🔔 ChEMBL Source Document Index

One structured record per ChEMBL source document — the document id, doc type, and the bibliographic identifiers (DOI, PubMed id, patent id, journal, year, pages, volume/issue, authors) plus the ChEMBL release lineage. A master index over ChEMBL's ~101,100 source documents, keyed and deduplicated on document_chembl_id. Built for cheminformatics, literature, and licensing teams who need the document provenance behind ChEMBL activities as clean citation facts.

Differentiation: generic ChEMBL wrappers return flat document pages; this index carries the DOI / PubMed / patent identifiers verbatim including nulls (a document with no DOI keeps a null DOI, never a blank or inferred one), attaches the ChEMBL release lineage (release name + creation date) per record, omits the bulk abstract, and excludes the submitter contact field. Every row stamps the CC BY-SA share-alike notice.

Output is one chembl_source_document row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one source document record (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per source document record). Source: www.ebi.ac.uk.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run CsYO71aXWQ7xRTBff on build 0.1.5 (2026-09-19), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

document_chembl_id	doc_type	doi	chembl_release_lineage	chembl_release_date	chembl_release
CHEMBL1158643	DATASET		CHEMBL_7	2010-09-29	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139451	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm030283g	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1148466	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm034189b	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139452	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm030287l	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139453	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm030933g	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139454	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm0303002	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139455	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm030351z	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37
CHEMBL1139456	PUBLICATION	10.1021/jm0342109	CHEMBL_1	2009-09-03	ChEMBL_37

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed) from ChEMBL_37. billable=50

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. chembl_source_document
• document_chembl_id (string/null) — e.g. CHEMBL1158643
• doc_type (string/null) — e.g. DATASET
• doi (string/null) — e.g. 10.1021/jm030283g
• doi_chembl (string/null) — null in every sample row
• pubmed_id (string/null) — e.g. 14695813
• patent_id (string/null) — null in every sample row
• title (string/null) — e.g. Unpublished dataset
• journal (string/null) — e.g. J Med Chem
• journal_full_title (string/null) — e.g. Journal of medicinal chemistry.
• year (string/null) — e.g. 2004
• volume (string/null) — e.g. 47
• issue (string/null) — e.g. 1
• first_page (string/null) — e.g. 1
• last_page (string/null) — e.g. 9
• authors (string/null) — e.g. Clader JW.
• src_id (string/null) — e.g. 0
• chembl_release_lineage (string/null) — e.g. CHEMBL_7
• chembl_release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2010-09-29
• chembl_release (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL_37
• source (string/null) — e.g. chembl-source-document-index
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL_37
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/document.json
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T00:17:51Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. CC BY-SA 3.0
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL / EMBL-EBI (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. chembl_source_document
• document_chembl_id (string/null) — e.g. CHEMBL1158643
• doc_type (string/null) — e.g. DATASET
• doi (string/null) — e.g. 10.1021/jm030283g
• doi_chembl (string/null) — null in every sample row
• pubmed_id (string/null) — e.g. 14695813
• patent_id (string/null) — null in every sample row
• title (string/null) — e.g. Unpublished dataset
• journal (string/null) — e.g. J Med Chem
• journal_full_title (string/null) — e.g. Journal of medicinal chemistry.
• year (string/null) — e.g. 2004
• volume (string/null) — e.g. 47
• issue (string/null) — e.g. 1
• first_page (string/null) — e.g. 1
• last_page (string/null) — e.g. 9
• authors (string/null) — e.g. Clader JW.
• src_id (string/null) — e.g. 0
• chembl_release_lineage (string/null) — e.g. CHEMBL_7
• chembl_release_date (string/null) — e.g. 2010-09-29
• chembl_release (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL_37
• source (string/null) — e.g. chembl-source-document-index
• release_date (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL_37
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/document.json
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T23:23:54Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. CC BY-SA 3.0
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. ChEMBL / EMBL-EBI (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/)
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "maxRecords": 50
}

The sample run charged exactly: 2 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 50 × $0.02 source_document_record = $1.04 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "maxRecords": 5
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.12 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5 × $0.02).

3. A full-size run

{
  "maxRecords": 101100
}

Up to 101100 rows (the schema default for maxRecords) — about $2,022.02 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 101100 × $0.02) if the source has that many.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run CsYO71aXWQ7xRTBff, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "chembl_source_document",
  "document_chembl_id": "CHEMBL1158643",
  "doc_type": "DATASET",
  "doi": null,
  "doi_chembl": null,
  "pubmed_id": null,
  "patent_id": null,
  "title": "Unpublished dataset",
  "journal": null,
  "journal_full_title": null,
  "year": null,
  "volume": null,
  "issue": null,
  "first_page": null,
  "last_page": null,
  "authors": null,
  "src_id": "0",
  "chembl_release_lineage": "CHEMBL_7",
  "chembl_release_date": "2010-09-29",
  "chembl_release": "ChEMBL_37",
  "source": "chembl-source-document-index",
  "release_date": "ChEMBL_37",
  "source_url": "https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/document.json",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-19T00:17:51Z",
  "license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
  "attribution": "ChEMBL / EMBL-EBI (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/)"
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads www.ebi.ac.uk — endpoints: https://www.ebi.ac.uk, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/document.json. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: CRAWL_DELAY=10.0.

Charging. Each source document record is charged at the moment it is pushed (source_document_record); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

Source

The public, keyless ChEMBL REST API at EMBL-EBI — https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/api/data/document.json, paginated, serialized at a 10-second crawl delay, no parallel fan-out. robots.txt on www.ebi.ac.uk is honoured; the /chembl path is permitted.

Licence & attribution

ChEMBL is released by EMBL-EBI under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0):

• Attribution: ChEMBL / EMBL-EBI — https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/
• Release: stamped per record (chembl_release) with the per-document release lineage.
• ShareAlike: redistribution or derivative works must be licensed under the same CC BY-SA 3.0.

Every record carries license = CC BY-SA 3.0 and attribution.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Source Document Record (source_document_record)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 8 source document records: $0.02 start + 8 × $0.02 = $0.18
• 25 source document records: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 100 source document records: $0.02 start + 100 × $0.02 = $2.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 4096 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed) from ChEMBL_37. billable=50. maxRecords is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by www.ebi.ac.uk. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (www.ebi.ac.uk) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxRecords (default 101100). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other NexGen Watch actors actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers www.ebi.ac.uk. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (CRAWL_DELAY=10.0) and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxRecords) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

🔗 Related Actors

• Census Address Geography Check — A definitive check: does this business/property address resolve to an official U.S. Census geography, and which one?
• ChEMBL Biotherapeutic Sequence Master — One structured record per ChEMBL biotherapeutic — the molecule id, the HELM notation, the biocomponent array, and the description. A master index ove…
• ChEMBL Clinical-Stage Indication Screen — One structured clinical compound record per molecule at or above the clinical phase you set — max_phase, first approval year, molecule type, route fl…
• ChEMBL Target Assay Definition Screener — One structured record per assay for the ChEMBL target(s) you name — the assay id, type and description, category, organism/tissue/cell, BAO format/la…
• ChEMBL Target Bioactivity Screener — One structured bioactivity record per measured activity for the ChEMBL target(s) you name — the assay/target/molecule ids, the standard measurement (…
• ChEMBL Target Catalogue Master — One structured record per ChEMBL target — the target id, preferred name, organism, tax id, target type, species-group flag, cross-references, and the…
• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of more than 300 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

⭐ Found this useful?

If this actor saved you a manual check, a quick review on the Apify Store helps other teams find it. Feature request or a source that changed? Open it from the Issues tab — every one is read.