Met Museum Backend API

A Node.js Express backend server that provides a clean API interface to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's public collection API. Features built-in caching, rate limiting, and comprehensive artwork search capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 20 or higher)
• npm or yarn package manager

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:kawanofer/met-museum-backend.git
cd met-museum-backend

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Create a .env file in the root directory:

MET_API_BASE_URL=https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org
PORT=3001

4. Start the server:

npm start

The server will start running on http://localhost:3001

Features

• 🎨 Artwork Search: Search for artworks with images, by artist, or by department
• 🏛️ Department Listings: Get all available museum departments
• 📦 Smart Caching: 1-hour TTL cache to reduce API calls and improve performance
• 🚦 Rate Limiting: Built-in queue system to respect Met Museum API limits (70 req/sec, 5 concurrent)
• 🌐 CORS Enabled: Ready for frontend integration
• 🛡️ Error Handling: Comprehensive error handling with meaningful responses

API Endpoints

1. Search Artworks with Images

GET /api/artworks/search/images?q=painting

Returns an array of object IDs for artworks that have images.

Query Parameters:

• q (optional): Search query (default: "painting")

2. Get Artwork Details

GET /api/artworks/:objectID

Returns detailed information about a specific artwork.

Parameters:

• objectID (required): The Met Museum object ID

3. Search by Artist/Culture

GET /api/artworks/search/artist?q=van gogh

Returns detailed artwork information for works by a specific artist or culture.

Query Parameters:

• q (required): Artist name or culture

4. List Departments

GET /api/departments

Returns all available museum departments.

5. Search by Department

GET /api/artworks/search/department?departmentId=11&q=portrait

Returns detailed artwork information from a specific department.

Query Parameters:

• departmentId (required): Department ID
• q (required): Search query

Technical Details

Caching Strategy

• Uses node-cache with a 1-hour TTL (Time To Live)
• Reduces API calls to the Met Museum API
• Improves response times for repeated requests

Rate Limiting

• Implements p-queue for request management
• Limits to 70 requests per second (below Met Museum's ~80 req/sec limit)
• Maximum 5 concurrent requests to prevent API overload

Error Handling

• Graceful handling of Met Museum API errors
• Rate limit detection (403 errors)
• Detailed error logging for debugging
• Consistent error response format

Dependencies

• express: Web framework for Node.js
• axios: HTTP client for API requests
• cors: Cross-Origin Resource Sharing middleware
• dotenv: Environment variable management
• node-cache: In-memory caching solution
• p-queue: Promise queue with rate limiting

Development

Environment Variables

• MET_API_BASE_URL: Base URL for Met Museum API (default: https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org)
• PORT: Server port (default: 3001)

Acknowledgments

• Metropolitan Museum of Art for providing the public API