Books — entry 008 of 22
Google Books
Google Books searches the metadata and, where licensed, previewable text of the tens of millions of scanned books, magazines, and public-domain works in Google's digitization project, returning volume details and ISBN/LCCN/OCLC lookups. A project API key is sufficient for search and volume data; the OAuth 2.0 this entry used to require only applies when reading or writing a signed-in user's own bookshelves. There's no separate pricing tier — usage is metered by a free per-project quota in the Google Cloud console rather than billed.
AuthenticationAPI KeySign up with the provider to obtain credentials.
HTTPSSupportedTraffic is encrypted in transit.
CORSEnabledCallable directly from browser JavaScript.
PricingFreeNo paid tier — free for the documented use case.
FormatsJSONResponses can be requested as JSON.
GreatAPIs Score
Score84
Authentication15/25API key required
Pricing20/20Free to use
Docs20/20Machine-readable spec file bundled
Formats9/15Single response format
Freshness20/20Verified within 6 months
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<a href="https://greatapis.com/api/google-books/"><img src="https://greatapis.com/badge/google-books.svg" alt="Scored 84 on greatapis.com"></a>Auth quickstart
- Sign up with the provider to get an API key.
- Send it on every request as a query param
?key=<key>
Stored keyNo key stored
Your key is stored only in this browser (localStorage) and sent directly to the API — never to greatapis.
Endpoints
bookshelves3
GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
userId | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Bookshelves |
GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves/{shelf}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
userId | path | yes | string |
shelf | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Bookshelf |
GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves/{shelf}/volumes
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
userId | path | yes | string |
shelf | path | yes | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
showPreorders | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
startIndex | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
cloudloading3
POST/books/v1/cloudloading/addBook
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
drive_document_id | query | no | string |
mime_type | query | no | string |
name | query | no | string |
upload_client_token | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | BooksCloudloadingResource |
POST/books/v1/cloudloading/deleteBook
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | query | yes | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/cloudloading/updateBook
Request body
application/json — BooksCloudloadingResource
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | BooksCloudloadingResource |
dictionary1
GET/books/v1/dictionary/listOfflineMetadata
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
cpksver | query | yes | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Metadata |
familysharing3
GET/books/v1/familysharing/getFamilyInfo
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | FamilyInfo |
POST/books/v1/familysharing/share
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
docId | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
volumeId | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/familysharing/unshare
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
docId | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
volumeId | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
layers6
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layers/{layerId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
layerId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | yes | string |
endOffset | query | no | string |
endPosition | query | no | string |
locale | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
pageToken | query | no | string |
showDeleted | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
startOffset | query | no | string |
startPosition | query | no | string |
updatedMax | query | no | string |
updatedMin | query | no | string |
volumeAnnotationsVersion | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumeannotations |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layers/{layerId}/annotations/{annotationId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
layerId | path | yes | string |
annotationId | path | yes | string |
locale | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumeannotation |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layers/{layerId}/data
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
layerId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | yes | string |
annotationDataId | query | no | array |
h | query | no | integer |
locale | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
pageToken | query | no | string |
scale | query | no | integer |
source | query | no | string |
updatedMax | query | no | string |
updatedMin | query | no | string |
w | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Annotationsdata |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layers/{layerId}/data/{annotationDataId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
layerId | path | yes | string |
annotationDataId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | yes | string |
allowWebDefinitions | query | no | boolean |
h | query | no | integer |
locale | query | no | string |
scale | query | no | integer |
source | query | no | string |
w | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | DictionaryAnnotationdata |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layersummary
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
pageToken | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Layersummaries |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/layersummary/{summaryId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
summaryId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Layersummary |
myconfig5
GET/books/v1/myconfig/getUserSettings
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
country | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Usersettings |
POST/books/v1/myconfig/releaseDownloadAccess
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
cpksver | query | yes | string |
volumeIds | query | yes | array |
locale | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | DownloadAccesses |
POST/books/v1/myconfig/requestAccess
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
cpksver | query | yes | string |
nonce | query | yes | string |
source | query | yes | string |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
licenseTypes | query | no | string |
locale | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | RequestAccessData |
POST/books/v1/myconfig/syncVolumeLicenses
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
cpksver | query | yes | string |
nonce | query | yes | string |
source | query | yes | string |
features | query | no | array |
includeNonComicsSeries | query | no | boolean |
locale | query | no | string |
showPreorders | query | no | boolean |
volumeIds | query | no | array |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
POST/books/v1/myconfig/updateUserSettings
Request body
application/json — Usersettings
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Usersettings |
mylibrary14
GET/books/v1/mylibrary/annotations
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
contentVersion | query | no | string |
layerId | query | no | string |
layerIds | query | no | array |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
pageToken | query | no | string |
showDeleted | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
updatedMax | query | no | string |
updatedMin | query | no | string |
volumeId | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Annotations |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/annotations
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
annotationId | query | no | string |
country | query | no | string |
showOnlySummaryInResponse | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
Request body
application/json — Annotation
