Tutorial: Wayback Machine

Reference

Data source: Wayback Machine

Overview

Wayback Machine wraps Wayback Machine, handling authentication, pagination, and rate limits for you. This tutorial covers all 5 tools with working code examples you can copy and run.

Prerequisites

Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup for a free API key (100 calls/day).
Choose your integration method: MCP protocol or REST API.

Connect via MCP

Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnist-wayback": {
      "url": "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
      "headers": {
        "Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools (5)

`check_availability`

Check if a URL has been archived in the Wayback Machine and find the closest snapshot. Returns a dict with 'url', 'available' (bool), and 'closest' snapshot if available. The 'wayback_url' field contains the direct Wayback Machine link to the archived page.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`url`	string	required	The URL to look up (e.g. "https://example.com/page").
`timestamp`	any	optional	Optional target date/time (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYYMMDD). When provided, the Wayback Machine returns the snapshot closest to that date. Omit to get the most recent snapshot.

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "check_availability", "arguments": {"url": "https://example.com/page"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'url': 'https://example.com/page'},
            'name': 'check_availability'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`search_snapshots`

Search the Wayback Machine CDX index for archived snapshots of a URL. Returns a deduplicated list of snapshots sorted chronologically. Useful for tracking how a page has changed over time or verifying when content was live. Each snapshot has url, wayback_url, timestamp, date, status_code, mimetype, and length (bytes). Use 'wayback_url' with a fetch tool to retrieve the actual archived page content.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`url`	string	required	The URL to search (e.g. "https://example.com/page"). Use wildcard prefix matching with "example.com/*" to capture all pages on a domain.
`date_from`	any	optional	Only include captures on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Optional.
`date_to`	any	optional	Only include captures on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Optional.
`limit`	integer	optional	Maximum snapshots to return (1-100, default 20). (default: `20`)
`status_code`	any	optional	Filter by HTTP status at capture time (e.g. "200", "404"). Optional.
`mimetype`	any	optional	Filter by MIME type (e.g. "text/html", "application/pdf"). Optional.

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "search_snapshots", "arguments": {"url": "https://example.com/page"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'url': 'https://example.com/page'},
            'name': 'search_snapshots'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_capture_calendar`

Get monthly capture counts for a URL in a given year from the Wayback Machine. Returns total captures for the year and a breakdown by month (YYYY-MM keys). Useful for understanding archival coverage and activity patterns for a URL.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`url`	string	required	The URL to get capture calendar for (e.g. "https://example.com").
`year`	integer	required	Year to retrieve calendar for (e.g. 2023).

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_capture_calendar", "arguments": {"url": "https://example.com", "year": 2023}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'url': 'https://example.com', 'year': 2023},
            'name': 'get_capture_calendar'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_capture_stats`

Get yearly capture statistics for a URL from the Wayback Machine. Returns total captures across all years, the first and last capture years, and a per-year breakdown. Useful for getting an overview of how long and how frequently a URL has been archived.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`url`	string	required	The URL to get capture statistics for (e.g. "https://example.com").

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_capture_stats", "arguments": {"url": "https://example.com"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'url': 'https://example.com'},
            'name': 'get_capture_stats'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`report_feedback`

Report a bug, feature request, or general feedback for this data source. Use this when something doesn't work as expected, when you'd like a new feature, or when you have suggestions for improvement. Args: feedback: Describe the issue or suggestion. feedback_type: One of 'bug', 'feature_request', or 'general'.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`feedback`	string	required
`feedback_type`	string	optional	(default: `general`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "report_feedback", "arguments": {"feedback": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/wayback/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'feedback': 'example'}, 'name': 'report_feedback'}},
)
print(resp.json())

Common Patterns

Search then retrieve
Use search_snapshots to find items, then get_capture_calendar to get full details. This two-step pattern is common for exploring data before drilling down.

Pagination
Several tools support limit, offset, or page parameters. Start with small limits during development, then increase for production queries.

Date range filtering
Use date range parameters to narrow results to a specific time window. Dates are typically in YYYY-MM-DD format.

FAQ

What data does Wayback Machine provide?

Internet Archive lookups — snapshot search, availability checks, capture calendars, and yearly statistics. It exposes 5 tools: check_availability, search_snapshots, get_capture_calendar, get_capture_stats, report_feedback.

What do I need to get started?

A Gnist API key (free tier: 100 calls/day). Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup.

What format does the Wayback Machine API return?

JSON, via either MCP protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0) or REST API.