Nytimes TimesTags API
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For Agents
Get autocomplete-style tag suggestions from the NYT controlled vocabulary as a user types a partial query.
Use for: Suggest NYT tags as the user types a name, Find autocomplete tag matches for a partial organization name, Get the canonical NYT tag string for a person, Filter tag suggestions to geographic entities only
Not supported: Does not return article references, full linked-data records, or coordinates for places — use for autocomplete suggestions over the NYT controlled vocabulary only.
The New York Times TimesTags API is an autocomplete service over the NYT controlled vocabulary used to tag NYT articles. A single /timestags endpoint accepts a partial query string and returns ranked tag suggestions across persons, organizations, locations, descriptors, titles of works, and other entity types. Each suggestion includes the canonical tag string with a leading classifier (e.g. 'Per:', 'Org:', 'Geo:'), letting an autocomplete UI label suggestions by entity type. The API is the recommended front door for type-ahead lookups before deeper linked-data calls into the Semantic and Geographic APIs.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the TimesTags API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the TimesTags API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with TimesTags API.
Suggest NYT vocabulary tags from a partial query string
Filter suggestions by entity type filter such as Per, Org, or Geo
Limit the number of returned suggestions via the max query parameter
Surface the canonical capitalised tag string for each match
Power type-ahead UIs for editorial content management systems
Pre-resolve entities before deeper Semantic API or Geographic API calls
Use Cases
Patterns agents use TimesTags API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Editorial Tagging Type-Ahead
Power a type-ahead picker in a CMS so journalists tag NYT-controlled-vocabulary entities consistently. The /timestags endpoint accepts a query parameter with the partial string and an optional filter for entity type, returning ranked tag suggestions in canonical capitalisation. Each response is fast enough for keystroke-by-keystroke UI updates.
Call /timestags?query=Apple&max=10 and return the top 10 tag suggestions with their entity-type prefix for picker UI rendering.
Pre-Resolution Before Semantic Lookup
Use TimesTags to narrow a user's free-text query to the canonical NYT vocabulary form before issuing a Semantic API call for the full linked-data record. The autocomplete output gives the agent a confident tag string, which it then passes to /name/{concept-type}/{specific-concept}.json on the Semantic API to retrieve article references and related concepts.
Call /timestags?query=federal+reserve&filter=(Org) and return the highest-ranked Org suggestion for downstream /name lookup on the Semantic API.
Faceted Search Filter Builder
Build a faceted search filter over NYT-tagged content where users select tags from autocomplete suggestions rather than free-text queries. The TimesTags API supplies the filter values; the Article Search API consumes them as fq facets.
Call /timestags?query=climate&filter=(Des) and return the descriptor suggestions to populate the search facet dropdown.
Agent-Driven Tag Suggestion via Jentic
An AI editorial assistant uses Jentic to call TimesTags whenever a user mentions an entity by partial name. Jentic returns the /timestags operation, the agent loads the schema and executes the call without manually wiring the api-key or learning the filter syntax for entity types.
Search Jentic for 'autocomplete NYT vocabulary tag', load the /timestags operation, and execute it with query='gates' and filter='(Per)'.
Key Endpoints
1 endpoints — the new york times timestags api is an autocomplete service over the nyt controlled vocabulary used to tag nyt articles.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/timestags
Get autocomplete tag suggestions matching a partial query
GET
/timestags
Get autocomplete tag suggestions matching a partial query
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
The NYT api-key is stored encrypted in the Jentic vault and injected into the api-key query parameter at execution time. The same credential authenticates every NYT API in the workspace, so a single rotation updates TimesTags, Semantic, Geographic, and the others together.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic for 'autocomplete NYT vocabulary tag' or 'suggest NYT tags' and Jentic returns the /timestags operation with its filter syntax in the parameter schema, removing the need to read NYT documentation.
Time to first call
Direct integration: an hour or two to wire the api-key, learn the (Per,Org,Geo,Des) filter syntax, and add debouncing in the UI. Through Jentic: under 15 minutes.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using TimesTags API through Jentic.
What authentication does the NYT TimesTags API use?
Authentication is an API key passed as the api-key query parameter on /timestags. Provision a key at developer.nytimes.com. Through Jentic the credential is held in the vault and injected at execution time, so the agent never sees the raw key.
How do I filter suggestions to only people or only locations?
Pass the filter query parameter with a parenthesised type code such as (Per) for persons, (Org) for organizations, (Geo) for locations, or (Des) for descriptors. Combine multiple types with a comma, e.g. filter=(Per,Org). The default returns matches across every type.
What are the rate limits for the NYT TimesTags API?
NYT enforces 500 requests per day and 5 requests per minute per API key, shared across all NYT developer APIs. For type-ahead UIs, debounce keystrokes by 250 ms and only call after 2-3 characters to stay under the per-minute cap.
How do I get tag suggestions for a partial name through Jentic?
Search Jentic for 'autocomplete NYT vocabulary tag', load the /timestags operation, and execute it with query set to the partial string and an optional filter type. Jentic returns the parameter schema so the agent uses the correct filter syntax.
Is the NYT TimesTags API free to use?
Yes. NYT offers TimesTags at no cost on the developer portal for non-commercial use within published rate limits. Commercial or high-volume use requires direct contact with the NYT licensing team.
Does this API return article references or only the tag string?
TimesTags returns only the canonical tag string with its entity-type prefix. To retrieve article references, related concepts, and full linked-data records, pass the resolved tag to the Semantic API's /name endpoint or to the Geographic API for locations.
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