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Annotation |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/annotations/summary
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
layerIds | query | yes | array |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | AnnotationsSummary |
PUT/books/v1/mylibrary/annotations/{annotationId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
annotationId | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Request body
application/json — Annotation
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Annotation |
DELETE/books/v1/mylibrary/annotations/{annotationId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
annotationId | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
GET/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Bookshelves |
GET/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Bookshelf |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}/addVolume
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
reason | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}/clearVolumes
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}/moveVolume
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
volumePosition | query | yes | integer |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}/removeVolume
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
reason | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
GET/books/v1/mylibrary/bookshelves/{shelf}/volumes
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
shelf | path | yes | string |
country | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
projection | query | no | string |
q | query | no | string |
showPreorders | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
startIndex | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
GET/books/v1/mylibrary/readingpositions/{volumeId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
contentVersion | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | ReadingPosition |
POST/books/v1/mylibrary/readingpositions/{volumeId}/setPosition
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
position | query | yes | string |
timestamp | query | yes | string |
action | query | no | string |
contentVersion | query | no | string |
deviceCookie | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
notification1
GET/books/v1/notification/get
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
notification_id | query | yes | string |
locale | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Notification |
onboarding2
GET/books/v1/onboarding/listCategories
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
locale | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Category |
GET/books/v1/onboarding/listCategoryVolumes
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
categoryId | query | no | array |
locale | query | no | string |
maxAllowedMaturityRating | query | no | string |
pageSize | query | no | integer |
pageToken | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volume2 |
personalizedstream1
GET/books/v1/personalizedstream/get
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
locale | query | no | string |
maxAllowedMaturityRating | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Discoveryclusters |
promooffer3
POST/books/v1/promooffer/accept
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
androidId | query | no | string |
device | query | no | string |
manufacturer | query | no | string |
model | query | no | string |
offerId | query | no | string |
product | query | no | string |
serial | query | no | string |
volumeId | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
POST/books/v1/promooffer/dismiss
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
androidId | query | no | string |
device | query | no | string |
manufacturer | query | no | string |
model | query | no | string |
offerId | query | no | string |
product | query | no | string |
serial | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Empty |
GET/books/v1/promooffer/get
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
androidId | query | no | string |
device | query | no | string |
manufacturer | query | no | string |
model | query | no | string |
product | query | no | string |
serial | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Offers |
series2
GET/books/v1/series/get
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
series_id | query | yes | array |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Series |
GET/books/v1/series/membership/get
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
series_id | query | yes | string |
page_size | query | no | integer |
page_token | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Seriesmembership |
volumes7
GET/books/v1/volumes
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
q | query | yes | string |
download | query | no | string |
filter | query | no | string |
langRestrict | query | no | string |
libraryRestrict | query | no | string |
maxAllowedMaturityRating | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
orderBy | query | no | string |
partner | query | no | string |
printType | query | no | string |
projection | query | no | string |
showPreorders | query | no | boolean |
source | query | no | string |
startIndex | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
GET/books/v1/volumes/mybooks
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
acquireMethod | query | no | array |
country | query | no | string |
locale | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
processingState | query | no | array |
source | query | no | string |
startIndex | query | no | integer |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
GET/books/v1/volumes/recommended
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
locale | query | no | string |
maxAllowedMaturityRating | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
POST/books/v1/volumes/recommended/rate
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
rating | query | yes | string |
volumeId | query | yes | string |
locale | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | BooksVolumesRecommendedRateResponse |
GET/books/v1/volumes/useruploaded
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
locale | query | no | string |
maxResults | query | no | integer |
processingState | query | no | array |
source | query | no | string |
startIndex | query | no | integer |
volumeId | query | no | array |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
country | query | no | string |
includeNonComicsSeries | query | no | boolean |
partner | query | no | string |
projection | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
user_library_consistent_read | query | no | boolean |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volume |
GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}/associated
Parameters
| Name | In | Required | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
volumeId | path | yes | string |
association | query | no | string |
locale | query | no | string |
maxAllowedMaturityRating | query | no | string |
source | query | no | string |
Responses
| Status | Description | Schema |
|---|---|---|
200 | Successful response | Volumes |
Try it
Developer reference
Base URL
https://books.googleapis.comRate limit
Google doesn't publish a single fixed public ceiling on the Books API's own docs page; the per-project default shown on the Cloud Console's Quotas page is a 1,000 requests/day courtesy limit at up to 1 request/second per user, raisable through the console's standard 'request more quota' flow used across Google Cloud APIs -- confirmed against Google's own quota-capping documentation (docs.cloud.google.com/apis/docs/capping-api-usage) plus multiple developers' live Cloud Console quota screenshots showing this exact Books API default, and consistent with the getting-started guide's note that usage is metered by project quota rather than billed per call.
Key endpoints
- GET/books/v1/volumes
- GET/books/v1/volumes/{volumeId}
- GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves
- GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves/{shelf}
- GET/books/v1/users/{userId}/bookshelves/{shelf}/volumes