# OpenAlex Works Search (x402 Keyless)

> OpenAlex Works Search (x402 Keyless) is a paid API for AI agents from x402-v2-mint-openalex-works.vercel.app, paid per call via x402, $0.020048/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-31).

Searches the OpenAlex academic works database by query or search string, returning scholarly publication metadata without requiring an API key.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://x402-v2-mint-openalex-works.vercel.app/v1/openalex-works?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.020048/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-31
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/openalex-works-search-x402-keyless-2cad1d69
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_i9jQp0gApKWqcmGcBnAej

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability openalex-works-search-x402-keyless-2cad1d69 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Search OpenAlex for academic works about 'CRISPR gene editing in cancer therapy' and return up to 10 results.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need keyless, pay-per-use access to OpenAlex scholarly works data without setting up an API account. Ideal for agents that only occasionally need academic literature search and want to avoid credential management. Prefer this over direct OpenAlex API calls when operating in an x402-enabled payment environment or when you need a simple POST interface with automatic billing.

## Known failure modes

- 400 Bad Request when neither 'query' nor 'search' field is provided — request is not charged
- No results found for highly specific or obscure queries
- Rate limiting or upstream OpenAlex API unavailability causing failed lookups
- Payment failure via x402 protocol preventing request from being processed
- Query or search string exceeds 400 character maximum length limit

## How this service works

listed:true — OpenAPI pre-register shape. Discovery submit HOLD until Board origin list.

## Output

Returns a JSON object with an 'ok' boolean, the skill name 'openalex-works', a 'charged' flag indicating the payment was processed, and a 'summary' field. The actual works data from OpenAlex is included in the response, covering fields such as paper titles, authors, publication venues, DOIs, open access status, and citation counts for matching scholarly works.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "query": {
   "type": "string",
   "maxLength": 400
  },
  "search": {
   "type": "string",
   "maxLength": 400
  },
  "per_page": {
   "type": "integer",
   "maximum": 25,
   "minimum": 1
  },
  "request_id": {
   "type": "string"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "ok": true,
  "skill": "openalex-works",
  "charged": true,
  "summary": "ok"
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/openalex-works-search-x402-keyless-2cad1d69/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from x402-v2-mint-openalex-works.vercel.app](https://www.zero.xyz/host/x402-v2-mint-openalex-works.vercel.app/llms.txt)