Imperial College London

aid: imperial-college-london
name: Imperial College London
x-type: university
x-category: Public Research University
description: 'Imperial College London is a UK public research university and Russell Group member specialising in science,
  engineering, medicine and business. Re-profiled 2026-08-19 under the API Evangelist university pipeline, which settles WHO
  OPERATES each surface before crediting it. The finding is that Imperial operates no public developer portal, no open data
  portal (data.imperial.ac.uk does not resolve) and no self-service API programme — and that almost every machine-readable
  surface running under an imperial.ac.uk hostname is a vendor tenancy: Spiral, the open-access repository, is DSpace-CRIS
  hosted by 4Science; library-search is Ex Libris Primo; profiles is Symplectic Elements; canvas and bb are Instructure Canvas
  and Blackboard Learn; servicemgt is ServiceNow. Imperial''s data, DOIs, Handle prefix (10044) and administrative contacts
  sit behind all of them, but the contracts do not belong to Imperial. Exactly two machine-readable surfaces are Imperial-operated:
  the Shibboleth SAML 2.0 identity provider at shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk, registered in the UK Access Management Federation,
  and an llms.txt agent-guidance file the institution authored and maintains. A third, an Azure-hosted JSON gateway at api.imperial.ac.uk,
  answers with structured JSON but publishes no documented or discoverable operation. The programmable footprint is genuinely
  thin, and it is thin in the way universities are thin — a federation of buyers, not a producer.'
type: Index
deliveryModel:
  model: saas
  open_source: false
  commercial: true
  callable_host: true
  label: Hosted service · you call their endpoint
  confidence: high
  source:
  - openapi
  - pricing
  generated: '2026-08-28'
  method: derived
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Free
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
position: Consuming
access: 3rd-Party
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/imperial-college-london.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/imperial-college-london/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
tags:
- University
- Higher Education
- Education
- Russell Group
- United Kingdom
- London
- Research
- Institutional Repository
- Open Access
- Identity Federation
- Learning Management
- Library
created: '2026-06-03'
modified: '2026-08-19'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
x-coverage:
  state: gated
  reason: Imperial publishes no developer portal, no API catalogue and no OpenAPI of its own. Every callable surface found
    under imperial.ac.uk is either vendor software running under an Imperial hostname, or an institution-operated endpoint
    whose useful operations require federated authentication. Nothing was blocked to us — 27 hosts and paths were probed successfully
    and the thinness is the institution's, not a fetch failure.
  detail: 'Verified institution-operated and machine-readable: the Shibboleth IdP metadata document (200, 12,549 bytes of
    SAML 2.0 EntityDescriptor, entityID https://shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk/shibboleth, present in the UK Access Management
    Federation aggregate alongside 11,112 other entities) and www.imperial.ac.uk/llms.txt (200, 5,803 bytes, self-dated 2026-06-23,
    with per-section crawl priorities and attribution rules). Verified live but tenant-operated: the Spiral DSpace 7.6.1 REST
    API and its OAI-PMH endpoint (11 metadata prefixes, OpenAIRE CERIF 1.1), the Canvas LTI 1.3 JWKS and OIDC discovery documents,
    and the Blackboard Learn public REST version endpoint. Institution-operated but gated: api.imperial.ac.uk resolves to
    20.77.142.125 (Azure) and answers every path — /, /v1, /docs, /openapi.json, /swagger.json, /health, /.well-known/openapi.json
    — with `{"statusCode":404,"message":"Resource not found"}` as application/json. That is a live API gateway with no published
    surface, not a dead host. Confirmed dead or absent, and removed from or never added to this profile: data.imperial.ac.uk,
    developer.imperial.ac.uk and openaccess.imperial.ac.uk (no DNS); www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/icbs-apis/ (403 that
    renders a "Page not found" body — soft-404, and robots.txt disallows it); profiles.imperial.ac.uk (200 but the identical
    4,151-byte SPA shell at /, /api and /server/api — soft-200, no API); /.well-known/security.txt and /news/rss/ (404 HTML).'
