# Crossref Scholarly Metadata Scraper (`scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper`) Actor
Scrape scholarly works with DOI, title, type, publisher, journal, publication year, authors and citation count. Search by keyword. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapers\_lat/crossref-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrapers Lat](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Developer tools, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 95.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
from $6.80 / 1,000 results
This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## Crossref Scholarly Metadata Scraper
> Search and export scholarly metadata as clean structured data: DOI, title, abstract, type, publisher, journal, ISSN/ISBN, volume, issue, pages, publication year, authors with ORCID and affiliation, funders, license, full-text links and citation count.
**📥 [Input](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/input-schema) · 📤 [Output](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/output-schema) · 💰 [Pricing](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/pricing) · ▶️ [Examples](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples)**
### Who is it for
| Use case | Who benefits |
|---|---|
| Reference management | Researchers gathering citations by topic |
| Bibliometrics | Analysts measuring output and impact |
| Publishing tools | Builders enriching records with DOIs and metadata |
| Discovery | Anyone finding works by keyword, journal or publisher |
### How to use it
1. Enter a **search query** (a topic, author or keyword).
2. Set **Max Items** and run.
3. Export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or pull it through the Apify API.
### Frequently Asked Questions
**What does the search match?**
The search looks across titles, authors and other metadata and returns the most relevant works for your query.
**Does it include the DOI and journal?**
Yes. Each record includes the DOI, the journal or book title, the publisher and the publication year.
**Can I see how cited a work is?**
Yes. Each record includes a citation count and the number of references the work lists.
**How fresh is the data?**
Records are read live at run time, so each reflects the index at the moment of the run (see observedAt).
### Example use cases
Ready-to-run example tasks, each preconfigured for a common scenario. Open one and press run, or use it as a template:
- [Academic papers about climate change](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-climate-change): Collect academic papers about climate change with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about machine learning](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-machine-learning): Collect academic papers about machine learning with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about crispr gene editing](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-crispr-gene-editing): Collect academic papers about crispr gene editing with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about quantum computing](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-quantum-computing): Collect academic papers about quantum computing with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about renewable energy](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-renewable-energy): Collect academic papers about renewable energy with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about vaccine development](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-vaccine-development): Collect academic papers about vaccine development with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about blockchain](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-blockchain): Collect academic papers about blockchain with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about microplastics](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-microplastics): Collect academic papers about microplastics with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about dark matter](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-dark-matter): Collect academic papers about dark matter with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
- [Academic papers about antibiotic resistance](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper/examples/xref-papers-antibiotic-resistance): Collect academic papers about antibiotic resistance with titles, authors, journals, DOIs and publication dates for a literature review and citation work.
### Export, API and AI agents (x402 + MCP)
Export the scraped data to **JSON, CSV or Excel**, pull it as a **dataset** through the Apify **API**, or wire it into your app with **no code**. This web scraper and data extractor also works for bulk data extraction and scheduled runs.
For AI agents: this Actor is available on **x402**, Apify's agentic payment standard built with Coinbase. An AI agent can discover, pay for and run it on its own with a funded wallet and a single HTTP request: no account, no subscription, no API key and no human in the loop. It also runs as an **MCP** tool inside Claude, Cursor and other AI clients out of the box. Learn more about [x402 agentic payments on Apify](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/x402).
### Related scrapers
- [OpenAlex Scholarly Works Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openalex-scraper)
- [Semantic Scholar Papers Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/semantic-scholar-scraper)
- [PubMed Articles Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/pubmed-scraper)
### More scrapers at scrapers.lat
This actor is built and maintained by [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat), where we publish scrapers for public platforms: finance, news, real estate, jobs, e-commerce and government data. Browse the full catalog or ask us for a custom scraper at [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat).
***
> This actor is an independent tool and has no affiliation with Crossref. It only accesses publicly available data. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.
# Actor input Schema
## `maxPapers` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of scholarly works to collect. Optional.
## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):
Keyword to search scholarly works by title, author and other metadata (for example 'climate change', 'graphene', 'public health').
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"maxPapers": 50,
"searchQuery": "climate change"
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (type: `string`):
No description
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"maxPapers": 50,
"searchQuery": "climate change"
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"maxPapers": 50,
"searchQuery": "climate change",
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"maxPapers": 50,
"searchQuery": "climate change"
}' |
apify call scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapers_lat/crossref-scraper",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/SMpf3AHag8QZHK3uE/builds/odvpUzJoIFDJs6hM9/openapi.json