Skip to main content
The /autocomplete endpoints are designed for type-ahead and search-as-you-type interfaces. They return lightweight suggestion objects — display name, entity type, and a contextual hint — without the full metadata payload of the primary resource endpoints. You can search across all entity types at once or scope your query to a specific entity.
Autocomplete requests count against your rate limit. Debounce requests in type-ahead interfaces to avoid exhausting your quota — a delay of 200–300 ms after the last keystroke is a common best practice.

​
Search all entity types

Returns suggestions matching the query across all Hexagraph entity types: outputs, authors, sources, institutions, publishers, and funders.
​
q
string
required
The search query string. Matched against display names across all entity types. Minimum 1 character.
curl "https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/autocomplete?q=climate"

[
  {
    "id": "OA:W2107277218",
    "display_name": "Global warming and the disruption of plant–pollinator networks",
    "entity_type": "output",
    "hint": "2013 · Nature"
  },
  {
    "id": "OA:S4306402567",
    "display_name": "Nature Climate Change",
    "entity_type": "source",
    "hint": "journal · ISSN 1758-678X"
  },
  {
    "id": "OA:A3021847629",
    "display_name": "Climate Policy Initiative",
    "entity_type": "institution",
    "hint": "nonprofit · US"
  }
]

​
Search a specific entity type

Scope autocomplete suggestions to a single entity type for more targeted results.
​
entity
string
required
The entity type to search within. Must be one of: outputs, authors, sources, institutions, publishers, funders.
​
q
string
required
The search query string, matched against display names for the specified entity type.
curl "https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/autocomplete/authors?q=einstein"

[
  {
    "id": "OA:A5086208034",
    "display_name": "Albert Einstein",
    "entity_type": "author",
    "hint": "94,210 citations · Princeton University"
  },
  {
    "id": "OA:A2109483472",
    "display_name": "Elizabeth Einstein",
    "entity_type": "author",
    "hint": "312 citations · University of Vermont"
  }
]

​
Response fields

​
id
string
required
The OA:-prefixed unique identifier for the matched entity. Prefix reflects the entity type (e.g. OA:W for outputs, OA:A for authors). Pass this ID to the corresponding resource endpoint to retrieve the full record.
​
display_name
string
required
Human-readable name of the matched entity — the title for outputs, or the name for authors, sources, institutions, publishers, and funders.
​
entity_type
string
required
The type of entity matched. One of: output, author, source, institution, publisher, funder.
​
hint
string
A short contextual string suitable for rendering as a secondary label beneath display_name in a suggestion list. Content varies by entity type (e.g. year and source name for outputs, citation count and affiliation for authors).
Related endpoints: use the returned id with Outputs, Authors, Sources, Institutions, Publishers, or Funders to retrieve full entity records.