Get Singleton
Use GET /{entity_type}/{id} to retrieve a single entity. The response is the full entity object.
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/W2741809807"Cost: Free
OpenAlex IDs
Every entity has a unique OpenAlex ID with a letter prefix indicating the type:
| Prefix | Entity |
|---|---|
| W | Work |
| A | Author |
| S | Source |
| I | Institution |
| T | Topic |
| K | Keyword |
| P | Publisher |
| F | Funder |
You can use the full URL or just the key:
# Full URL
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/https://openalex.org/W2741809807"
# Key only (recommended)
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/W2741809807"IDs are case-insensitive: W2741809807 and w2741809807 are equivalent.
External ID lookups
You can look up entities using external identifiers. Pass the full external ID URL or use shorthand notation.
# DOI
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4375"
# ORCID
curl "https://api.openalex.org/authors/https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6187-6610"
# ROR
curl "https://api.openalex.org/institutions/https://ror.org/02y3ad647"
# ISSN
curl "https://api.openalex.org/sources/issn:0028-0836"
# PMID
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/pmid:29456894"Short-form IDs
For convenience, you can use prefix notation instead of full URLs:
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/doi:10.7717/peerj.4375"
curl "https://api.openalex.org/works/pmid:29456894"Canonical external IDs
Each entity type has a primary external identifier:
| Entity | Canonical ID |
|---|---|
| Works | DOI |
| Authors | ORCID |
| Sources | ISSN-L |
| Institutions | ROR |
| Topics | Wikidata ID |
| Publishers | Wikidata ID |
Merged entities
When duplicate entities are merged, requesting the old ID returns a 301 redirect to the new one:
$ curl -i https://api.openalex.org/authors/A5092938886
HTTP/1.1 301 MOVED PERMANENTLY
Location: https://api.openalex.org/authors/A5006060960Most HTTP clients follow redirects automatically, so you will receive the merged entity’s data without extra handling.