canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/mangaupdates.com/mangaupdates # MangaUpdates API The MangaUpdates API powers the MangaUpdates manga database and community, exposing series, authors, publishers, scanlation groups, and chapter releases alongside reviews, forums, and user reading lists. It searches series by title, genre, category, type, and year, returns series details with the groups scanlating them and their ratings, and lists releases by day or as an RSS feed. Signed-in members can rate series, track volume and chapter progress in reading lists, and post in forums and conversations. Data use requires crediting MangaUpdates and spacing requests reasonably under its acceptable use policy. ## For AI agents Search the MangaUpdates database for manga series, authors, publishers, groups, and releases, and for a signed-in member, rate series and track reading progress in lists. ## Scope Does not handle reading chapter pages, selling or licensing manga, or anime tracking. Use for searching manga series and release data and managing a member's MangaUpdates lists and ratings only. ## Capabilities - Search series with POST `/series/search` by title, genre, exclude_genre, category, type, year, and licensed status, sorted with orderby - Retrieve a series by id along with the scanlation groups working on it, its rating rainbow, and its edit history - Find new chapter releases by day with GET `/releases/days`, or follow a series through its RSS release feed - Look up authors, publishers, and scanlation groups and list the series each one is linked to - Track reading progress by adding series to a user list and updating its volume and chapter status - Rate a series for the signed-in member with PUT `/series/{id}/rating` and read back that rating - Search and read reviews, series comments, and forum topics about a series ## Use cases ### Manga lookup and tracking agent through Jentic A reading assistant searches MangaUpdates for a series, reports its groups and latest releases, and updates the member's reading list as chapters are read. Through Jentic the agent finds these operations by intent among the API's large surface, the member's session token stays in the developer's own Jentic One instance, and a rule can keep the agent on search and list updates while moderation and account operations stay out. Example prompt: POST `/series/search` with search 'Vinland Saga', then GET `/series/{id}/groups` for the top result, then POST `/lists/series/update` with the series id and status chapter 42 ### Release monitoring Readers following many series want to know when new chapters appear. GET `/releases/days` lists releases by day with optional include_metadata, GET `/series/{id}/rss` provides a per-series feed, and POST `/releases/search` narrows releases by group_id or a start_date and end_date range. Example prompt: Call GET `/releases/days` with include_metadata true and report each release's series title and chapter ### Series research for recommendations Recommendation tools need structured series data. POST `/series/search` filters by genre, category, type, and year, POST `/authors/search` and POST `/publishers/search` find creators and publishers, and POST `/authors/{id}/series` and GET `/publishers/{id}/series` list the works tied to each, so a tool can suggest similar titles by the same author or imprint. Example prompt: POST `/authors/search` with search 'Naoki Urasawa', then POST `/authors/{id}/series` for the matching author and list the titles ## Key endpoints | Method | Path | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | POST | `/series/search` | Search series | | GET | `/series/{id}` | Get a specific series | | GET | `/series/{id}/groups` | List groups scanlating a series | | GET | `/releases/days` | Show releases by day | | POST | `/authors/search` | Search authors | | POST | `/lists/series` | Add a series to a list | | PUT | `/series/{id}/rating` | Update the user rating for a series | | PUT | `/account/login` | Create a session token | ## Key resources - **Series** — Manga series with details, groups, ratings, comments, history, and RSS feeds - **Releases** — Chapter releases searchable by date range and group, and listed by day - **Authors, publishers, and groups** — Creators, publishers, and scanlation groups with their linked series - **Lists** — A member's reading lists with per-series volume and chapter status - **Reviews and forums** — Series reviews, comments, forum topics, and posts ## AI readiness This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use. - **Score:** 55 / 100 - **Maturity:** Foundational - **Dimensions:** - Foundational Compliance: 98 / 100 - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 62 / 100 - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 45 / 100 - Agent Usability: 43 / 100 - Security: 75 / 100 - AI Discoverability: 52 / 100 - **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/mangaupdates.com/mangaupdates/scorecard - **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/ - **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview ### Score it yourself Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required. - **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md - **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md ```sh npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score ``` ## Why Jentic - **Setup:** Wiring MangaUpdates by hand means logging in with PUT `/account/login` to get a JWT session token, refreshing it, and paging through the search operations yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import MangaUpdates from the API Directory, store the credential once, and your agent calls it. - **Permission scoping:** MangaUpdates puts series, author, and list ids in the URL path, so a rule can pin your agent to one series or one list and the operations you pick. You choose the operations it may call, so destructive ones like DELETE `/series/{id}` or member and moderation operations are not included unless you add them. - **Credential handling:** Your MangaUpdates session token is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context. - **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'search manga series' or 'list today's releases', and Jentic returns the matching MangaUpdates operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs. ## Related APIs - **MangaDex API** — Manga reading platform API with chapters and scanlation groups - **MyAnimeList API** — Anime and manga database with user lists - **Kitsu API** — Anime and manga library and social tracking ## FAQ ### Is there a MangaUpdates MCP server? You don't need an MCP server to give your agent MangaUpdates. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import it, store your credential once, and your agent calls it. Operations are discovered on demand, so the API's large surface does not load as tool definitions into the agent's context. ### What authentication does the MangaUpdates API use? Per its OpenAPI spec, the MangaUpdates API declares bearer authentication with a JWT session token in the Authorization header. You get a session token from PUT `/account/login` with your username and password, and registration happens on the main website rather than through the API. Through Jentic the token is stored encrypted by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, so it never enters the agent's context. ### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with MangaUpdates? Yes. For example, write a rule that allows POST `/series/search`, GET `/series/{id}`, and GET `/releases/days`, so the agent can look up series and releases but cannot change your lists, post in forums, or touch moderation operations. Every call it makes is logged on your own machine. ### How do I track reading progress through Jentic? Install Jentic One, import the MangaUpdates API from the directory, and search for 'update my manga reading list'. Jentic returns the list series update operation with its input schema; your agent sends the series id with a status volume or chapter. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo. ### What are the rate limits for the MangaUpdates API? The OpenAPI spec does not state a numeric rate limit. Its acceptable use policy asks you to space requests reasonably so as not to overwhelm the MangaUpdates servers and to cache data. Check https://www.mangaupdates.com for current terms. ### Can I use MangaUpdates data in my own app? The acceptable use policy in the spec requires you to credit MangaUpdates when using its data, and bans uses that deceive users, create spam, assist illegal actions, or damage the database. MangaUpdates makes no warranties about availability or correctness of the data.