API Reference

Interact programmatically with over 4.2 million archived web pages from the 1990–1999 era. Our RESTful API provides search, retrieval, and archival submission capabilities.

Base URL

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

All endpoints are relative to this base URL. Responses are returned in JSON format.

Authentication

Bearer Token

Include your API key in the Authorization header for every request.

                        HTTP
                        Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here
                    

Keys can be generated in the Dashboard. Never expose your secret key in client-side code.

GET /archive/search Search archived pages by query, era, or tags

Returns a paginated list of archived snapshots matching your search criteria.

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
q REQUIRED	string	Search query (title, URL, or content)
year_range	string	Format: `1995-1998`
limit	integer	Results per page (1–100). Default: 20
offset	integer	Pagination cursor. Default: 0

Response Example

                        JSON
                        {
                          "results": [
                            {
                              "id": "arc_92x8k1m",
                              "url": "http://www.geocities.com/~jdoe",
                              "title": "Welcome to My Homepage!",
                              "archived_date": "1996-08-12",
                              "status": "rendered"
                            }
                          ],
                          "total": 142,
                          "has_more": true
                        }
                    

POST /archive/crawl Submit a URL for asynchronous archiving

Queues a URL for crawling and snapshotting. Returns a job ID to track progress.

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Description
url REQUIRED	string	Valid HTTP/HTTPS URL
depth	integer	Crawl depth (1–3). Default: 1
metadata	object	Custom tags or notes

Response Example

                        JSON
                        {
                          "job_id": "crawl_7f3a9b2",
                          "status": "queued",
                          "estimated_completion": "2024-05-20T14:30:00Z",
                          "message": "URL added to preservation queue"
                        }
                    

GET /archive/{id} Retrieve full snapshot data

Returns the archived HTML, assets manifest, and rendering metadata for a specific snapshot.

Path Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
id REQUIRED	string	Archive record identifier

Response Example

                        JSON
                        {
                          "id": "arc_92x8k1m",
                          "html": "<!DOCTYPE html><html>...",
                          "assets": [
                            "/cdn/1990s/arc_92x8k1m/style.css",
                            "/cdn/1990s/arc_92x8k1m/bg_tile.gif"
                          ],
                          "meta": {
                            "viewed_via": "Netscape Navigator 3.0",
                            "resolution": "800x600"
                          }
                        }
                    

Status Codes

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

200 OK

Request successful

201 Created

Resource archived successfully

400 Bad Request

Invalid parameters or malformed JSON

401 Unauthorized

Missing or invalid API key

404 Not Found

Archive ID does not exist

429 Too Many Requests

Rate limit exceeded

Error Handling

Errors are returned in a consistent JSON structure. Always check the status field.

                    JSON
                    {
                      "status": 401,
                      "code": "AUTH_INVALID",
                      "message": "The provided API key is expired or malformed.",
                      "request_id": "req_88a2b1c"
                    }
                