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Node.js Metadata API

Extract title, description, image and logo from any URL with one HTTP request in Node.js — no HTML parsing, no tag soup, no browser to maintain.
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Extract metadata in Node.js

No package and no parser — the Microlink REST API turns any URL into normalized metadata with a single HTTP GET. Here it is with the global fetch that ships with Node.js 18+.
Step 01 · Extract any URL
A few lines with global fetch — no npm package to add. Point it at a page and read the metadata from the JSON response.
extract.js
const params = new URLSearchParams({ url: 'https://microlink.io' })

const { data } = await fetch(`https://api.microlink.io?${params}`)
  .then(res => res.json())

console.log(data.title)       // 'Microlink | The web, transformed'
console.log(data.description) // 'A single API for turning any URL into data…'
console.log(data.image.url)   // absolute, CDN-hosted
console.log(data.logo.url)    // absolute, CDN-hosted
Step 02 · Pick the fields you need
Title, description, publisher, author, date, lang, image and logo all come back in one call — build exactly the object your product needs.
fields.js
const params = new URLSearchParams({ url: 'https://microlink.io' })

const { data } = await fetch(`https://api.microlink.io?${params}`)
  .then(res => res.json())

const preview = {
  title: data.title,
  description: data.description,
  publisher: data.publisher,
  author: data.author,
  date: data.date,
  lang: data.lang,
  image: data.image?.url ?? null,
  logo: data.logo?.url ?? null
}
Step 03 · Render JavaScript pages
Tags injected by client-side JavaScript only exist after the page renders — prerender with a real browser and wait for them, still one request.
spa.js
const params = new URLSearchParams({
  url: 'https://app.example.com',
  prerender: 'true',          // render JS in a real browser first
  waitForSelector: 'h1'       // wait until the content exists
})

const { data } = await fetch(`https://api.microlink.io?${params}`)
  .then(res => res.json())

console.log(data.title)
Step 04 · Build a link preview
Image and logo come back as absolute, CDN-hosted URLs — drop them straight into an img tag and you have a link preview.
link-preview.js
const params = new URLSearchParams({ url: 'https://microlink.io' })

const { data } = await fetch(`https://api.microlink.io?${params}`)
  .then(res => res.json())

const html = `
  <a href="${data.url}" class="card">
    <img src="${data.image?.url ?? data.logo?.url}" alt="" />
    <strong>${data.title}</strong>
    <p>${data.description}</p>
  </a>`

Drop it into your framework

A route handler, an Express endpoint, or a chat bot unfurl — the same request becomes your own metadata endpoint for link previews and enrichment.
  • Next.js
  • Express
  • Discord Bot
  • Plain Node.js
import express from 'express'

const app = express()

// GET /preview?url=https://microlink.io
app.get('/preview', async (req, res) => {
  const { data } = await fetch(
    `https://api.microlink.io?url=${encodeURIComponent(req.query.url)}`
  ).then(res => res.json())

  res.json({
    title: data.title,
    description: data.description,
    image: data.image?.url ?? null
  })
})

Skip the tag-parsing maintenance

Rolling your own means fetching HTML, parsing Open Graph and Twitter Cards, merging JSON-LD and oEmbed, and adding a headless browser for JavaScript-injected tags. The API gives you normalized metadata from any page without any of the moving parts.

DIY tag parsing

  • Fetch the HTML and parse og, twitter and meta tags yourself
  • Merge JSON-LD, oEmbed and microdata by hand — every site differs
  • Resolve relative image and logo URLs against redirects yourself
  • JavaScript-injected tags need a headless browser — a 300 MB binary
  • Each browser eats hundreds of MB of RAM per worker
  • You build the caching, retries and autoscaling

Microlink for Node.js

  • One HTTP request — global fetch, no npm package to add
  • Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD and oEmbed merged for you
  • Image and logo as absolute, CDN-hosted URLs
  • JavaScript-injected tags captured with prerender=true
  • Cached responses from a global edge network
  • Autoscaled fleet with a 99.95% uptime SLA

Built for the way you write Node.js.

