Webpage Readable Content Extraction API Documentation

Webpage Readable Content Extraction API: Technical Guide and Integration Notes

The Webpage Readable Content Extraction API from GuGuData helps developers extract cleaned, reader-friendly article content from a webpage URL or a raw HTML payload.

This article is written for developers who want a crawlable, readable reference before integrating the endpoint into a product, data pipeline, internal tool, or technical workflow. The official detail page is https://gugudata.io/details/readability.

API details

Item	Value
API name	Webpage Readable Content Extraction
Category	Website Tools APIs
Method	POST
Endpoint	https://api.gugudata.io/v1/websitetools/readability
Content type	application/json
Demo endpoint	https://api.gugudata.io/v1/websitetools/readability/demo
Detail page	https://gugudata.io/details/readability
OpenAPI JSON	https://gugudata.io/assets/openapi/gugudata.openapi.3.1.json

When to use this API

• Extract clean article content from public web pages.
• Remove navigation, sidebars, and boilerplate from page content.
• Prepare readable text for summarization or indexing.

Request parameters

This endpoint accepts parameters through the query string plus request body. Keep appkey out of client-side public code and send it only from trusted server-side environments.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
appkey	string	Yes	YOUR_APPKEY	Application key used for request authentication. Supply the value as a query parameter, form field, or multipart field according to the request content type.
html	string	No	-	Raw HTML content. Supply either html or url.
url	string	No	-	Target webpage URL. Supply either url or html.

Example request

curl -X POST "https://api.gugudata.io/v1/websitetools/readability?appkey=YOUR_APPKEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '
{
  "url": "https://example.com/article"
}
'

Response fields

The response body contains the fields below for successful JSON responses. For binary endpoints, the success response is returned as binary content and JSON is used for error responses.

Field	Type	Required	Description
DataStatus.RequestParameter	string	Yes	Normalized request parameters echoed by the service. Sensitive credentials are omitted when available.
DataStatus.StatusCode	integer	Yes	Application-level status code returned by the API response.
DataStatus.StatusDescription	string	Yes	Application-level status message returned by the API response.
DataStatus.ResponseDateTime	string	Yes	Response timestamp returned by the API response.
DataStatus.DataTotalCount	integer	Yes	Total number of records that match the request.
Data.Title	string	Yes	Article title
Data.Byline	string	Yes	Article author
Data.Dir	string	Yes	Article text direction
Data.Lang	string	Yes	Article language
Data.Content	string	Yes	Article content
Data.TextContent	string	Yes	Article content (without HTML tags, divided by paragraphs)
Data.Length	integer	Yes	Article length
Data.Excerpt	string	Yes	Article excerpt
Data.SiteName	string	Yes	Website name
Data.PublishedTime	array<string>	Yes	Article publication time

Response example

{
  "dataStatus": {
    "statusCode": 200,
    "statusDescription": "successfully",
    "responseDateTime": "2026-04-10T00:00:00Z",
    "dataTotalCount": 1
  },
  "data": "sample value"
}

HTTP status codes

Use the HTTP status code for transport-level handling. If the response body contains dataStatus.statusCode, treat it as an application-level status field in the JSON payload.

HTTP status	Meaning	Recommended handling
200	Request processed successfully.	Parse the documented response body for the endpoint result.
400	Invalid request parameters or request format.	Check required fields, data types, and request body format.
401	Missing or unknown application key.	Send a valid appkey with the request.
403	The application key is recognized but access is not allowed.	Check subscription, trial state, and endpoint access.
429	Request rate or trial usage limit exceeded.	Reduce concurrency or retry after the limit window resets.
500	Internal service error.	Retry later or contact support if the error persists.
503	Upstream service unavailable.	Retry later when the dependency is available again.

Implementation notes

• Validate required parameters before sending the request so 400 responses are easier to diagnose.
• Keep server-side retries conservative for 429, 500, and 503 responses.
• Cache stable metadata responses when your use case allows it, especially for lookup and directory endpoints.
• Log the HTTP status code and dataStatus.statusDescription together for easier debugging.
• Use the demo endpoint for a quick connectivity check, then switch to the authenticated endpoint for production data.

FAQ

Where is the official API detail page?

The official detail page is https://gugudata.io/details/readability. It is the best place to review the latest public endpoint information before publishing or integrating.

Should I handle dataStatus.statusCode as the HTTP status code?

No. Use the HTTP status code for request-level behavior such as authentication, permission, rate limiting, and server errors. Use dataStatus.statusCode only as the response body status field when it is present.

Can I use the demo endpoint in production?

No. The demo endpoint is for quick testing and examples. Use the authenticated endpoint with your appkey for production workflows.

Related GuGuData APIs

• Domain SSL Certificate Information Parsing
• Domain DNS Information Query
• Get Any Site Title and Favicon

For more developer APIs, visit GuGuData.