bioRxiv API Guide

Overview

bioRxiv (pronounced "bio-archive") is a free online archive and distribution service for unpublished preprints in the life sciences. Operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, it provides researchers with immediate access to the latest findings before formal peer review. The bioRxiv API enables programmatic access to preprint metadata, content details, and publication linkage data across biology and medical sciences.

The API serves researchers who need to track emerging research trends, monitor preprint activity in specific subfields, or build automated literature surveillance pipelines. It is particularly valuable for systematic reviewers who want to capture the latest evidence before journal publication, and for bibliometric analysts studying the preprint-to-publication pipeline.

bioRxiv hosts preprints across more than 25 subject areas including neuroscience, genomics, bioinformatics, cell biology, and many more. The API returns structured metadata including titles, authors, abstracts, DOIs, publication dates, and links to corresponding published journal articles when available.

Authentication

No authentication required. The bioRxiv API is fully open and does not require any API key, token, or registration. All endpoints are publicly accessible without rate limiting restrictions.

Core Endpoints

details: Retrieve Preprint Metadata

Fetch detailed metadata for preprints posted within a specified date range or for a specific server (bioRxiv or medRxiv).