Quick start with the ia Python package

If you’re familiar with Python, you can use the ia package to access and manage the content at the Internet Archive.

It’s assumed that you’re familiar with the nomenclature used at the Internet Archive. If not, see Definitions.

To quickly get started with the ia package:

1. Install the package by running the following command: pip install internetarchive. (For more methods of installing the package, see Installation.)

2. Try out some operations:

   • Get the metadata of an item.

       from internetarchive import get_item
       item = get_item('<unique_item_identifier>')
       for k,v in item.metadata.items():
           print(print(k,":",v))
     

     (More details are at Read the metadata of an item).

   • Upload an item to the Internet Archive.

       from internetarchive import get_item
       md = {'collection': 'test_collection', 'title': 'My New Item', 'mediatype': 'movies'}
       r = item.upload('<identifier>', files=['film.txt', 'film.mov'], metadata=md, access_key='YoUrAcCEssKey', secret_key='youRSECRETKEY')
       r[0].status_code
     

     (More details are at Create an item).