We’ve recently updated documentation for the REST API. We took some time to try and work out the most important information that users are likely to be looking for and have tried to present it as clearly as possible. We’d love to know what you think about it.
## What’s changed?
We’ve updated documentation in two places:
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In the REST API section and metadata retrieval sections of our documentation pages.
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The Swagger pages of the API.
The documentation pages now contain more information about where the data comes from, how to authenticate, and a summary of services for retrieving metadata. Some information was duplicative and we’ve moved some information out to other documentation sections.
We’ve slimmed down the Swagger pages to the most essential information for making requests in the hope that the ‘try it out’ sections are easier to see and access. We’ve also added a lot more links in the page to make it easier to navigate.
The list of filters which is extremely long for the works endpoint and has its own page on the website. Don’t miss out on the tips and tricks page, which deals with some of the most common difficulties and requests from our user community.
## What hasn’t changed?
We also haven’t changed the look of the website or the Swagger docs: we’ve focused these changes on content and there is an ongoing larger project looking at broader changes to the website.
The features of the REST API haven’t changed either: you can keep using it exactly the same way you have been. That’s with the exception of recent updates to our rate limits, which are supporting stability as the amount of data grows.
## Get involved
If you see something missing or have suggestions about the documentation please get in touch. Maybe there’s a problem you’ve had trouble solving that we could explain, or a question our documentation couldn’t answer.
## What’s next
As mentioned above, we’re working on a broader redesign of our website, you’ll hear more about that in due course via our blog. In early 2026 we’ll be updating documentation for our other APIs (XML, OAI-PMH, OpenURL, etc.).