Semantic Scholar
semanticscholar.org · 2 records in Data APIs, Debrid · JSON
Records 2
- caveatSemantic Scholar
Data APIsfree tieridentity emailno cardlimit request-rateevidence documentedstale on 2026-12-04
- caveatSemantic Scholar Academic Graph API
Debridfree tieridentity emailno cardlimit request-rateevidence documentedstale on 2026-12-01duplicate
Semantic Scholar
Data APIs- Free allowance
- Most endpoints answer without authentication, rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users and further throttled under heavy use; a free API key gives 1 request per second on all endpoints, slightly more for some users after a review
- Verdict
- caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
- Cost
- free tier
- Identity
- emailno card, no phone
- Binding limit
- request-rateno key: 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users, further throttled during heavy use; API key: 1 request per second on all endpoints; slightly higher for some users after a review
- Evidence
- documented41 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
- Freshness
- stale on 2026-12-04checked 2026-11-03 (live); stale on 2026-12-04
| Free tier | Most endpoints answer without authentication, rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users and further throttled under heavy use; a free API key gives 1 request per second on all endpoints, slightly more for some users after a review unit requests; metered on request-count; The keyless figure is one pool for every keyless caller, not a per-caller allowance: a keyless paper search on 2026-10-30 answered 429. |
|---|---|
| Price | none stated |
| Limits |
|
| Binding | request-rate Keyless calls share one pool and the first one answered 429; a key gives a dedicated 1 request a second, and the full dataset downloads need that key too. |
| Identity | email Keyless calls are allowed. The key, which the full datasets also need, comes from a request form behind a CAPTCHA. The form requires first and last name, an email address, an affiliation and its website URL, and a country. It also requires private or public use, a description of 50 words or more, the endpoints and the requests per day expected. It also requires a statement that an unauthenticated request has already succeeded. The form asks for an academic or corporate email, and the vendor release notes of 2024 say requests from free email domains are no longer accepted. The form text says requests from academic and research institutions, nonprofit organizations and government entities are prioritized, and all other requests are reviewed case by case. The key is sent by email. No card. The form states a backlog of requests and gives no duration; the vendor release notes of 2024 give a backlog of about 1 month. Whether a requester who names no employer or institution is granted a key is unverified: behind a sign-up. |
| Egress | Not metered by volume. Full dataset files are pre-signed S3 download URLs that the Datasets API hands only to a request with an API key; sample files are public. free allowance: no byte allowance published |
| Per-object cap | API: batch lookup 500 paper ids and up to 10 MB a call, relevance search up to 1,000 results, bulk search up to 1,000 papers a call and 10,000,000 in all; datasets: 30 partition files each (papers in 1.5GB files, citations in 8.5GB files) |
| Retention | the API is a live index; datasets are dated releases (latest 2026-10-27) with incremental diffs from one release to the next |
| Interface | rest REST at https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1 (key in an x-api-key header); the Datasets API at https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1 lists releases with no key and returns pre-signed S3 HTTPS URLs for each partition, and the diffs between releases, only with a key |
| Tooling | curl or any HTTP client; the dataset partitions are fetched by walking the list of pre-signed URLs with any HTTP downloader |
| Composes with | The datasets are the bulk path: release 2026-10-27 lists papers (200M records in 30 1.5GB files), citations (2.4B records in 30 8.5GB files) and s2orc_v2 full text (16M records in 30 6GB files), fetched with a key and kept current with diffs; the 1 request a second key covers lookups. |
| Reliability | A keyless search on 2026-10-30 answered 429 on the first call; keys inactive for about 60 days or more may be removed, and the key form reports a backlog of requests. |
| Notes | The caveat is the shared keyless pool and the key gate on the full datasets. The record debrid/semantic-scholar describes the same API; this record adds the dataset bulk path and the key form. Whether a new key reaches the papers, citations and s2orc_v2 partitions is unverified: behind a sign-up. The release README says that downloading the full data requires an API key. |
| Evidence note | documented The rate limits, key form and dataset sizes are vendor pages and API answers read on 2026-10-30; a keyless search answered 429 and a keyless dataset download listing answered 401. No key was requested, so the keyed rate and the time to issue a key are documented or unverified only. |
| Parsed numbers |
|
Evidence 41
| date | source | what it proved |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | keyless calls share 1000 requests a second |
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | keyless calls are throttled further under load |
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | a key gets 1 request a second |
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | the key is sent by email |
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api%2Ftutorial | some keys get a higher rate after review |
| 2026-10-30 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api%2Ftutorial | the key is sent in an x-api-key header |
| 2026-10-30 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/datasets | datasets are pre-signed download URLs per partition |
| 2026-10-30 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/datasets | diffs update a dataset between releases |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | full dataset downloads need an API key |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | the latest dataset release is 2026-10-27 |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | the papers dataset is 200M records in 30 1.5GB files |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | the citations dataset is 2.4B records in 30 8.5GB files |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | the s2orc_v2 dataset is 16M records in 30 6GB files |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest/dataset/papers | part of the text of Evidence note, above |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=graph+neural+network&limit=1&fields=title | a keyless paper search answered 429 |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for an email |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for an academic or corporate email |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for an affiliation |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for the affiliation website URL |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for a description of 50 words or more |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for the expected requests per day |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | inactive keys may be removed after about 60 days |
| 2026-10-30 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | key requests wait in a backlog |
| 2026-10-31 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/ | a call returns at most 10 MB |
| 2026-10-31 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/ | the batch endpoint takes at most 500 paper ids a call |
| 2026-10-31 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/ | bulk search stops at 10,000,000 papers; larger needs go to the Datasets API |
| 2026-10-31 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=graph+neural+network&limit=1&fields=title | a keyless paper search on 2026-10-31 answered 429 on the first call |
| 2026-10-31 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api%2Ftutorial | some keys get a slightly higher rate after a review |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key request form requires an affiliation |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key request form requires the affiliation website URL |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the form requires a statement that an unauthenticated request has already succeeded |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the form text prioritises institutions and reviews all other requests case by case |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the form asks for an academic or corporate email |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key request form carries a CAPTCHA |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the form states a backlog of requests and gives no duration |
| 2026-11-02 | github.com/allenai/s2-folks/blob/main/API_RELEASE_NOTES.md | the vendor release notes of 2024 say key requests from free email domains are no longer accepted |
| 2026-11-02 | github.com/allenai/s2-folks/blob/main/API_RELEASE_NOTES.md | the vendor release notes of 2024 give the backlog for new key applications as about 1 month |
| 2026-11-02 | github.com/allenai/s2orc/issues/52 | a user reported on 2025-12-27 receiving a key after about 6 months of waiting |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | the release README says downloading the full data requires an API key |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/swagger.json | the Datasets API returns temporary pre-signed download links |
| 2026-11-02 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/datasets/v1/release/latest | not published |
More fields 2
| latest release | 2026-10-27 |
|---|---|
| key requests per second | 1 |
- Free allowance
- 'Most Semantic Scholar endpoints are available to the public without authentication, but they are rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users.
