Softwium Books — Free Book Search API (No Key)

TL;DR

Softwium Books API provides a clean, simple interface for querying book information. Search by ISBN-10, ISBN-13, title, or author. Each response returns the book's title, subtitle, authors, publisher, published date, page count, description, and cover image URL. Uses the Open Library data source but with a simpler query format. JSON format, no API key, GET requests. Ideal for library catalog apps, book tracking tools, and reading list managers.

Quick start: https://softwium.com/api/books/9781449325862

No API key needed — just make a request!

How to Use This API

1. Lookup by ISBN

https://softwium.com/api/books/9781449325862

2. All Books (Paginated)

https://softwium.com/api/books

3. JavaScript — Search by Author

fetch('https://softwium.com/api/books')
  .then(r => r.json())
  .then(books => {
    const urls = books.slice(0, 10).map(b =>
      fetch(`https://softwium.com/api/books/${b.isbn}`).then(r => r.json())
    );
    return Promise.all(urls);
  })
  .then(details => {
    details.forEach(b => {
      console.log(`${b.title} — ${b.authors.join(', ')} (${b.pageCount}pp)`);
    });
  });

4. Python — Find Specific Book

import requests

isbns = ['9781449325862', '9780596805524', '9781449374648']
for isbn in isbns:
    data = requests.get(
        f'https://softwium.com/api/books/{isbn}'
    ).json()
    print(f"{data['title']} ({data['publishedDate']})")
    print(f"  Pages: {data['pageCount']}, Publisher: {data['publisher']}")
    print(f"  Desc: {data.get('description', 'N/A')[:80]}...")

Book by ISBN: https://softwium.com/api/books/9781449325862

Try This URL Now

Frequently Asked Questions

What ISBN formats are accepted?: Both ISBN-10 (e.g., 1449325863) and ISBN-13 (e.g., 9781449325862) are supported. The API normalizes them internally.
Does the API support search by title?: The primary lookup is by ISBN. For title/author search, you can fetch the full book list and filter client-side, or use the search endpoint if available.
What fields are returned?: Title, subtitle, authors (list), publisher, publishedDate, description, pageCount, categories, cover image URL (thumbnail and large), and language.
How many books are in the database?: The API draws from Open Library's catalog, which includes millions of books. The list endpoint returns a paginated subset.
Are cover images included?: Yes, each book entry includes cover image URLs (small thumbnail and large cover). Images are hosted on the Open Library CDN.
What about rate limits?: There are no documented rate limits. As a free public API, reasonable usage is expected for personal and educational projects.

API Details

API URL: https://softwium.com/api/books
Documentation: softwium.com/api
Category: Books
Authentication: Not Required
Geographic Coverage: Global

What You Can Build

Personal library catalog app scanning and tracking your book collection
Reading list manager with cover thumbnails and progress tracking
Book discovery tool recommending titles by genre and author similarity
ISBN barcode scanner app that looks up book details instantly
Book metadata cleanup tool for correcting and enriching your database