Is there an API for Google Books?

Google Books does not offer a public data API for this, but Anakin Wire provides 8 maintained endpoints for books.google.com. You call Anakin's REST API with an action ID and parameters and get structured JSON back; Anakin handles the browser, proxies, anti-bot, and parsing.

How do I scrape Google Books data?

POST to https://api.anakin.io/v1/wire/task with your API key, the action ID, and its parameters, then poll GET /v1/wire/jobs/{id} until the job settles. There is nothing to install and no scraper to maintain — when books.google.com changes its markup, Anakin updates the action.

Do I need a Google Books account?

No. Every Google Books action listed here runs anonymously — no account and no credentials required.

What does the Google Books API cost?

Usage-based credits, charged per call and refunded automatically when a job fails. New accounts start with 300 free credits and no card. See anakin.io/pricing for the current rates.

Research

Google Books API

books.google.com

Google Books - listings, edition metadata, preview snippets, and author listings.

Actions: 8
Category: Research
Login: Not required
Output: JSON

Get an API key Wire API reference

Call the Google Books API

Submit a task, then poll the job until it settles. This example runs act_books_google_book_edition_detail_edition_id.

curl -X POST https://api.anakin.io/v1/wire/task \
  -H "X-API-Key: $ANAKIN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "action_id": "act_books_google_book_edition_detail_edition_id",
    "params": {
      "edition_id": "yNsh0AEACAAJ",
      "ved_token": "2ahUKEwjWpeL3wfSUAxX5T2cHHQ9sI7IQre8FegQICxAC",
      "locale": "en"
    }
  }'

8 actions on books.google.com

Read

Alternate Edition Details
act_books_google_book_edition_detail_edition_idread2 credits / call
Returns metadata for a related book edition including title, author, and publisher.
edition_id
string · required
ved_token
string · required
locale
string · required
Author Search Autocomplete
act_books_google_search_autocomplete_inauthorread2 credits / call
Returns autocomplete suggestions for an author search query.
author_query
string · required
locale
string · required
psi_token
string · required
Book Edition Details
act_books_google_book_edition_detailread2 credits / call
Returns full book edition details including title, author, publisher, ISBNs, page count, and language.
book_id
string · required
edition_slug
string · required
search_query
string · required
locale
string · required
Book Preview Page
act_books_google_book_preview_pageread2 credits / call
Returns a book's preview details including description and cover images.
book_id
string · required
search_query
string · required
locale
string · required
Book Preview Pages
act_books_google_book_preview_pagesread2 credits / call
Returns scanned preview pages with page IDs and image URLs.
book_id
string · required
page_id
string · required
search_query
string · required
Books Homepage
act_books_google_books_homepageread1 credit / call
Returns the books homepage with browse shelves and featured volumes.
locale
string · required
Search Autocomplete
act_books_google_search_autocompleteread2 credits / call
Returns autocomplete suggestions for a book search query.
search_query
string · required
locale
string · required
psi_token
string · required
Search Autocomplete Modeless
act_books_google_search_autocomplete_modelessread2 credits / call
Returns autocomplete suggestions for subject-browse queries.
search_query
string · required
locale
string · required
psi_token
string · required

Google Books API questions

Is there an API for Google Books?: Google Books does not offer a public data API for this, but Anakin Wire provides 8 maintained endpoints for books.google.com. You call Anakin's REST API with an action ID and parameters and get structured JSON back; Anakin handles the browser, proxies, anti-bot, and parsing.
How do I scrape Google Books data?: POST to https://api.anakin.io/v1/wire/task with your API key, the action ID, and its parameters, then poll GET /v1/wire/jobs/{id} until the job settles. There is nothing to install and no scraper to maintain — when books.google.com changes its markup, Anakin updates the action.
Do I need a Google Books account?: No. Every Google Books action listed here runs anonymously — no account and no credentials required.
What does the Google Books API cost?: Usage-based credits, charged per call and refunded automatically when a job fails. New accounts start with 300 free credits and no card. See anakin.io/pricing for the current rates.