# OpenAlex Research Radar (`signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar`) Actor

Search or monitor OpenAlex papers by keyword, date, type, and open-access status. Export structured authors, topics, citations, and OA links.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar.md
- **Developed by:** [Signal Foundry](https://apify.com/signalfoundryhq) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, Education, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Research Radar

**Unofficial community Actor. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenAlex or OurResearch.**

Turn an OpenAlex Works search into a repeatable research snapshot or monitor. The Actor emits structured papers matching your query and can remember previously delivered works for scheduled runs.

### What it delivers

- OpenAlex ID, DOI, title, publication date, and work type;
- authors and institutions in simple arrays;
- journal/source, landing-page URL, and best known open-access PDF;
- OA status, citation count, and the five leading OpenAlex topics.

`apiKey` is optional but recommended for recurring use: OpenAlex now gives a free key ten times the daily budget of anonymous requests. The secret is encrypted by Apify and sent as `api_key`. `contactEmail` remains optional identification. Narrow monitors can combine a full-text `searchQuery`, work types, an open-access requirement, and a publication lookback.

The default is a repeatable snapshot. Enable `onlyNew` and keep the same `stateKey` so scheduled runs emit unseen OpenAlex work IDs only.

#### Example input

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "sodium ion battery recycling",
  "lookbackDays": 60,
  "openAccessOnly": true,
  "workTypes": ["article", "review"],
  "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENALEX_API_KEY",
  "contactEmail": "research@example.com",
  "stateKey": "sodium-battery-watch",
  "onlyNew": true,
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Pricing

The live price shown by Apify Store is the source of truth. The Actor is prepared for pay per result after creator payout onboarding; until the Store explicitly displays that model, no separate per-result fee is promised. Any OpenAlex API charges or prepaid usage belong to the API key owner.

### Local development

```bash
npm install
export ACTOR_TEST_PAY_PER_EVENT=true
npm test
npm start
```

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Full-text query for titles, abstracts, and indexed content.

## `lookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

Include works published within this many days unless an explicit start date is set.

## `fromPublicationDate` (type: `string`):

Optional YYYY-MM-DD override for lookback days.

## `openAccessOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Return only works OpenAlex marks as open access.

## `workTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional OpenAlex types, for example article, review, preprint, book-chapter.

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

Recommended for schedules. A free key raises the daily OpenAlex API budget and is sent as api\_key.

## `contactEmail` (type: `string`):

Optional email sent as OpenAlex mailto identification.

## `stateKey` (type: `string`):

Keep unchanged across scheduled runs; use another key for a separate query.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Enable for recurring schedules to skip OpenAlex work IDs already delivered under this state key.

## `resetState` (type: `boolean`):

Forget saved work IDs before this run and replay the date window.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many paid dataset rows.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "large language models",
  "lookbackDays": 90,
  "openAccessOnly": false,
  "workTypes": [
    "article",
    "review",
    "preprint"
  ],
  "stateKey": "default",
  "onlyNew": false,
  "resetState": false,
  "maxItems": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,signalfoundryhq/openalex-research-radar"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/s8UQ8AUOw5NKsjpig/builds/J68SfDOBnClJxAQf7/openapi.json