Query and retrieve preprint metadata from arXiv with the arXiv API
domain: export.arxiv.org · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
Sampled — shipped under file-level sampling, not individually fact-checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Steps
Send GET requests to http://export.arxiv.org/api/query with a search_query parameter (e.g., search_query=all:electron) and optional start/max_results for pagination.
Parse the Atom 1.0 XML response format returned by the API -- it is not JSON.
Use field prefixes in search_query (e.g., ti: for title, au: for author, cat: for category) to scope searches precisely.
Respect arXiv's documented rate-limit guidance of no more than one request every 3 seconds to avoid being blocked.
Consult the official user manual at info.arxiv.org/help/api/user-manual.html for full query syntax and response fields.
Known gotchas
No authentication or API key exists for the arXiv API -- abusive or high-volume use is managed purely by IP-based rate limiting and can get you blocked.
The response format is Atom/XML, so JSON-only tooling needs an XML parser or a community wrapper library.
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