If you’re a CrunchBase API developer, we have two new APIs for ya. These should make it easier to find CrunchBase entities, as well as match TechCrunch stories related to particular companies and people. We use these APIs ourselves for implementing the Company Index on TechCrunch, and so we thought these might be useful for other developers as well.

Permalink API

Ever needed to find a corresponding CrunchBase page for a particular Company/Person/Financial Org name? Well, we now have an API for that which is easier to use than our Search API.

Syntax

For all entities except people:

http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/<plural entity namespace>/permalink?name=<entity name>

For people:

http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/people/permalink?first_name=<person first name>&last_name=<person last name>

Examples

• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/companies/permalink?name=Google
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/financial-organizations/permalink?name=Sequoia%20Capital
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/products/permalink?name=iPhone
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/people/permalink?first_name=Ron&last_name=Conway

Returns

If the permalink is found, JSON will be returned in the following format (this one for companies):

{”name”: “Google”,
“crunchbase_url”: “http://www.crunchbase.com/company/google”,
“permalink”: “google”}

If a permalink is not found, the HTTP status code will be 404 and the JSON return will be (note that this is a 404 for companies):

{”error”: “Unknown company. Please see www.crunchbase.com/help/api for help.”}

Notes

The entity name (or for people, first and last name) is case-insensitive. Replace any spaces in the entity name with ‘%20′.

TechCrunch Posts API

Want data on how many times a particular company has been written about on TechCrunch? Well, you can do that now as well. The syntax is very similar to the Permalink API, above. You start with an entity name.

Syntax

For all entities except people:

http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/<plural entity namespace>/posts?name=<entity name>

For people:

http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/people/posts?first_name=<person first name>&last_name=<person last name>

Examples:

• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/companies/posts?name=Google
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/financial-organizations/posts?name=Sequoia%20Capital
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/products/posts?name=iPhone
• http://api.crunchbase.com/v/1/people/posts?first_name=Ron&last_name=Conway

If any posts are found, JSON will be returned in the following format (this one for companies):

{”posts_url”: “http://www.crunchbase.com/company/google/posts”,
“num_posts”: 1174,
“name”: “Google”,
“crunchbase_url”: “http://www.crunchbase.com/company/google”,
“permalink”: “google”}

If no posts are found, the HTTP status code will be 404 and the JSON return will be (note that this is a 404 for companies):

{”error”: “Unknown company. Please see www.crunchbase.com/help/api for help.”}

Notes

The entity name (or for people, first and last name) is case-insensitive. Replace any spaces in the entity name with ‘%20′.

Questions? Comments? Head over to the CrunchBase API group.