IndieBound APIindiebound.org ↗
Access IndieBound data via API: search books by title/author/ISBN, get Indie Bestsellers and Next List, find nearby indie bookstores, and retrieve blog posts.
What is the IndieBound API?
This API exposes 7 endpoints covering IndieBound's book catalog, curated lists, and independent bookstore directory. Use search_books to query by title, author, or ISBN and get back paginated results including format information and links. Other endpoints surface the current weekly Indie Bestseller rankings by category, the monthly Indie Next List with bookseller quotes, and a geolocation-based bookstore finder that returns store coordinates and distances.
curl -X GET 'https://api.parse.bot/scraper/0ba600e7-113f-4e9a-8ece-010df38ba9b3/search_books?page=0&query=Dune&search_by=title' \ -H 'X-API-Key: $PARSE_API_KEY'
Typed, relational, agent-ready
A generated client with real types, enums, and the links between objects — the structure a flat JSON response can't carry. Autocompletes in your editor and reads cleanly to coding agents.
- Fully typed · autocompletes
- Objects link to objects
- Typed errors & pagination
Typed Python client. Set up the SDK in your uv project, then pull this API’s typed client:
uv add parse-sdk uv run parse init uv run parse add --marketplace indiebound-org-api
uv run parse add --marketplace pulls a pinned snapshot of this canonical API — it won’t change underneath you. To customize it, subscribe and swap to your own copy.
from parse_apis.indiebound_api import IndieBound, BookSummary, SearchBy, Book, Bookstore, BlogPost, BestsellersCategory, IndieNextList
indiebound = IndieBound()
# Search for books by title
for book in indiebound.booksummaries.search(query="Dune", search_by=SearchBy.TITLE, limit=5):
print(book.title, book.author, book.isbn)
# Get detailed pricing for a specific book
detail = indiebound.books.get(isbn="9780441013593")
print(detail.title, detail.price, detail.availability)
# Navigate from a search result to its full details
summary = indiebound.booksummary(isbn="9780441013593")
full = summary.details()
print(full.url, full.price)
# Browse indie bestseller categories
for category in indiebound.bestsellerscategories.list():
print(category.category)
for ranked in category.books:
print(ranked.title, ranked.author)
# Get the Indie Next List recommendations
next_list = indiebound.indienextlists.get()
print(next_list.featured_great_read.title, next_list.featured_great_read.recommender)
for rec in next_list.books:
print(rec.title, rec.author)
# Find nearby independent bookstores
for store in indiebound.bookstores.search(location="10001"):
print(store.marker_title, store.city, store.state, store.distance)
# Browse blog posts
for post in indiebound.blogposts.list(limit=5):
print(post.title, post.link)
Search for books by keyword, title, author, or ISBN on IndieBound.org. Returns up to 10 results per page with book titles, authors, ISBNs, format/publisher info, and buy-local links. Pagination starts at page 0.
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| page | integer | Page number for pagination, starting at 0. |
| queryrequired | string | Search keyword, title, author name, or ISBN to search for. |
| search_by | string | Filter search by a specific field. Accepted values: 'title', 'author', 'isbn'. Omitting searches all fields. |
{
"type": "object",
"fields": {
"page": "integer page number",
"books": "array of book objects with title, author, isbn, format_info, and link",
"query": "string echoing the search query"
},
"sample": {
"data": {
"page": 0,
"books": [
{
"isbn": "9780441013593",
"link": "https://www.indiebound.org/buy-local/9780441013593",
"title": "Dune",
"author": "Frank Herbert",
"format_info": "Ace, August 2005"
}
],
"query": "Dune"
},
"status": "success"
}
}About the IndieBound API
Book Search and Details
The search_books endpoint accepts a query string and an optional search_by filter (title, author, or isbn). Results are paginated via the page parameter (starting at 0) and each book object includes title, author, isbn, format_info, and a direct link. To retrieve pricing and availability for a specific title, pass an ISBN-13 to get_book_details, which returns a price, availability status, and the resolved url on Bookshop.org.
Curated Lists
get_indie_bestsellers returns the current weekly lists broken into named categories such as Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Nonfiction, and Trade Paperback Fiction. Each category contains ranked book objects with title, author, image_url, and buy-local links. get_indie_next_list covers the monthly staff-pick recommendations and includes a featured_great_read object carrying a bookseller quote and recommender name alongside the standard book fields.
Bookstore Finder and Editorial Content
find_indie_bookstores takes a location input — ZIP code, city name, or street address — and returns an array of store objects with lat, lng, city, state, distance, and rendered infowindow HTML ready for map display. get_blog_posts delivers paginated IndieBound editorial content with title, date, excerpt, link, and image_url per post. get_bookstore_day_info returns the full text content of the Independent Bookstore Day page for event-related integrations.
The IndieBound API is a managed, monitored endpoint for indiebound.org — not a raw scraper you maintain. Every endpoint is automatically health-checked on a schedule, and when indiebound.org changes and a check fails, the API is automatically queued for repair and re-verified. It is built to keep working as the site underneath it changes.
This isn't an official indiebound.org API — it's an independent, maintained REST wrapper over public data. Where the source has no official API (or only a limited one), Parse gives you a stable contract over a source that never promised one, and keeps it current. Need a new endpoint or field? You can revise it yourself in plain English and the agent rebuilds it against the live site in minutes — contributing the change back to the shared API is free.
Will this API break when the source site changes?+
Is this an official API from the source site?+
Can I fix or extend this API myself if I need a new endpoint or field?+
What happens if I call an endpoint that has an issue?+
- Build a book discovery widget that queries
search_booksby author name and displays matched ISBNs with format details. - Aggregate the weekly Indie Bestseller categories from
get_indie_bestsellersto track rank changes over time. - Display the current month's Indie Next List with bookseller quotes pulled from
get_indie_next_list. - Add a 'find your local bookstore' feature to a reading app using
find_indie_bookstoreswith ZIP code input. - Pull live pricing and availability from
get_book_detailsto show purchase options alongside book metadata. - Populate an editorial feed with IndieBound blog posts via
get_blog_postsfor a book-focused newsletter or site. - Surface Independent Bookstore Day event information in a retail or community calendar using
get_bookstore_day_info.
| Tier | Price | Credits/month | Rate limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 100 | 5 req/min |
| Hobby | $30/mo | 1,000 | 20 req/min |
| Developer | $100/mo | 5,000 | 100 req/min |
One credit = one API call regardless of which marketplace API you call. Exceeding the rate limit returns a 429 response. Authenticate with the X-API-Key header.
Does IndieBound have an official developer API?+
What does `find_indie_bookstores` return, and how precise is the location matching?+
location parameter and returns an array of store objects each containing lat, lng, marker_title, city, state, distance, and infowindow HTML. Distance is relative to the input location. Coverage is limited to stores listed in IndieBound's directory, so stores not registered with IndieBound will not appear.Does `get_book_details` return inventory across multiple stores?+
price, availability status, and url resolved through Bookshop.org for the given ISBN-13. Per-store inventory data is not part of the response. You can fork the API on Parse and revise it to add an endpoint targeting store-specific availability if needed.Is there an endpoint for individual bookstore profiles or store hours?+
find_indie_bookstores returns location and distance data but does not include store hours, phone numbers, or detailed profile pages. You can fork the API on Parse and revise it to add a dedicated bookstore-profile endpoint.How current are the Indie Bestseller and Indie Next lists?+
get_indie_bestsellers reflects the current weekly list at the time of the request, and get_indie_next_list reflects the current monthly picks. Neither endpoint exposes historical lists or archived editions; only the live, current-period data is returned.