# OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper (`chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max`) Actor

Scrape 250M+ scholarly works from OpenAlex by search query. Returns title, authors, institutions, journal, year, citations and DOI. No API key. Pay per paper; empty or failed runs cost nothing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max.md
- **Developed by:** [Christian Pichichero](https://apify.com/chrisp1211) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.40 / 1,000 records

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## 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](https://apify.com), 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

```json
{
  "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](https://docs.apify.com/platform/schedules), 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.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Keyword queries to search OpenAlex for scholarly works, e.g. "machine learning" or "crispr gene editing". One search task per query.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of work records to return per search query (default 50, capped at 10000). Results are fetched in pages of 100 via the API page parameter.

## `fromYear` (type: `integer`):

Only return works published in this year or later, e.g. 2023. Applied server-side via OpenAlex's from\_publication\_date filter and re-checked client-side.

## `maxCostUsd` (type: `integer`):

HARD budget cap. The run stops cleanly before exceeding this.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

This is an open API; no proxy needed. Default is fine.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "machine learning"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "machine learning"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQueries": ["machine learning"],
    "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "machine learning"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=chrisp1211/openalex-scraper-max",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper",
        "description": "Scrape 250M+ scholarly works from OpenAlex by search query. Returns title, authors, institutions, journal, year, citations and DOI. No API key. Pay per paper; empty or failed runs cost nothing.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "Btf16LrQYakauOcnj"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/chrisp1211~openalex-scraper-max/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-chrisp1211-openalex-scraper-max",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/chrisp1211~openalex-scraper-max/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-chrisp1211-openalex-scraper-max",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/chrisp1211~openalex-scraper-max/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-chrisp1211-openalex-scraper-max",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "searchQueries": {
                        "title": "Search queries",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Keyword queries to search OpenAlex for scholarly works, e.g. \"machine learning\" or \"crispr gene editing\". One search task per query.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "maxResults": {
                        "title": "Max results per query",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 10000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of work records to return per search query (default 50, capped at 10000). Results are fetched in pages of 100 via the API page parameter.",
                        "default": 50
                    },
                    "fromYear": {
                        "title": "From year (optional)",
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Only return works published in this year or later, e.g. 2023. Applied server-side via OpenAlex's from_publication_date filter and re-checked client-side."
                    },
                    "maxCostUsd": {
                        "title": "Max cost per run (USD)",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "HARD budget cap. The run stops cleanly before exceeding this."
                    },
                    "proxyConfiguration": {
                        "title": "Proxy",
                        "type": "object",
                        "description": "This is an open API; no proxy needed. Default is fine.",
                        "default": {
                            "useApifyProxy": false
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```