  evidence:
  - url: https://shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk/idp/shibboleth
    status: 200
  - url: http://metadata.ukfederation.org.uk/ukfederation-metadata.xml
    status: 200
  - url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/llms.txt
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/oai/request?verb=Identify
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/oai/request?verb=ListMetadataFormats
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/core/communities
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/discover/search/objects?query=climate
    status: 200
  - url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/core/items
    status: 401
  - url: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/api/lti/security/jwks
    status: 200
  - url: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/.well-known/openid-configuration
    status: 200
  - url: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/api/v1/accounts/self
    status: 401
  - url: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/learn/api/public/v1/system/version
    status: 200
  - url: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/learn/api/public/v1/courses
    status: 401
  - url: https://api.datacite.org/providers/urks
    status: 200
  - url: https://api.imperial.ac.uk/
    status: 404
  - url: https://api.imperial.ac.uk/openapi.json
    status: 404
  - url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/icbs-apis/
    status: 403
  - url: https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/server/api
    status: 200
  - url: https://data.imperial.ac.uk/
    status: 0
  - url: https://developer.imperial.ac.uk/
    status: 0
  - url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/.well-known/security.txt
    status: 404
  - url: https://api.crossref.org/members?query=Imperial+College+London
    status: 200
apis:
- aid: imperial-college-london:shibboleth-idp
  name: Imperial Shibboleth Identity Provider (SAML 2.0)
  x-operator: institution
  x-operator-evidence: shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk resolves to shibboleth.gslb21.ic.ac.uk -> 146.179.42.66, Imperial's own load-balanced
    infrastructure — not a vendor CNAME. The metadata document is served from that host and scopes itself to imperial.ac.uk.
  description: Imperial's own Shibboleth IdP, and the one unambiguously institution-operated machine-readable contract it
    publishes. The metadata document at /idp/shibboleth is a live 12.5KB SAML 2.0 EntityDescriptor with entityID https://shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk/shibboleth,
    one IDPSSODescriptor and one AttributeAuthorityDescriptor, SSO and SLO endpoints for the SAML2 Redirect, POST and POST-SimpleSign
    bindings plus legacy Shibboleth SSO, SOAP ArtifactResolution and AttributeQuery on :8443, and a `shibmd:Scope` of imperial.ac.uk.
    The entityID is registered in the UK Access Management Federation aggregate. This is not a REST API and is not self-service
    — consuming it means being a federation member — but it is a published, versioned, machine-readable interface contract
    that Imperial itself operates.
  humanURL: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/admin-services/ict/
  tags:
  - Identity
  - Identity Federation
  - SSO
  - SAML
  - Shibboleth
  properties:
  - type: x-saml-metadata
    url: https://shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk/idp/shibboleth
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.ukfederation.org.uk/
  - type: Website
    url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/admin-services/ict/
- aid: imperial-college-london:spiral-dspace-rest
  name: Spiral Open Access Repository (DSpace 7 REST API)
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-evidence: spiral.imperial.ac.uk is a CNAME to icl-repository.prod.4science.cloud. The software is DSpace 7.6.1
    with DSpace-CRIS 2023.02.05, operated by 4Science. Imperial owns the records, the Handle prefix 10044, the DOIs (DataCite
    provider URKS) and the admin contact spiral-prd@imperial.ac.uk. Same shape as scholarbank.nus.edu.sg CNAMEing to openrepository.com.
    The three OpenAPIs below were derived from THIS instance — servers[] and info.contact both name Spiral — so they are instance-specific
    rather than a shared vendor document, but the engineering they describe is 4Science's, not Imperial's.
  description: 'Imperial''s institutional open-access repository, exposed over the DSpace 7 HAL+JSON REST API at https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api.
    The read-oriented subset is genuinely public: /core/communities, /core/collections and /discover/search/objects all answer
    200 unauthenticated. /core/items as a collection answers 401 — item access is by UUID. Collapsed from three separate apis[]
    entries (core / discover / root) into one on 2026-08-19: those were an artifact of refine-openapis splitting one contract
    by tag, and carrying them as three surfaces tripled Imperial''s apparent footprint for a single vendor-operated API.'
  humanURL: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/
  baseURL: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api
  tags:
  - Research Data
  - Institutional Repository
  - Open Access
  - DSpace
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/imperial-college-london-core-api-openapi.yml
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/imperial-college-london-discover-api-openapi.yml
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/imperial-college-london-root-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.re3data.org/repository/r3d100012406
  - type: Website
    url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/
  - type: x-json-schema
    url: json-schema/imperial-college-london-item-schema.json
  - type: x-json-schema
    url: json-schema/imperial-college-london-community-schema.json
  - type: x-json-structure
    url: json-structure/imperial-college-london-item-structure.json
  - type: x-examples
    url: examples/imperial-college-london-searchObjects-example.json
  - type: x-examples
    url: examples/imperial-college-london-getCommunity-example.json
  - type: x-spectral-rules
    url: rules/imperial-college-london-rules.yml
  - type: x-vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/imperial-college-london-vocabulary.yml
  - type: x-json-ld-context
    url: json-ld/imperial-college-london-context.jsonld
- aid: imperial-college-london:spiral-oai-pmh
  name: Spiral OAI-PMH Metadata Harvesting Endpoint
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-evidence: 'Served by the same 4Science-hosted DSpace-CRIS instance. Institution-identified, however: the Identify
    response returns repositoryIdentifier spiral.imperial.ac.uk and adminEmail spiral-prd@imperial.ac.uk, and every set is
    namespaced under Imperial''s Handle prefix 10044.'
