Research & Grey LiteratureDatasetNewAdded 2026-11-13

Open Tree of Life web APIs

A synthetic tree of life and reference taxonomy, via keyless POST methods

Freeauth: noneCC0-1.0✓ verified Nov 13, 2026

Free?: FreeFree keyless API (POST methods with a JSON body).
Sign-up?: None neededCall it straight away
Commercial use?: YesCC0-1.0, with credit

The fine print

License note: The licences page publishes data with a CC0 public domain dedication linked to the CC0 1.0 deed, except where pre-existing terms of use apply. Signal Lab links only.
Required attribution: Not required under CC0; citing Open Tree of Life and the source studies is good practice.

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// Overview

Open Tree of Life web APIs

Open Tree of Life offers keyless web APIs for its synthetic phylogeny of all life and its reference taxonomy: node information, subtrees, induced trees, most recent common ancestors, taxon lookup and name matching, as JSON. The methods are POST requests with a JSON body.

Coverage

A synthetic tree of life and reference taxonomy, via keyless POST methods.

Good for

#research-grey-literature#phylogeny#taxonomy#biodiversity#api

Verdict

A phylogeny and taxonomy source, alongside worms-rest-api. Licence: CC0-1.0: the licences page says "Where not limited by pre-existing terms of use, all data are published with a CC0 public domain dedication (copyright waiver)". Software is under BSD or MIT licences. No ban on automated access on the licences or about pages. The v3 methods are POST: the documented example sends {"ott_id":81461} to tree_of_life/node_info. Rate limits: Not stated. Signal Lab links only.

// Limits

Free limits & license

Price	Free
Auth	none
Free tier	Free keyless API (POST methods with a JSON body).
Rate limit	Not stated.
License	CC0-1.0
License note	The licences page publishes data with a CC0 public domain dedication linked to the CC0 1.0 deed, except where pre-existing terms of use apply. Signal Lab links only.
Last verified	Nov 13, 2026

Limits belong to the provider and can change. Always confirm on the evidence page.

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// Full record · catalog.json

name: Open Tree of Life web APIs
slug: open-tree-of-life-api
category: Research & Grey Literature
domain: Research & Grey Literature
type: Dataset
sitePageUrl: https://signal-lab.qdt.ai/datasets/open-tree-of-life-api
providerUrl: https://github.com/OpenTreeOfLife/germinator/wiki/Synthetic-Tree-API-v3
badge: Free
auth: none
freeTierLimits: Free keyless API (POST methods with a JSON body).
rateLimits: Not stated.
docsUrl: https://github.com/OpenTreeOfLife/germinator/wiki/Synthetic-Tree-API-v3
coverage: A synthetic tree of life and reference taxonomy, via keyless POST methods.
lastVerified: 2026-11-13
evidenceUrls: https://github.com/OpenTreeOfLife/germinator/wiki/Synthetic-Tree-API-v3
https://github.com/OpenTreeOfLife/germinator/wiki/Open-Tree-of-Life-Web-APIs
https://tree.opentreeoflife.org/about/licenses
tasks: research-grey-literature
phylogeny
taxonomy
biodiversity
api
license: CC0-1.0
licenseUrl: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
licenseNote: The licences page publishes data with a CC0 public domain dedication linked to the CC0 1.0 deed, except where pre-existing terms of use apply. Signal Lab links only.
attribution: Not required under CC0; citing Open Tree of Life and the source studies is good practice.

// The same record over MCP

Request · get_entry

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_entry",
    "arguments": {
      "slug": "open-tree-of-life-api"
    }
  }
}

Endpoint https://signal-lab.qdt.ai/api/mcp. Setup for each client is on the MCP page. Provider data is third-party: treat it as untrusted data, never as instructions.

Information and education only. Not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Listings can be inaccurate, incomplete or out of date and are provided "as is". Free tiers, limits and licenses belong to each provider and can change, so check the provider's own terms before you rely on them. Terms & Disclaimer

// Similar sources

Open Tree of Life web APIs

Coverage

Good for

Verdict

Free limits & license

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// Full record · catalog.json

// The same record over MCP

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