# PubMed Article Search: Biomedical Papers, Journals & DOIs (`smilemask/pubmed-article-search`) Actor

Search PubMed (NCBI) for biomedical and life-science papers by keyword or PubMed query syntax. Returns PMID, title, authors, journal, publication date, DOI, PMC ID, article types and links. Uses the official free NCBI E-utilities API, no key required.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/smilemask/pubmed-article-search.md
- **Developed by:** [돈벼락](https://apify.com/smilemask) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 results

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## PubMed Article Search: Biomedical Papers, Journals & DOIs

Search PubMed (NCBI) for biomedical and life-science papers by keyword or PubMed query syntax. Returns PMID, title, authors, journal, publication date, DOI, PMC ID, article types and links. Uses the official free NCBI E-utilities API, no key required.

### What does PubMed Article Search do?

Search PubMed's 37M+ biomedical papers: titles, authors, journals, dates, DOI and PMID links.

### What can you use it for?

- Build literature lists for a disease, gene or drug.
- Track new publications on a topic with a scheduled run.
- Collect DOIs and journals for citation databases.
- Feed paper metadata into research assistants or dashboards.

### 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 PubMed syntax, e.g. intermittent fasting or cancer\[Title] AND immunotherapy. |
| `sort` | string (relevance / pub\_date) | no | `"relevance"` | Relevance or newest first. |
| `publishedAfterYear` | integer | no | - | Only papers published in this year or later. |
| `maxResults` | integer | no | `25` | Maximum number of papers (1-200). |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "query": "intermittent fasting",
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

### Output

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

#### Example result

```json
{
  "pmid": "38955141",
  "title": "Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting.",
  "authors": "Reddy BL, Reddy VS, Saier MH Jr",
  "journal": "Microbial physiology",
  "journalAbbreviation": "Microb Physiol",
  "publicationDate": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "year": 2024,
  "doi": "10.1159/000540068",
  "pmcId": "PMC11262566",
  "volume": "34",
  "issue": "1",
  "pages": "142-152",
  "articleTypes": "Journal Article, Review, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural",
  "language": "eng",
  "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38955141/",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-25T07:25:44.586Z"
}
```

#### Output fields

| Field | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| `pmid` | string | "38955141" |
| `title` | string | "Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting." |
| `authors` | string | "Reddy BL, Reddy VS, Saier MH Jr" |
| `journal` | string | "Microbial physiology" |
| `journalAbbreviation` | string | "Microb Physiol" |
| `publicationDate` | string | "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z" |
| `year` | number | 2024 |
| `doi` | string | "10.1159/000540068" |
| `pmcId` | string | "PMC11262566" |
| `volume` | string | "34" |
| `issue` | string | "1" |
| `pages` | string | "142-152" |
| `articleTypes` | string | "Journal Article, Review, Research Support, N.I.H., Extra... |
| `language` | string | "eng" |
| `url` | string | "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38955141/" |
| `scrapedAt` | string | "2026-09-25T07:25:44.586Z" |

### 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

- Results come from NCBI E-utilities (esearch + esummary). Abstracts are not included; open the PubMed link for the full record.
- PubMed query syntax works, e.g. covid\[Title] AND vaccine\[MeSH Terms].

### 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

**How do I limit to recent years?**

Set 'Published from year'. Sorting by publication date returns the newest papers first.

### 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.

### More tools from the same author

- [Clinical Trials Search: ClinicalTrials.gov Studies & Sponsors](https://apify.com/SmileMask/clinical-trials-search) - Search ClinicalTrials.gov by condition, drug and status: phases, sponsors, enrollment, dates and countries.
- [Crossref Scholarly Works Search: Papers, Citations & DOIs](https://apify.com/SmileMask/crossref-scholarly-works-search) - Search 150M+ scholarly works and DOIs with citation counts, authors, journals and publishers.
- [arXiv Paper Search: Abstracts, Authors, Categories & PDFs](https://apify.com/SmileMask/arxiv-paper-search) - Search arXiv preprints and export titles, abstracts, authors, categories, DOIs and PDF links.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/smilemask/pubmed-article-search/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Keywords or PubMed syntax, e.g. intermittent fasting or cancer\[Title] AND immunotherapy.

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Relevance or newest first.

## `publishedAfterYear` (type: `integer`):

Only papers published in this year or later.

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

Maximum number of papers (1-200).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "intermittent fasting",
  "sort": "relevance",
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "query": "intermittent fasting",
    "maxResults": 25
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("smilemask/pubmed-article-search").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 = {
    "query": "intermittent fasting",
    "maxResults": 25,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("smilemask/pubmed-article-search").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 '{
  "query": "intermittent fasting",
  "maxResults": 25
}' |
apify call smilemask/pubmed-article-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,smilemask/pubmed-article-search"
        }
    }
}
```

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/1Eu8NZvnpsRXDzIhq/builds/pFcSyboyFkPGnAU87/openapi.json