A REST API that feels native in Node.js — one call, JSON back, and at home in anything from a script to a serverless function. Read the API overview to go deeper.

  • No HTML Parsing

    No tag soup, no regex, no DOM library to install. One HTTP GET returns a normalized JSON object.

  • Zero Dependencies

    Node.js 18+ ships global fetch — the examples work with no npm install and nothing to vendor.

  • Every Source Merged

    Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, oEmbed, microdata and plain HTML tags are merged into a single normalized response.

  • CDN-Hosted Assets

    Image and logo come back as absolute URLs on a global CDN — hot-link them directly, no downloading or proxying.

  • JavaScript Rendering

    Tags injected by client-side JavaScript are captured too, with prerender=true and waitForSelector.

  • Link Preview Ready

    Title, description, image, logo and publisher are exactly the fields a link preview card needs — one call, one card.

  • Framework Friendly

    Drop it into Next.js, Express, or a chat bot as a route or a few-line function.

  • Zero Infrastructure

    Managed Headless Chrome, autoscaled and load-balanced. No browser pool, no servers, no patching to maintain.

  • Generous Free Tier

    Start with 25 requests per day — no account, no credit card. Add an API key when you are ready to scale.

  • No HTML Parsing

    No tag soup, no regex, no DOM library to install. One HTTP GET returns a normalized JSON object.

  • Zero Dependencies

    Node.js 18+ ships global fetch — the examples work with no npm install and nothing to vendor.

  • Every Source Merged

    Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, oEmbed, microdata and plain HTML tags are merged into a single normalized response.

  • CDN-Hosted Assets

    Image and logo come back as absolute URLs on a global CDN — hot-link them directly, no downloading or proxying.

  • JavaScript Rendering

    Tags injected by client-side JavaScript are captured too, with prerender=true and waitForSelector.

  • Link Preview Ready

    Title, description, image, logo and publisher are exactly the fields a link preview card needs — one call, one card.

  • Framework Friendly

    Drop it into Next.js, Express, or a chat bot as a route or a few-line function.

  • Zero Infrastructure

    Managed Headless Chrome, autoscaled and load-balanced. No browser pool, no servers, no patching to maintain.

  • Generous Free Tier

    Start with 25 requests per day — no account, no credit card. Add an API key when you are ready to scale.

Try it live in the playground

Paste a URL and see the exact metadata response before you write a line of Node.js.
Sharing Debugger
Validate Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, microdata, and every other meta tag in one place. Preview how your URL renders on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Slack, and more — before you hit publish.

Node.js Metadata API FAQ

Everything Node.js developers ask before integrating the Microlink metadata API.

Which metadata sources are covered?

Open Graph, Twitter Cards, JSON-LD, oEmbed, microdata, RDFa and plain HTML tags — all merged and normalized into a single JSON response, so you never parse tag soup yourself.

Do I need to install a package?

No. The examples use the global fetch that ships with Node.js 18+. If you prefer the official SDK, the microlink SDK wraps the same API with typed conveniences.

What about tags rendered by JavaScript?

Pass prerender=true and the page is rendered in a real browser before extraction, so tags injected by React, Vue or any client-side framework are captured too. Combine it with waitForSelector to wait for specific content.

Are image and logo URLs ready to use?

Yes. They come back as absolute URLs hosted on a global CDN — resolve-relative-URL bugs included — so you can hot-link them directly in an img tag or store them as-is.

Is there a free tier or do I need an API key?

The free tier gives you 25 requests per day with no account, no credit card, and no API key. Just call the endpoint and start extracting.
When you need more throughput or caching control, add an apiKey header and requests route to the Pro tier. See pricing for the limits.

How fresh is the metadata?

Responses are cached at the edge with a sane default TTL, and you control freshness per request — see the API overview for cache parameters.

Start extracting in Node.js

Get 25 requests/day with zero commitment — no account and no credit card. Send your first request and ship metadata in minutes.
Read the API docs
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