Wikipedia data API: the official API or an Apify Actor?
Wikipedia has a public official API. 1 Apify Actor in this catalogue return Wikipedia data over HTTP too: send the input to Apify's run-sync endpoint with your token and get the records back as JSON, from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results at Store prices (plus platform usage). One answers a single request directly in server mode.
Side by side
| MediaWiki Action API and Wikimedia Enterprise | Apify Actors (1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Public, self-serve | Apify API token (any account) |
| What you get | Every Wikipedia edition exposes the MediaWiki Action API (for example en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php) for reading pages, search and metadata without a key. Wikimedia Enterprise offers On-demand, Snapshot and Realtime APIs… | Rows defined by each Actor's published schema; up to 39 fields per record |
| Price | Free; no API key is needed for read requests. Wikimedia Enterprise free accounts get up to 50,000 On-demand requests and 30 Snapshot requests per month; paid pricing is bespoke and not published. | From $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results (Store price, Free plan), plus platform usage |
| Limits | No hard speed limit on read requests; requests should be serial, use an informative User-Agent with contact details, and back off when rate-limited. Numeric limits may change. | Synchronous calls wait up to 300 s; longer runs go asynchronous |
| Docs | MediaWiki Action API and Wikimedia Enterprise | Apify API: run-sync |
Official API facts checked 2026-11-11. Text is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 and requires attribution; automated use must not be disruptive and must follow the API and User-Agent policies; not legal advice.
Which Actor for which job
All of them list $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Store, plus a start fee per run.
| Actor | Returns | Fields include | Call it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia Article Lookup by URL or Keyword | One record per Wikipedia article with summary, description, categories, images, Wikidata ID, coordinates, revision metadata and… | title, canonicalUrl, displayTitle | One request · Apify |
Call Wikipedia Article Lookup by URL or Keyword
Server mode is on for this Actor (checked 2026-11-12): one request returns the results in the response. Set APIFY_TOKEN first; runs bill to that account.
curl (GET)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
"https://vexaloom-labs--wikipedia-article-lookup-by-url-or-keyword.apify.actor/?articleTitles=Ada%20Lovelace" curl (POST)
curl -X POST "https://vexaloom-labs--wikipedia-article-lookup-by-url-or-keyword.apify.actor/" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"articleTitles":["Ada Lovelace"]}' JavaScript
// Node 18+ or any runtime with fetch. One request = one lookup; results come back in the response.
const response = await fetch("https://vexaloom-labs--wikipedia-article-lookup-by-url-or-keyword.apify.actor/", {
method: "POST",
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.APIFY_TOKEN}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
body: JSON.stringify({
"articleTitles": [
"Ada Lovelace"
]
}),
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
const items = await response.json();
console.log(items.length, items[0]); Python
import os
import requests
# One request = one lookup; results come back in the response.
response = requests.post(
"https://vexaloom-labs--wikipedia-article-lookup-by-url-or-keyword.apify.actor/",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN']}"},
json={
"articleTitles": [
"Ada Lovelace",
],
},
timeout=300,
)
response.raise_for_status()
items = response.json()
print(len(items), items[:1]) Generated from the Actor's published schema and checked, not executed.
Same data, other routes
- Wikipedia MCP server: these Actors as tools in Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.
- Every Actor with a one-request API
When a call fails
Why does the workflow or script stop with HTTP 408?
The synchronous endpoint waits at most 300 seconds. After that it answers 408 while the run keeps going in Apify. Lower the result limit, or start the run asynchronously, wait for it to finish and then read its dataset.
Source: Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
What do 400, 401, 402 and 403 from the Apify API mean?
Read error.type in the response body. 400 is invalid Actor input. 401 (user-or-token-not-found) means a token reached Apify but it is wrong or revoked. 402 with x402-payment-required means no token reached Apify at all: the n8n credential or the Authorization: Bearer header is missing, and Apify is offering its pay-per-run x402 route for agents instead; any other 402 is an exhausted usage limit on the account that pays for the run. 403 is a token without permission for that Actor or storage.
Source: Apify API: authentication; Apify documentation: agentic payments with x402; Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items
Why does a server-mode request answer 429?
If no Actor run can take the request within 2 minutes, Apify answers 429; the first response must also arrive within 5 minutes. Retry after a short pause, and send one request at a time while you test.
How do I authenticate server-mode requests?
Send Authorization: Bearer with your Apify API token. A token query parameter also works and is stripped before the request reaches the Actor, but a header keeps the token out of logs and browser history.
Questions
Is there an official Wikipedia API?
Every Wikipedia edition exposes the MediaWiki Action API (for example en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php) for reading pages, search and metadata without a key. Wikimedia Enterprise offers On-demand, Snapshot and Realtime APIs for high-volume use. Free; no API key is needed for read requests. Wikimedia Enterprise free accounts get up to 50,000 On-demand requests and 30 Snapshot requests per month; paid pricing is bespoke and not published.
How much does Wikipedia data cost through an Apify Actor?
The Actors listed here charge from $0.40 a run plus $0.99 per 1,000 results on the Apify Store (Free plan), checked 2026-11-12, billed to the Apify account whose token makes the call. Actor start events and platform usage can add to that.
Can I get Wikipedia data as JSON in one HTTP request?
Yes. Wikipedia Article Lookup by URL or Keyword has server mode on: a GET or POST to the Actor's own URL returns the results in the response. Every other Actor here works through POST /v2/actors/<id>/run-sync-get-dataset-items, which waits up to 300 seconds for the run.
Can an AI agent use the same Wikipedia data?
Yes. The Wikipedia MCP page bundles these Actors into one Apify MCP URL for Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code and Codex.
Is it allowed to collect Wikipedia data?
Text is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 and requires attribution; automated use must not be disruptive and must follow the API and User-Agent policies; not legal advice. Read Wikipedia's terms before you build on the data.
Sources
- MediaWiki Action API and Wikimedia Enterprise documentation, checked 2026-11-11
- MediaWiki Action API and Wikimedia Enterprise pricing
- Apify API: run Actor synchronously, checked 2026-11-11
- mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Etiquette, checked 2026-11-11
- foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Wikimedia_Foundation_API_Usage_Guidelines, checked 2026-11-11
- Wikipedia terms