# Crossref DOI Scraper - Scholarly Metadata & Citations (`thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper`) Actor

Search Crossref or resolve exact DOIs. Export titles, authors, publishers, journals, publication dates, citation counts, ISSNs, ISBNs, licenses, and DOI links. Built for research and data pipelines. No login, cookies, or API keys — clean JSON output and pay-per-result pricing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Education, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## Crossref DOI Scraper

> Search Crossref publications or resolve exact DOIs into titles, authors, affiliations, publishers, journals, dates, identifiers, licenses, and citation indicators.

### What you get

Run broad metadata searches, apply publication-date and work-type filters, or submit DOI strings for direct resolution. Each work becomes a clean row for bibliography enrichment, research discovery, editorial systems, libraries, and scheduled metadata refreshes.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `doi` | Digital Object Identifier |
| `title` | Work title |
| `subtitle` | Work subtitle when present |
| `type` | Crossref work type |
| `publisher` | Depositing publisher |
| `container_title` | Journal, book, or proceedings title |
| `short_container_title` | Short source title |
| `authors` | Names, ORCIDs, and affiliations |
| `published_date` | Best published date |
| `online_date` | Online publication date |
| `print_date` | Print publication date |
| `created_date` | Crossref record creation time |
| `indexed_date` | Crossref indexing time |
| `is_referenced_by_count` | Crossref cited-by count |
| `references_count` | Deposited reference count |
| `issn` | Published ISSNs |
| `isbn` | Published ISBNs |
| `language` | Published language code |
| `license_urls` | License URLs |
| `resource_url` | Canonical work or DOI URL |
| `query` | Query or DOI that produced the row |
| `source` | Data-source name |

### Example output

```json
{
  "doi": "10.1038/s41586-026-01234-5",
  "title": "Reliable evaluation of language-model agents",
  "type": "journal-article",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "container_title": "Nature",
  "authors": [{"given": "Maya", "family": "Rao", "affiliations": ["Indian Institute of Science"]}],
  "published_date": "2026-07-02",
  "is_referenced_by_count": 27,
  "resource_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-01234-5"
}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `queries` | No | Title, author, publisher, journal, abstract, or general metadata searches; `artificial intelligence` is used only when both input modes are empty |
| `dois` | No | Exact DOI strings or `https://doi.org/` URLs |
| `fromPublishedDate` | No | Inclusive start date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format |
| `untilPublishedDate` | No | Inclusive end date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format |
| `workType` | No | Exact Crossref type such as `journal-article`, `book`, or `dataset` |
| `maxResultsPerQuery` | No | Maximum works per search; defaults to 20 |
| `mailto` | No | Optional contact email for Crossref's polite service routing |

### Use cases

- Libraries: enrich and refresh bibliographic catalogs.
- Researchers: find publications by topic, author, journal, or publisher.
- Editors: resolve DOI submissions into consistent metadata.
- Developers: build citation, discovery, and reference-management pipelines.

### Limitations

Crossref metadata is deposited by members and varies in completeness. Authors, affiliations, abstracts, licenses, and dates can be missing or formatted differently. Citation indicators need not match other indexes. Use the canonical DOI URL to verify important publication details.

### Compared to alternatives

Compared with `ryanclinton/crossref-paper-search`, this Actor supports both search and exact DOI resolution plus date and work-type filters. Compared with `parseforge/crossref-scraper`, it exposes affiliations, ORCIDs, ISSNs, ISBNs, license links, deposited references, and several publication dates for enrichment workflows.

### FAQ

#### Can I resolve a list of DOI URLs?

Yes. Add DOI strings or full `https://doi.org/` URLs to `dois`.

#### What should I put in `workType`?

Use a Crossref type such as `journal-article`, `proceedings-article`, `book`, or `dataset`.

#### Is an email required?

No. Supplying one follows Crossref etiquette and can improve service routing.

Explore more at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev). Related Actors: [PubMed Research Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/pubmed-research-scraper), [arXiv Papers Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/arxiv-papers-scraper), and [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-news-scraper).

Last verified: 2026-07

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Search titles, authors, publishers, journals, abstracts, and other Crossref metadata.

## `dois` (type: `array`):

Optional DOI strings or https://doi.org URLs to resolve directly.

## `fromPublishedDate` (type: `string`):

Optional inclusive date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `untilPublishedDate` (type: `string`):

Optional inclusive date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

## `workType` (type: `string`):

Optional exact type such as journal-article, proceedings-article, book, or dataset.

## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Maximum unique works saved for each query.

## `mailto` (type: `string`):

Optional contact address sent to Crossref for etiquette and service routing.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "artificial intelligence"
  ],
  "dois": [
    "10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"
  ],
  "workType": "",
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 20,
  "mailto": ""
}
```

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "artificial intelligence"
    ],
    "dois": [
        "10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"
    ],
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper").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 = {
    "queries": ["artificial intelligence"],
    "dois": ["10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"],
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper").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 '{
  "queries": [
    "artificial intelligence"
  ],
  "dois": [
    "10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 20
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/crossref-doi-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/TpdF1oYPlGZASjb5I/builds/MIs54Rmn94LEfkEW3/openapi.json