OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper

OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper

Scrape OpenAlex scholarly works, authors, institutions, and more, up to a million records per run. Every record comes with its full metadata, citations, and open access links. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

OpenAlex is a free, open catalog of the world's scholarly research, but querying its API by hand means writing filter strings and handling pagination yourself. This Actor reads the public OpenAlex API directly, lets you search by keyword or filter by any field, and returns each match in one fixed schema. It covers works, authors, institutions, sources, concepts, publishers, and funders.

Who uses it	What they scrape OpenAlex for
Academic researchers	Building a literature review dataset from OpenAlex works
Data scientists	Pulling citation networks and author metrics for analysis
Librarians	Harvesting institutional publication lists for reporting
Grant analysts	Tracking funder portfolios and research outputs

What it does

This Actor collects OpenAlex entities by search term or filter, and returns each one as a flat row with its metadata.

• 🔎 Search any entity: works, authors, institutions, sources, concepts, publishers, or funders.
• 🧮 Filter with OpenAlex syntax: publication year, open access status, country, citation count, and more.
• 📧 Polite pool access: add your email to get faster, more reliable API responses.
• 📦 Flat row output: every record is returned as a simple row, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with OpenAlex data

📚 Build a literature review dataset.

A PhD student searches for 'machine learning' and filters to open access works from 2020 onward, then exports the results to CSV for screening.

📈 Analyze citation networks.

A data scientist pulls all works citing a landmark paper, along with their citation counts, to map the research landscape.

🏛️ Track institutional output.

A librarian filters works by institution and year to compile an annual publication report for their university.

💰 Monitor funder portfolios.

A grant analyst queries works by funder and topic to see which projects a foundation has supported and their impact.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	OpenAlex is free and open, no registration needed
Full metadata	Titles, authors, citations, abstracts, and open access links
All entity types	Works, authors, institutions, sources, concepts, publishers, funders
Flexible filtering	Use OpenAlex filter syntax for precise queries

How it compares

This Actor covers all OpenAlex entity types with a simple search and filter interface, while competitors focus on works only.

Feature	ParseForge	OpenAlex Works Scraper	OpenAlex Academic Research Scraper - Scholarly Papers	OpenAlex Academic Research Scraper
All entity types (works, authors, institutions, sources, concepts, publishers, funders)	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Search by keyword	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Filter by OpenAlex filter string	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Polite pool email support	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Citation data	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Open access URLs	Yes	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
Automatic pagination	Yes	Yes	Not listed	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a search term and an optional OpenAlex filter string, and set a maximum number of records per run. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "entity": "works",
  "search": "machine learning"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "entity": "works",
  "search": "machine learning"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.16 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$16.00
1,000 results	$160.00
10,000 results	$1600.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to OpenAlex through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/openalex-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your search term and filter string. Make sure the filter syntax is correct and the entity type matches your query. Try a broader search term.

Why is the run slow?

OpenAlex rate limits requests. Add your email in the input to get into the polite pool, which allows faster and more reliable access.

Why are some fields empty?

Not all OpenAlex records have every field populated. Missing metadata is normal for some works or authors.

Can I get more than 1,000,000 records?

The maximum per run is 1,000,000. If you need more, split your query into multiple runs using filters like publication year ranges.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key for OpenAlex?	No, OpenAlex is completely free and open. You can optionally provide your email to get into the polite pool for faster responses.
What entities can I scrape?	Works, authors, institutions, sources (journals), concepts, publishers, and funders. Select the entity type in the input.
How do I filter results?	Use the OpenAlex filter string syntax, for example 'publication_year:2024,is_oa:true'. See the OpenAlex documentation for all available filters.
Can I search by keyword?	Yes, the search term field does a free text search across titles, abstracts, and display names.
What is the maximum number of records I can get?	You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000 per run. The Actor handles pagination automatically.
What output formats are supported?	The Actor returns data in a flat row format, which you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Is OpenAlex data reliable?	OpenAlex aggregates data from many sources including Crossref, PubMed, and institutional repositories. It covers over 250 million scholarly works.
Can I get citation counts?	Yes, citation counts are included in the work metadata when available.
Does this Actor support author search?	Yes, you can set the entity to 'authors' and search by author name.
Can I scrape by institution?	Yes, set the entity to 'institutions' and use a filter like 'display_name.search:University of Toronto'.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OurResearch. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.