API Documentation

Programmatically access, capture, and render the preserved history of the early web.

The 1990 Web Archive API provides RESTful endpoints for querying our archive, submitting new URLs for preservation, and retrieving historically accurate renderings of archived pages. All responses are JSON-formatted, and requests require authentication via API key.

Base URL: https://api.1990webarchive.com/v1

Authentication

All API requests require a valid API key passed in the Authorization header using the Bearer scheme. You can generate and manage your keys in the developer dashboard.

Header

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Invalid or missing keys will return a 401 Unauthorized response. Keys are scoped to specific access levels (read-only, capture, full).

API Endpoints

GET /search

Query the archive for preserved pages matching your criteria. Supports era filtering, tech stack filtering, and full-text search across archived HTML.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
q required	string	Search query term
era	string	Filter by decade (1990s, 2000s)
limit	integer	Max results (default: 20, max: 100)

POST /capture

Submit a live or historical URL for archival capture. The system will crawl, fingerprint, and store the resource with full metadata.

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Description
url required	string	Valid HTTP/HTTPS URL to archive
priority	string	Processing priority (normal, high, critical)
tags	array	Custom metadata tags for organization

GET /capture/{id}/status

Check the processing status of a submitted capture request. Returns current state, estimated completion time, and preliminary metadata.

GET /render/{id}

Retrieve the archived resource. Supports returning raw HTML, reconstructed DOM, or timestamped screenshot captures. Use query parameter format=html|json|png.

Code Examples

Quick integration examples for common workflows.

bash

curl -X GET https://api.1990webarchive.com/v1/search?q=geocities \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

python

import requests

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
params = {"q": "web ring 1998", "era": "1990s"}

response = requests.get(
  "https://api.1990webarchive.com/v1/search",
  headers=headers, params=params
)
print(response.json())

javascript

const fetch = require("node-fetch");

const response = await fetch("https://api.1990webarchive.com/v1/search?q=netscape", {
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Accept": "application/json"
  }
});

console.log(await response.json());

Error Codes & Status

The API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure of requests.

200OK - Request succeeded

201Created - Capture queued

400Bad Request - Invalid parameters

401Unauthorized - Invalid API key

403Forbidden - Insufficient permissions

404Not Found - Resource missing

429Too Many Requests - Rate limited

500Server Error - Internal failure

Rate Limits

To ensure fair usage and archive stability, API requests are rate-limited based on your plan tier. Limits are calculated as a rolling window over 60 seconds.

Free Tier: 100 requests / minute (Read-only)
Pro Tier: 1,000 requests / minute (Full access)
Enterprise: Custom limits with dedicated infrastructure

Rate limit headers are included in every response: X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset.

SDKs & Libraries

Official client libraries are available for popular development environments. They handle authentication, retries, pagination, and response parsing automatically.

🐍 Python SDK 🟢 Node.js SDK 🔷 Go SDK 🦀 Rust SDK

Unofficial community libraries are also available. See our GitHub organization for integration examples and developer tools.