output

{
  "type": "paper",
  "openAlexId": "W4323666400",
  "doi": "10.3389/fbioe.2023.1143157",
  "title": "Off-target effects in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing",
  "publicationYear": 2023,
  "publicationDate": "2023-03-09",
  "workType": "review",
  "citedByCount": 559,
  "authors": [
    "Congting Guo",
    "Xiaoteng Ma",
    "Fei Gao",
    "Yuxuan Guo"
  ],
  "institutions": [
    "Peking University",
    "Capital Medical University",
    "Beijing Anzhen Hospital",
    "Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China"
  ],
  "journal": "Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology",
  "isOpenAccess": true,
  "oaUrl": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1143157/pdf",
  "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1143157",
  "concepts": [
    "CRISPR",
    "Genome editing",
    "Cas9",
    "Computational biology",
    "Gene",
    "Palindrome",
    "Biology",
    "Genetic enhancement",
    "Genetics",
    "Computer science"
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-10T00:00:00Z",
  "query": "crispr gene editing"
}

Use cases

• Automate research and data collection
• Feed dashboards, sheets, and databases
• Enrich records in your CRM or app
• Monitor changes on a schedule

Run it as a monitor (alerts on new openalex)

Schedule this openalex scraper to run automatically — hourly, daily, or on any cron schedule — with the built-in Apify Scheduler, and have results pushed to you by webhook, email, Slack, or your own app the moment they're ready. It's the easiest way to monitor openalex for changes over time and get alerted the instant something new appears — no manual runs. Because pricing is per result, a scheduled monitor only ever charges you for the data each run actually returns.

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing at $0.0004 per record. There is no monthly fee and no start fee — and empty or failed runs cost $0, so you only ever pay for data you actually receive.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an API key or account for the source? No. This openalex scraper works out of the box with no API key required.

What happens if a run returns no results? You are not charged. Billing is per result, so empty or failed runs are free.

Can I run the openalex scraper on a schedule? Yes. Use the Apify Scheduler to run it hourly, daily, or on any cron schedule, and get results by webhook or API.

What export formats are supported? Results can be exported as JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, or pushed to Google Sheets, a database, or your own app via the Apify API.

Is the data structured? Yes. Every openalex result is a clean, flat JSON record you can use immediately.