Is there an API for UK National Archives?

UK National Archives does not offer a public data API for this, but Anakin Wire provides 5 maintained endpoints for discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 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 UK National Archives 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 discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk changes its markup, Anakin updates the action.

Do I need a UK National Archives account?

No. Every UK National Archives action listed here runs anonymously — no account and no credentials required.

What does the UK National Archives 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.

Government Legal

UK National Archives API

discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

UK National Archives Discovery - record search, hierarchy browse, and detail pages.

Actions: 5
Category: Government Legal
Login: Not required
Output: JSON

Get an API key Wire API reference

Call the UK National Archives API

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

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_national_archives_browse_hub",
    "params": {}
  }'

5 actions on discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Read

Browse Records Hub
act_national_archives_browse_hubread1 credit / call
Returns the records browse landing page with catalogue entry points and hierarchy links.
Creator Search Results
act_national_archives_creator_search_resultsread2 credits / call
Returns record-creator search results with names, types, date ranges, and holdings.
advanced_query
string · required
_page
string
_dss
string
_st
string
Records Browse Hierarchy
act_national_archives_records_browse_hierarchyread2 credits / call
Returns hierarchical record entries with references, covering dates, and child links.
hierarchy_path
string · required
Record Search Results
act_national_archives_record_search_resultsread2 credits / call
Returns keyword record search results with titles, descriptions, holders, and references.
search_query
string · required
_sd
string
_ed
string
_hb
string
Records Series Listing
act_national_archives_records_series_listingread2 credits / call
Returns a catalogue series listing with titles, references, covering dates, and record links.
series_path
string · required

UK National Archives API questions

Is there an API for UK National Archives?: UK National Archives does not offer a public data API for this, but Anakin Wire provides 5 maintained endpoints for discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 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 UK National Archives 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 discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk changes its markup, Anakin updates the action.
Do I need a UK National Archives account?: No. Every UK National Archives action listed here runs anonymously — no account and no credentials required.
What does the UK National Archives 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.