# Semantic Scholar

A free search engine for scientific papers from Ai2, with a public Academic Graph API and bulk dataset releases of papers, authors, citations and abstracts.

- Category: Research tools · by Allen Institute for AI (Ai2)
- Website: https://www.semanticscholar.org/
- Live data: no
- Checked on the official pages: 2026-10-23

## API

- Official API: yes, docs https://api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/
- Key needed: no
- Price: Free; limits: 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users; an individual key gets 1 request per second
- Base URL: https://api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1
- Formats: json

## Data and license

- Download: https://api.semanticscholar.org/api-docs/datasets (json)
- License: Semantic Scholar API License Agreement; each dataset has its own license (e.g. ODC-BY, CC BY-NC) (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license); covers API use; bulk datasets follow the license in each dataset's README
- Commercial use with conditions
- Credit required
- Embedding with conditions
- Quote (api_official): "Most Semantic Scholar endpoints are available to the public without authentication" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api)
- Quote (api_key): "Certain endpoints require authentication via an API key" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api)
- Quote (limits): "rate-limited to 1000 requests per second shared among all unauthenticated users" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api)
- Quote (limits_key): "using an individual API key automatically gives a user a 1 request per second rate across all endpoints" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/tutorial)
- Quote (api_price): "Most Semantic Scholar endpoints are available to the public without authentication" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api)
- Quote (license_grant): "AI2 grants to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable and terminable license to use the API" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license)
- Quote (commercial): "repackage, sell, rent, lease, lend, distribute, or sublicense the API" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license)
- Quote (dataset_licenses): "are separately governed by the licenses that accompany such S2 Data" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license)
- Quote (attribution): "Licensee will include an attribution to “Semantic Scholar” on its website or in any published materials" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license)
- Quote (embed): "to access and display the data, datasets, content, and materials that AI2 makes available to S2 users" (https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api/license)

## Rules for an agent

- Official free REST API (JSON) at api.semanticscholar.org/graph/v1; no key needed but the shared pool often returns 429, so request a free key (x-api-key header, 1 req/s); bulk datasets via /datasets/v1 need a key; no official MCP server or SDK.
- Credit Semantic Scholar as its API terms ask; some bulk datasets are CC BY-NC.
- Without a key all callers share one rate pool, so expect HTTP 429 and retry with backoff; a free key gives a steady 1 request per second.

## Build ideas on AgentGid

- [Paper search for your research agent](https://agentgid.com/resources/ideas/paper-search-for-your-agent/agent.md)

Human page: https://agentgid.com/resources/semantic-scholar/
Source: AgentGid (agentgid.com). Facts are quoted from the site's own pages; check the license page before you ship.