EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service (OLS) API
The Ontology Lookup Service (OLS) provides a web service interface to query multiple ontologies from a single location with a unified output format. OLS can be used to browse ontologies via the website or programmatically via the REST API. This is the OLS4 API which provides access to over 200 ontologies from OBO and other sources.
Base URL:
Auth: none
Endpoints: 37
Reachable: yes
CORS: unknown
Last checked: 2026-03-14 16:08:09.388405
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/api/Auth: none
Endpoints: 37
Reachable: yes
CORS: unknown
Last checked: 2026-03-14 16:08:09.388405
Links
347ms
Avg latency (7d)45
Probes (7d)Latency (7d)
Success Rate (7d)
Endpoints
| Method | Path | Summary | Auth | Last Status | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GET |
/ | API Root | — | 200 | 140ms |
GET |
/individuals | List all individuals | — | 200 | 242ms |
GET |
/ontologies | List all ontologies | — | 200 | 144ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId} | Get ontology details | — | 200 | 150ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/individuals | List individuals in an ontology | — | 200 | 184ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/individuals/{individualId} | Get individual details | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/properties | List properties in an ontology | — | 200 | 210ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/properties/{propertyId} | Get property details | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms | List terms in an ontology | — | 200 | 1008ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri} | Get specific term | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/ancestors | Get ancestor terms | — | 400 | 145ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/children | Get child terms | — | 400 | 172ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/descendants | Get descendant terms | — | 400 | 145ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/graph | Get term graph | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/hierarchicalAncestors | Get hierarchical ancestor terms | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/hierarchicalChildren | Get hierarchical child terms | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/hierarchicalParents | Get hierarchical parent terms | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/jstree | Get jsTree representation | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{iri}/parents | Get parent terms | — | 400 | 136ms |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId} | Get term details | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/ancestors | Get term ancestors | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/children | Get term children | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/descendants | Get term descendants | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/hierarchicalAncestors | Get hierarchical ancestors | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/hierarchicalChildren | Get hierarchical children | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/hierarchicalDescendants | Get hierarchical descendants | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/hierarchicalParents | Get hierarchical parents | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/jstree | Get JS Tree representation | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontologyId}/terms/{termId}/parents | Get term parents | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontology_id} | Get ontology details | — | — | — |
GET |
/ontologies/{ontology_id}/terms | Get ontology terms | — | — | — |
GET |
/properties | List all properties | — | 200 | 222ms |
GET |
/search | Search across ontologies | — | 200 | 309ms |
GET |
/select | Autocomplete/select terms | — | 200 | 1840ms |
GET |
/suggest | Suggest terms | — | 200 | 270ms |
GET |
/terms | List all terms | — | 200 | 1153ms |
GET |
/terms/{iri} | Get term by IRI | — | 404 | 139ms |