search: Search VIAF authority data

API: viaf.org:viaf-api
Endpoint: /viaf/search
Response format: text/plain
Auth: unknown
Method: GET
Last Status: 200
Latency: 448ms

Description

Search VIAF authority data using CQL (Contextual Query Language) syntax. Supports searching by names, titles, sources, and other fields.

Parameters (4)

httpAccept (string, query, optional)

Response format - use 'application/json' for JSON, or omit for SRU/XML

Constraints: {'enum': ['application/json', 'text/xml']}

maximumRecords (integer, query, optional, default: 10)

Maximum number of records to return (1-100)

Constraints: {'minimum': 1, 'maximum': 100}

query (string, query, required)

CQL search query. Examples: 'cql.any=shakespeare', 'local.names all "john smith"', 'local.mainHeadingEl all "shakespeare, william"'

startRecord (integer, query, optional, default: 1)

Starting record position for pagination

Constraints: {'minimum': 1}

Examples (4)

Search VIAF using SRU/CQL openapi-spec
curl 'https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any+%3D+shakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1'
import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://viaf.org/viaf/search",
    params={
        'query': 'cql.any = shakespeare',
        'maximumRecords': '10',
        'startRecord': '1',
    },
)
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("viaf")
result = api.fetch("viaf/search", query="cql.any = shakespeare", maximumRecords=10, startRecord=1)

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any+%3D+shakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1");
const data = await resp.json();
Search VIAF using SRU/CQL probe-gate
curl 'https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any+%3D+shakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1'
import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://viaf.org/viaf/search",
    params={
        'query': 'cql.any = shakespeare',
        'maximumRecords': '10',
        'startRecord': '1',
    },
)
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("viaf")
result = api.fetch("viaf/search", query="cql.any = shakespeare", maximumRecords=10, startRecord=1)

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any+%3D+shakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1");
const data = await resp.json();
Search VIAF authority data openapi-spec
curl 'https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any%3Dshakespeare'
import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://viaf.org/viaf/search",
    params={
        'query': 'cql.any=shakespeare',
    },
)
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("viaf")
result = api.fetch("viaf/search", query="cql.any=shakespeare")

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any%3Dshakespeare");
const data = await resp.json();
Search VIAF authority data probe-gate
curl 'https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any%3Dshakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1'
import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://viaf.org/viaf/search",
    params={
        'query': 'cql.any=shakespeare',
        'maximumRecords': '10',
        'startRecord': '1',
    },
)
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("viaf")
result = api.fetch("viaf/search", query="cql.any=shakespeare", maximumRecords=10, startRecord=1)

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://viaf.org/viaf/search?query=cql.any%3Dshakespeare&maximumRecords=10&startRecord=1");
const data = await resp.json();

Probe History

Latency

Status Codes

TimeStatusLatencySize
2026-04-16 17:30:34.421863 200 448ms
2026-04-16 03:29:33.712226 200 364ms
2026-04-16 02:58:48.173356 200 1552ms
2026-04-16 01:51:45.850431 200 782ms
2026-04-16 00:25:56.954719 200 400ms
2026-04-15 04:03:19.317587 200 297ms
2026-04-15 02:25:15.981450 200 307ms
2026-04-15 01:33:56.106385 200 411ms
2026-04-15 00:11:24.073999 200 826ms
2026-04-14 02:05:47.972392 200 2394ms
2026-04-14 01:28:29.253522 200 329ms
2026-04-14 01:05:59.036990 200 1245ms
2026-04-14 00:30:50.579842 200 2755ms
2026-04-12 16:53:47.191473 200 410ms
2026-04-12 14:50:13.602596 200 1172ms
2026-04-12 12:41:10.842775 200 243ms
2026-04-12 12:35:01.865182 200 2160ms
2026-04-10 05:13:24.067438 200 803ms
2026-04-10 03:18:03.157790 200 670ms
2026-04-10 02:06:57.309731 200 580ms
2026-04-10 00:58:10.625348 200 746ms
2026-04-09 03:25:54.468456 200 356ms
2026-04-09 02:04:02.118116 200 1402ms
2026-04-09 01:29:15.897282 200 574ms
2026-04-08T12:32:35.763303 200 384ms
2026-03-28T18:03:10.003938 200 869ms