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doaj.md

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Involves a person

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Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.

1# DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

3A curated directory of *open-access journals* and the articles those journals

4have registered with DOAJ. Use it to answer "is this journal in DOAJ?" or

5"articles in DOAJ-listed journals matching X." It is not a general literature

6index and it is not Unpaywall.

8Nature is not in DOAJ. A paper can be open access (hybrid, bronze, green)

9without its journal being listed here. For "is there a free PDF of this DOI?"

10use Unpaywall. For the yes/no "is this journal in DOAJ?" when you are already

11on OpenAlex, `GET /sources/issn:{issn}` returns `is_in_doaj` (PLoS ONE

12`1932-6203` is `true`; Nature `0028-0836` is `false`) — stay there. Come

13to DOAJ when you need APC, licence, or `oa_start`. For "papers on CRISPR"

14use PubMed / OpenAlex, then optionally restrict to DOAJ journals.

16All figures below verified 2026-09-10 against API **v4**.

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

A curated directory of open-access journals and the articles those journals have registered with DOAJ. Use it to answer "is this journal in DOAJ?" or "articles in DOAJ-listed journals matching X." It is not a general literature index and it is not Unpaywall.

Nature is not in DOAJ. A paper can be open access (hybrid, bronze, green) without its journal being listed here. For "is there a free PDF of this DOI?" use Unpaywall. For the yes/no "is this journal in DOAJ?" when you are already on OpenAlex, GET /sources/issn:{issn} returns is_in_doaj (PLoS ONE 1932-6203 is true; Nature 0028-0836 is false) — stay there. Come to DOAJ when you need APC, licence, or oa_start. For "papers on CRISPR" use PubMed / OpenAlex, then optionally restrict to DOAJ journals.

All figures below verified 2026-09-10 against API v4.

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18## Base URL

20```

21https://doaj.org/api

22```

24Docs (live): https://doaj.org/api/docs

26Search URLs you write as `/api/search/...` are served as v4; `next` links

27in the JSON point at `/api/v4/search/...`. Either form works.

Base URL

https://doaj.org/api

Docs (live): https://doaj.org/api/docs

Search URLs you write as /api/search/... are served as v4; next links in the JSON point at /api/v4/search/.... Either form works.

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29## Authentication

31Public search needs no key. API keys are for publisher submitters. Do not

32ask the user for a DOAJ key to look up a journal.

Authentication

Public search needs no key. API keys are for publisher submitters. Do not ask the user for a DOAJ key to look up a journal.

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Involves a person ask the user :32

34## Rate Limits

36The documented rate is **2 requests/second**, with a burst queue of up to five. Serialize calls. Prefer a journal ISSN lookup over

37paging through tens of thousands of article hits.

Rate Limits

The documented rate is 2 requests/second, with a burst queue of up to five. Serialize calls. Prefer a journal ISSN lookup over paging through tens of thousands of article hits.

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39## Query syntax

41The path segment *is* the query (Elasticsearch query string). Slash in a DOI

42is escaped for you.

44| Goal | Query |

45|---|---|

46| Article title words | `bibjson.title:CRISPR` |

47| DOI | `doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00479` |

48| Journal ISSN | `issn:1932-6203` |

49| Exact journal title | `bibjson.title.exact:"PLoS ONE"` |

50| Short names | `title:`, `issn:`, `publisher:`, `license:` (journals) |

52`.exact` works on full field names, **not** on the short aliases. Wildcard, regex, fuzzy, and proximity queries are disabled; do not assume all Elasticsearch operators are available.

Query syntax

The path segment is the query (Elasticsearch query string). Slash in a DOI is escaped for you.

Goal	Query
Article title words	`bibjson.title:CRISPR`
DOI	`doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00479`
Journal ISSN	`issn:1932-6203`
Exact journal title	`bibjson.title.exact:"PLoS ONE"`
Short names	`title:`, `issn:`, `publisher:`, `license:` (journals)

.exact works on full field names, not on the short aliases. Wildcard, regex, fuzzy, and proximity queries are disabled; do not assume all Elasticsearch operators are available.

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54## Key Endpoints

Key Endpoints

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56### 1. Search articles

58```

59GET /search/articles/{query}?page=1&pageSize=10

60```

62```

63GET /search/articles/bibjson.title:CRISPR?pageSize=2

64```

66Verified: `total` 7777, `page` 1, `pageSize` 2, `results` length 2.

67`next` was

68`https://doaj.org/api/v4/search/articles/bibjson.title:CRISPR?page=2&pageSize=2`.

69Follow `next` (or increment `page`) rather than guessing a last page —

70`last` pointed at page 3889.