  description: 'A fully functional OAI-PMH 2.0 harvesting interface — the standards-based way Imperial''s research outputs
    reach OpenAIRE, CORE, BASE and the rest of the aggregator layer. Identify, ListMetadataFormats and ListSets all answer
    200. Eleven metadata prefixes are served — oai_dc, qdc, mods, mets, marc, dim, rdf, ore, didl, etdms and uketd_dc — of
    which etdms and uketd_dc are the ETD and UK thesis profiles, evidence of a configured repository rather than a default
    install. A second base URL at /server/oai/openairecris declares OpenAIRE CERIF profile 1.1 compatibility. earliestDatestamp
    is 1916-01-01. No OpenAPI is saved for this surface: the protocol is OAI''s, the implementation is DSpace''s and the hosting
    is 4Science''s, so authoring a contract here would credit Imperial with engineering it did not do.'
  humanURL: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/
  baseURL: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/oai/request
  tags:
  - OAI-PMH
  - Metadata Harvesting
  - Open Access
  - Research Data
  properties:
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/oai/request?verb=Identify
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.openarchives.org/OAI/openarchivesprotocol.html
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/imperial-college-london-education-standards.yml
- aid: imperial-college-london:canvas-lti-platform
  name: Imperial Canvas LTI 1.3 / OIDC Platform Endpoints
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-evidence: canvas.imperial.ac.uk is a CNAME to imperialcollegelondon-vanity.instructure.com. The platform is Instructure
    Canvas. The keys, the tenancy and the launches are Imperial's; the LTI implementation is Instructure's.
  description: 'Imperial''s Canvas tenancy publishes the two documents an LTI 1.3 tool integrator actually needs, unauthenticated,
    on Imperial''s own hostname: an LTI platform JWKS at /api/lti/security/jwks (200, 1,408 bytes of RSA public keys used
    to verify launch id_tokens), and an OIDC discovery document at /.well-known/openid-configuration (200, issuer https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk,
    RS256, authorization_code). The Canvas REST API itself is present but gated — /api/v1/accounts/self answers 401 "user
    authorisation required". No SCIM surface is exposed. This is the closest thing Imperial has to a documented, standards-conformant
    integration point, and it is Instructure''s work.'
  humanURL: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/
  baseURL: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk
  tags:
  - Learning Management
  - LTI
  - OIDC
  - Education Technology
  properties:
  - type: x-jwks
    url: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/api/lti/security/jwks
  - type: x-openid-configuration
    url: https://canvas.imperial.ac.uk/.well-known/openid-configuration
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/imperial-college-london-education-standards.yml
- aid: imperial-college-london:blackboard-learn-rest
  name: Imperial Blackboard Learn REST API
  x-operator: tenant
  x-operator-evidence: bb.imperial.ac.uk is a CNAME to imperialcollege.blackboard.com. The platform is Blackboard Learn, operated
    by Anthology.
  description: Imperial runs a second LMS alongside Canvas. Its Blackboard Learn REST API is reachable at https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/learn/api/public/v1/;
    the version endpoint answers 200 without authentication and reports Learn 4000.21.0 (rel.22+baf1ac0). Everything of substance
    — /courses, /lti/domains — answers 401 "API request is not authenticated." Recorded because it is a live, versioned, institution-hostnamed
    API surface, not because Imperial authored any part of it.
  humanURL: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/
  baseURL: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/learn/api/public/v1
  tags:
  - Learning Management
  - Education Technology
  - Blackboard
  properties:
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/learn/api/public/v1/system/version
  - type: Website
    url: https://bb.imperial.ac.uk/
common:
- type: CapabilityMap
  url: capabilities/imperial-college-london-capability-edges.yml
  name: Imperial College London Business Capability Map
- type: Website
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/
- type: LLMsTxt
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/llms.txt
- type: Blog
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/ImperialCollegeLondon
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/school/imperial-college-london/
- type: Twitter
  url: https://twitter.com/imperialcollege
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/about-the-site/privacy/
- type: Support
  url: https://servicemgt.imperial.ac.uk/ask
- type: IdentityFederation
  url: https://shibboleth.imperial.ac.uk/idp/shibboleth
- type: ResearchRepository
  url: https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/
- type: LibraryCatalog
  url: https://library-search.imperial.ac.uk/
- type: CourseCatalog
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/courses/
- type: ResearchComputing
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computing/people/csg/services/hpc/
- type: AIPolicy
  url: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/admin-services/library/learning-support/generative-ai-guidance/
- type: Conformance
  url: conformance/imperial-college-london-education-standards.yml
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/imperial-college-london-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/imperial-college-london-domain-security.yml
- type: Plans
  url: plans/imperial-college-london-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/imperial-college-london-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/imperial-college-london-finops.yml
- type: Review
  url: review.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com