Authority API: Search and Retrieve Authority Records

The authority API provides access to VuFind’s authority index (SolrAuth), which contains controlled vocabulary records for persons, corporate bodies, geographic names, and subject headings. These endpoints share the same parameter structure as the bibliographic search and record endpoints, but operate against authority data rather than catalog records.

Endpoints

GET /api/v1/authority/search
POST /api/v1/authority/search

GET /api/v1/authority/record
POST /api/v1/authority/record

The authority API uses the same permission model as the bibliographic search and record endpoints. Access is governed by the access.api.Search and access.api.Record permissions respectively. See the API overview for details.

Search endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/search`

Search the authority index for matching records. The behavior and available parameters mirror the bibliographic search endpoint.

Parameters

lookfor

string

default:""

The search query string. Leave empty to retrieve all authority records.

type

string

The search handler to use against the authority index. Valid values depend on your VuFind authority search configuration. Defaults to the configured default handler.

sort

string

Sort order for results. Valid values depend on your authority sort configuration.

page

integer

default:"1"

Page number (1-indexed). Ignored when resumptionToken is provided.

limit

integer

default:"20"

Number of records per page. Must be between 0 and the configured maximum (default 100).

facet[]

string[]

Authority index facet fields to compute alongside results. Repeat the parameter for multiple facets.

filter[]

string[]

Facet filters to narrow the result set. Use fieldName:value syntax.

field[]

string[]

Authority record fields to include in the response. If omitted, the default fields (id, title, institutions) are returned. See available authority fields below.

resumptionToken

string

Token for cursor-based iteration over large result sets. Pass * to begin from the start. Pass the token returned in a previous response to fetch the next batch. At least one field[] value is required when using cursor mode.

Record endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/record`

Retrieve one or more authority records by their unique identifiers.

Parameters

string | string[]

required

The unique identifier(s) of the authority record(s) to retrieve.

Single record: ?id=auth_12345
Multiple records: ?id[]=auth_12345&id[]=auth_67890

field[]

string[]

Authority record fields to include in the response. If omitted, the default fields are returned.

prettyPrint

boolean

default:"false"

When true, formats the JSON response with indentation.

callback

string

When provided, wraps the response in a JSONP callback with this function name.

Available authority fields

The following fields can be requested via field[]. Fields marked as default are returned automatically when no field[] parameter is provided.

Field	Type	Default	Description
`id`	string	yes	Record unique ID
`title`	string	yes	Heading or name (title including any subtitle)
`institutions`	string[]	yes	Institutions the record belongs to
`fullrecord`	string	no	Full authority record

The authority record field set is intentionally minimal in the default VuFind configuration. The AuthorityApiRecordFields.yaml file documents placeholders for additional string, keyword, and RDA fields that can be added by customizing the configuration.

Response structure

Both endpoints return the same JSON envelope used by the bibliographic API.

Search response

status

string

required

"OK" on success, "ERROR" on failure.

resultCount

integer

required

Total number of authority records matching the query.

records

array

Array of authority record objects containing the requested fields.

Show Authority record properties (default fields)

string

Authority record unique ID.

title

string

The authorized form of the name or heading.

institutions

string[]

Institutions the authority record belongs to. Useful for identifying the source or maintaining agency.

facets

object

Facet results keyed by field name. Present only when facet[] parameters were supplied.

resumptionToken

object

Present only in cursor-based search responses.

Show resumptionToken properties

token

string

Pass this value as resumptionToken in your next request.

expires

string

Expiry timestamp in YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS format.

Record response

status

string

required

"OK" on success, "ERROR" on failure.

resultCount

integer

required

Number of records returned.

records

array

Array of authority record objects containing the requested fields.

Examples

Search authority records
Search with field selection
Retrieve record by ID
Retrieve multiple records
Cursor-based harvesting

curl "https://your-vufind-instance.example.org/api/v1/authority/search?\
lookfor=Darwin+Charles\
&limit=5"

{
  "status": "OK",
  "resultCount": 3,
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "auth_n79021383",
      "title": "Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882",
      "institutions": ["Library of Congress"]
    },
    {
      "id": "auth_n85099083",
      "title": "Darwin, Charles Galton, 1887-1962",
      "institutions": ["Library of Congress"]
    }
  ]
}

curl "https://your-vufind-instance.example.org/api/v1/authority/search?\
lookfor=Shakespeare\
&field[]=id\
&field[]=title\
&field[]=fullrecord\
&limit=2"

{
  "status": "OK",
  "resultCount": 7,
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "auth_n78095332",
      "title": "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616",
      "fullrecord": "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><record>...</record>"
    }
  ]
}

curl "https://your-vufind-instance.example.org/api/v1/authority/record?\
id=auth_n79021383"

{
  "status": "OK",
  "resultCount": 1,
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "auth_n79021383",
      "title": "Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882",
      "institutions": ["Library of Congress"]
    }
  ]
}

curl "https://your-vufind-instance.example.org/api/v1/authority/record?\
id[]=auth_n79021383\
&id[]=auth_n78095332\
&field[]=id\
&field[]=title"

{
  "status": "OK",
  "resultCount": 2,
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "auth_n79021383",
      "title": "Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882"
    },
    {
      "id": "auth_n78095332",
      "title": "Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616"
    }
  ]
}

Harvest all authority records using cursor pagination:

curl "https://your-vufind-instance.example.org/api/v1/authority/search?\
resumptionToken=*\
&field[]=id\
&field[]=title"

{
  "status": "OK",
  "resultCount": 85000,
  "records": [ ... ],
  "resumptionToken": {
    "token": "def456uvw",
    "expires": "2026-05-11 14:00:00"
  }
}

Error responses

Scenario	HTTP code	`statusMessage`
`id` parameter not provided on record endpoint	400	`"Missing id"`
More than `maxLimit` IDs requested	400	`"Record limit (100) exceeded"`
Record cannot be loaded	400	`"Error loading record"`
Invalid `limit` value	400	`"Invalid limit"`
Invalid search syntax	400	`"Invalid search"`
Invalid or expired resumption token	400	`"Invalid or expired token"`
No `field[]` provided with `resumptionToken`	400	`"Invalid record fields defined"`
Permission denied	403	`"Permission denied"`
API key required but not provided	401	(key mode message)

Authority record IDs returned from the search endpoint can be used directly in the record endpoint to fetch full records. Store the id field in search results to enable efficient batch lookups.

REST API

Authority API: Search and Retrieve Authority Records

Endpoints

Search endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/search`

Parameters

Record endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/record`

Parameters

Available authority fields

Response structure

Search response

Record response

Examples

Error responses

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REST API

Documentation Index

​Endpoints

​Search endpoint: /api/v1/authority/search

​Parameters

​Record endpoint: /api/v1/authority/record

​Parameters

​Available authority fields

​Response structure

​Search response

​Record response

​Examples

​Error responses

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Endpoints

Search endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/search`

Parameters

Record endpoint: `/api/v1/authority/record`

Parameters

Available authority fields

Response structure

Search response

Record response

Examples

Error responses