72Each result has `id`, `created_date`, `last_updated`, `bibjson`. Identifiers

73are a **list**:

75```json

76"identifier": [

77 {"id": "10.3390/v14102045", "type": "doi"},

78 {"id": "1999-4915", "type": "eissn"}

79]

80```

82Pick `type == "doi"`. Do not take `identifier[0]` blindly (it may be an ISSN).

1. Search articles

GET /search/articles/{query}?page=1&pageSize=10

GET /search/articles/bibjson.title:CRISPR?pageSize=2

Verified: total 7777, page 1, pageSize 2, results length 2. next was https://doaj.org/api/v4/search/articles/bibjson.title:CRISPR?page=2&pageSize=2. Follow next (or increment page) rather than guessing a last page — last pointed at page 3889.

Each result has id, created_date, last_updated, bibjson. Identifiers are a list:

"identifier": [
  {"id": "10.3390/v14102045", "type": "doi"},
  {"id": "1999-4915", "type": "eissn"}
]

Pick type == "doi". Do not take identifier[0] blindly (it may be an ISSN).

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84### 2. Search journals

86```

87GET /search/journals/{query}?page=1&pageSize=10

88```

90Verified:

92| Query | `total` | Notes |

93|---|---|---|

94| `issn:0028-0836` (Nature) | 0 | Subscription journal. Empty is the answer. |

95| `issn:1932-6203` (PLoS ONE) | 1 | `bibjson.title` `PLoS ONE`, `oa_start` 2006, `apc.has_apc` true, APC values must be re-read for the current journal and currency |

97HTTP 200 + `total: 0` + `results: []` means "not a DOAJ journal," not an

98outage. Unpaywall may still find a green or hybrid copy of a Nature paper.

100Journal `bibjson` includes title, ISSNs, publisher, license, APC, and

101`oa_start`. That is the record to quote when someone asks "is this journal

102OA in DOAJ?"

103

2. Search journals

GET /search/journals/{query}?page=1&pageSize=10

Verified:

Query	`total`	Notes
`issn:0028-0836` (Nature)	0	Subscription journal. Empty is the answer.
`issn:1932-6203` (PLoS ONE)	1	`bibjson.title` `PLoS ONE`, `oa_start` 2006, `apc.has_apc` true, APC values must be re-read for the current journal and currency

HTTP 200 + total: 0 + results: [] means "not a DOAJ journal," not an outage. Unpaywall may still find a green or hybrid copy of a Nature paper.

Journal bibjson includes title, ISSNs, publisher, license, APC, and oa_start. That is the record to quote when someone asks "is this journal OA in DOAJ?"

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104## Typical Workflow

105

1061. Have an ISSN or journal title → `/search/journals/issn:{issn}`.

1072. Have a DOI you believe is in a DOAJ journal → `/search/articles/doi:{doi}`.

1083. If journals search is empty, say so and check Unpaywall for the article.

1094. Do not page `bibjson.title:CRISPR` as a substitute for PubMed.

110

Typical Workflow

Have an ISSN or journal title → /search/journals/issn:{issn}.
Have a DOI you believe is in a DOAJ journal → /search/articles/doi:{doi}.
If journals search is empty, say so and check Unpaywall for the article.
Do not page bibjson.title:CRISPR as a substitute for PubMed.

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111## Failure Modes

112

113| What you did | What happens | What to do |

114|---|---|---|

115| ISSN of a non-DOAJ journal | 200, `total: 0` | Report "not in DOAJ"; try Unpaywall |

116| Took `identifier[0]` as the DOI | You may get an eISSN | Filter `type == "doi"` |

117| Used DOAJ as Unpaywall | Misses hybrid/green OA | Article-level OA is Unpaywall |

118| Second host just for yes/no | Extra call | OpenAlex `sources.is_in_doaj` if you are already there |

119| Used short field + `.exact` | Query does not mean what you think | Use `bibjson.title.exact` |

120

Failure Modes

What you did	What happens	What to do
ISSN of a non-DOAJ journal	200, `total: 0`	Report "not in DOAJ"; try Unpaywall
Took `identifier[0]` as the DOI	You may get an eISSN	Filter `type == "doi"`
Used DOAJ as Unpaywall	Misses hybrid/green OA	Article-level OA is Unpaywall
Second host just for yes/no	Extra call	OpenAlex `sources.is_in_doaj` if you are already there
Used short field + `.exact`	Query does not mean what you think	Use `bibjson.title.exact`

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121## Official sources reviewed 2026-09-30

122

123- https://doaj.org/api/docs

Official sources reviewed 2026-09-30

https://doaj.org/api/docs

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