Internet Archive Search: Books, Audio, Video & Software

Search the Internet Archive (archive.org) by keyword and media type: identifier, title, creator, date, downloads, subjects, description and details link. Find public-domain books, old software, audio and video. Official free advanced-search API, no key needed.

What does Internet Archive Search do?

Search archive.org collections: books, audio, video, images and software with downloads and links.

What can you use it for?

• Find public-domain and out-of-print books, audio and films.
• Build archives and research reading lists.
• Track popular items by download counts.
• Collect media metadata for cataloging.

Why use this Actor?

• Fast and cheap: lightweight HTTP-based Actor with no browser, so runs finish in seconds and cost very little.
• No API keys or accounts needed for the data source (see notes below).
• Clean, structured JSON that you can export as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML, or pull through the Apify API and integrations.
• Scheduling, webhooks and integrations: run it daily and send results to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, n8n or your own API.

Input

Configure the run in the Input tab (all fields have sensible defaults).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
query	string	yes	-	Keywords or Lucene query, e.g. moby dick or creator:tolstoy.
mediaType	string (texts / audio / movies / image / software / web / collection)	no	-	Restrict to one media type.
sortBy	string ( / downloads desc / date desc / date asc)	no	""	Order of results.
maxResults	integer	no	30	Maximum number of results.

Example input

{
  "query": "moby dick",
  "maxResults": 30
}

Output

Results are stored in the default dataset. Download them from the Output tab or via the API.

Example result

{
  "identifier": "Seamen_s_Bethel_Ribbon_Cutting",
  "title": "Seamen's Bethel Ribbon Cutting",
  "creator": "City of New Bedford",
  "mediaType": "movies",
  "date": "2017-05-30T00:00:00.000Z",
  "downloads": 128,
  "subjects": "New Bedford, Massachusetts, City of New Bedford, Government Access TV, Community Media, PEG, Youtube, Mayor Jon Mitchell, Seamen's Bethel, Moby Dick, 2017",
  "language": "English",
  "description": "New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell attends ribbon cutting ceremony for Seamen's Bethel in Downtown New Bedford, May 19th, 2017.",
  "url": "https://archive.org/details/Seamen_s_Bethel_Ribbon_Cutting",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-26T00:42:27.942Z"
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Example
identifier	string	"Seamen_s_Bethel_Ribbon_Cutting"
title	string	"Seamen's Bethel Ribbon Cutting"
creator	string	"City of New Bedford"
mediaType	string	"movies"
date	string	"2017-05-30T00:00:00.000Z"
downloads	number	128
subjects	string	"New Bedford, Massachusetts, City of New Bedford, Governm...
language	string	"English"
description	string	"New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell attends ribbon cutting ce...
url	string	"https://archive.org/details/Seamen_s_Bethel_Ribbon_Cutting"
scrapedAt	string	"2026-09-26T00:42:27.942Z"

How much does it cost?

The Actor is billed by Apify according to the pricing shown on the Pricing tab of this page. Runs are small and fast, and the Apify Free plan includes monthly platform credits so you can try it at no cost. You can set a maximum cost per run, and the Actor stops cleanly when that limit is reached.

Notes and limitations

• Rows link to archive.org/details pages; availability and licenses vary per item, check before reuse.

Tips

• Start with a small test run, then scale up the input.
• Use Schedules to automate recurring runs and Webhooks or Integrations to deliver the data where you need it.
• Call the Actor from your code with the Apify API or the official JavaScript and Python clients.

FAQ

Can I search one media type only?

Yes, choose texts, audio, movies, image or software.

Feedback

Found a bug or need an extra field? Open an issue from the Issues tab of this Actor and it will be looked at quickly.

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