OpenAlex API

This is the elasticsearch-backed portion of the OpenAlex API.

Please send all bug reports and feature requests to support@openalex.org.

Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• Conda environment manager
• Elasticsearch (for local development)

Quick Start with VSCode

1. Select Conda Environment:

   • Open the project in VSCode
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to open command palette
   • Type "Python: Select Interpreter" and select it
   • Choose the openalex-api conda environment from the list

2. Install Dependencies:

   conda activate openalex-api
   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the Application:

   • Option 1: Use VSCode debugger (F5) with pre-configured launch options
   • Option 2: Run directly with Python:

     python start_dev.py

   • Option 3: Run the app module:

     python -m app

4. Access the API:

   • Main API: http://localhost:5000
   • Documentation: http://localhost:5000/docs
   • Works endpoint: http://localhost:5000/works

Environment Variables

The application requires several environment variables for proper operation. These are pre-configured in the VSCode launch configurations for development.

Testing

# Install development dependencies
pip install -r requirements/dev.txt

# Run tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=.

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/functional/test_works_standard_filters.py

Docker Development (Alternative)

# Start Redis cache
make cache-up

# Start test environment
make test-up

# View Kibana (if Elasticsearch is running)
make kibana

Production Deployment

The application uses Gunicorn for production deployment as configured in Procfile.