- Verdict
- caveatusable, with a named limit or an unprobed read path
- Cost
- free tier
- Identity
- emailno card, no phone
- Binding limit
- request-rate1,000 requests/second shared among all unauthenticated users, further throttled under load; 1 RPS with an API key
- Evidence
- documented10 sources; a first-party page was read and the sentence quoted
- Freshness
- stale on 2026-12-01checked 2026-10-31 (live); stale on 2026-12-01
| Free tier | 'Most Semantic Scholar endpoints are available to the public without authentication, but they are rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users. Requests may also be further throttled during periods of heavy use.' An API key gives '1 RPS on all endpoints' as an introductory rate. unit requests; metered on request-count; 1,000 requests/second is a pool shared by every anonymous caller in the world, not a per-client allowance. |
|---|---|
| Price | USD 0 |
| Limits |
|
| Binding | request-rate The pool is shared with every keyless caller, so a caller's own rate does not decide access: a keyless search on 2026-10-31 answered 429 on the first call; a key gives a dedicated 1 request a second. |
| Identity | email Keyless calls are allowed but share one pool. The key comes from a request form that asks for first and last name, an email (academic or corporate requested), an affiliation and its website URL, country, a description of 50 words or more and the requests per day expected; the key is sent by email. No card. Whether every request is granted is unverified: behind a sign-up. |
| Egress | Not metered by volume; no byte allowance is published. The key is a higher-limit credential, not a payment. free allowance: 1,000 requests/second shared across all anonymous users |
| Per-object cap | batch lookup: 500 paper ids and up to 10 MB a call; relevance search: up to 1,000 results and 10 MB a call; bulk search: up to 1,000 papers a call with a continuation token and up to 10,000,000 papers in all |
| Retention | a continuously rebuilt index; no retention clock is published for the graph |
| Interface | rest, cli GET https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=...&fields=...; x-api-key header when a key is used. |
| Tooling | curl/python-requests; the semanticscholar python client; batch endpoints for up to 500 IDs per call. |
| Composes with | The citation graph to join against Crossref and OpenAlex metadata; the shared anonymous pool makes it a best-effort enrichment step, not a bulk harvester. |
| Reliability | The anonymous pool is exhausted often enough that a single first request returned 429 with a 174-byte JSON error; a harvester must treat 429 as the normal case rather than an exception. |
| Notes | The caveat is availability, not price: a 1,000 rps global pool sounds large and behaves like a queue. A key trades the pool for a predictable 1 rps. |
| Evidence note | documented The rate-limit sentence is the vendor's own, and a 429 was observed on the first anonymous request. The throughput at which 429s stop was not characterised. |
| Parsed numbers |
|
Evidence 10
| date | source | what it proved |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-23 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | 'rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users' and '1 RPS on all endpoints' for a key |
| 2026-10-23 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=cancer&limit=1&fields=title | 429 with 174 bytes of JSON on the first anonymous request - the shared pool was already exhausted |
| 2026-10-31 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for an academic or corporate email |
| 2026-10-31 | probe: https://forms.hsforms.com/embed/v3/form/5910970/105f3885-cfd8-4b57-a570-6174c5c1650a/json | the key form asks for the affiliation's website URL |
| 2026-10-31 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | the key raises the rate limit; the page meters requests, not bytes |
| 2026-10-31 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=graph+neural+network&limit=1&fields=title | a keyless paper search on 2026-10-31 answered 429 on the first call |
| 2026-10-31 | probe: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1/paper/search?query=graph+neural+network&limit=1&fields=title | the keyless 429 answer is a 174-byte JSON message that points to the key form |
| 2026-10-31 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/ | the batch endpoint takes at most 500 paper ids a call |
| 2026-10-31 | api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/ | bulk search stops at 10,000,000 papers; larger needs go to the Datasets API |
| 2026-10-31 | www.semanticscholar.org/product/api | a key gets 1 request a second on all endpoints |
More fields 3
| anonymous pool rps | 1000 |
|---|---|
| key rps | 1 |
| observed first request | 429 |