API
Developer APIs for catalog data, search, pricing signals, and marketplace workflows.
2manybooks exposes product APIs used by the website for catalog search, browse, library management, and marketplace workflows. A formal public developer program with partner keys and stable versioning is not generally available yet.
This page describes the current surface, access expectations, and what to expect while the developer experience matures. Treat response shapes and availability as subject to change unless a contract says otherwise.
1. Current access status
Most routes under /api power the signed-in product experience. They are not a published third-party SDK, and there is no self-serve key portal yet.
If you are evaluating partnership or integration access, contact the team through Get in Touch with your use case, expected volume, and data needs. Do not scrape HTML pages or reverse-engineer internal endpoints as a substitute for an agreement.
What is not public
- Admin and moderation APIs.
- Internal ops, enrichment, crawler, and pipeline routes.
- Webhook receivers and reconciliation endpoints.
- Any route that requires staff tokens or elevated roles.
2. Intended product surfaces
The website uses authenticated session cookies for personal actions and limited anonymous access for discovery. Partner integrations, when offered, will follow a clearer auth model than browser sessions.
Representative capabilities
- Catalog search by query, type, and for-sale filters.
- Cursor-based book browse with anonymous rate limits.
- ISBN lookup and catalog enrichment for signed-in collectors.
- Library copy and shelf management for the account owner.
- Marketplace listing and order workflows for verified participants.
3. Authentication and sessions
Browser clients authenticate with the product session cookie after login. Session-backed routes return 401 when the user is not signed in.
Do not embed personal session cookies in scripts, CI systems, or shared environments. Future partner access is expected to use dedicated credentials rather than user sessions.
Security expectations
- Use HTTPS for every request.
- Never share session cookies or staff tokens.
- Respect account ownership boundaries for library and order data.
- Report suspected unauthorized access to support@2manybooks.com.
4. Requests, limits, and errors
JSON request and response bodies are used for most product routes. Browse and search endpoints accept query parameters for filters, limits, and cursors.
Anonymous browse is capped more tightly than signed-in browse. Exceeding limits, using deprecated pagination, or calling private routes can return 4xx responses.
Common response patterns
- 200 with a JSON payload for successful reads and writes.
- 400 for invalid parameters or deprecated request shapes.
- 401 when authentication is required or missing.
- 404 when a book, listing, or resource cannot be found.
- 429 or reduced limits when traffic looks abusive or automated.
5. Data use and marketplace notes
Catalog data may include titles, authors, ISBNs, covers, estimates, and social signals. Values and availability can change as enrichment and market observations update.
Marketplace endpoints involve real money movement through payment processors. Do not attempt to automate checkout, shipping confirmation, or payout flows without an explicit commercial agreement.
Responsible use
- Cache only what your product needs and refresh when data goes stale.
- Attribute and display book metadata accurately.
- Do not republish private library notes, messages, or buyer/seller details.
- Follow the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for any automated access.
6. Roadmap for developers
Planned improvements include clearer public documentation, versioned contracts, partner authentication, and support channels for approved integrations.
Until those land, Documentation and Help Center remain the best guides for product workflows, while this page tracks API intent and status.
See also our Privacy Policy and Help Center.