Wikipedia API docs

Wikipedia API examples. For advanced usage see Official Mediawiki API documentation

Quick intro:

• All client requests should contain &origin=* because of CORS.
• Search term should be capitalize (Tori Amos not tori amos) if multiple words.
• You could request any wiki language you like (for example: sh.wikipedia.org or de.wikipedia.org)

Table of content

• Articles
  • Get an article
  • Search articles
• Images
  • GET the main image
  • GET all images from the article
  • Search free images
• Quotes

Articles

Get an article

GET full article for the requested title (titles=belgrade), with images (pageimages) and article URL (inprop=url). Also, follows redirection (redirects) if necessary:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=belgrade&prop=extracts|pageimages|info&pithumbsize=400&inprop=url&redirects=&format=json&origin=*

Previous request with minimal params:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=belgrade&prop=extracts&format=json

GET first paragraph of an article:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=Belgrade&prop=extracts&format=json&exintro=1

Search articles

To GET first 10 search results with extract and thumbnail image (prop=extracts|pageimages). Results is HTML by default, but we want json format:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&generator=search&gsrsearch=belgrade&exintro=&prop=extracts|pageimages&format=json

GET first 20 search results (srlimit) with short info (prop=info):

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&list=search&prop=info&inprop=url&utf8=&format=json&srlimit=20&srsearch=belgrade

GET first 20 search results (gsrlimit) with extract and thumbnail image (prop=extracts|pageimages). This time, article extract is set to plain text (explaintext):

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&generator=search&gsrlimit=20&prop=pageimages|extracts&exintro&explaintext&exlimit=max&format=json&gsrsearch=belgrade

Advanced search params:

• gsrsearch=intitle:belgrade (word "belgrade" is in title)
• gsrsearch=prefix:belgrade (article's title starts with the word "belgrade")

If you have problems, append &origin=* at the end of the route.

Images

GET the main image

Get source of the main image of the article:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=Belgrade&prop=pageimages&format=json&pithumbsize=250

GET all images from the article

Get all images from the article:

en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=belgrade&prop=images&format=json

Search free images

GET first 20 image files (gsrnamespace=6) from Wikimedia Commons with the term "Belgrade" in the filename (gsrsearch=intitle:Belgrade). Requested thumbnail size is 250px (pithumbsize=250):

commons.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?prop=pageimages|imageinfo|info|redirects&gsrnamespace=6&pilimit=max&pithumbsize=250&iiprop=extmetadata&iiextmetadatafilter=ImageDescription&action=query&inprop=url&redirects=&format=json&generator=search&gsrsearch=intitle:Belgrade&gsrlimit=20

Previous request without some params:

commons.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?prop=pageimages|info|redirects&gsrnamespace=6&pithumbsize=250&action=query&inprop=url&redirects=&format=json&generator=search&gsrsearch=intitle:Belgrade&gsrlimit=20

Remember, if you have problems, append &origin=* at the end of the route.

Quotes

GET wiki quotes for requested term (titles=Zen). The API is the same, just the domain is different (wikiquote.org):

en.wikiquote.org/w/api.php?action=query&titles=Zen&prop=extracts|info&inprop=url&redirects=&format=json