Nobel Prize Python API Docs | dltHub

Build a Nobel Prize-to-database pipeline in Python using dlt with AI Workbench support for Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex.

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The Nobel Prize API provides free access to data on Nobel Laureates and Prizes. No API key is required, but registration for developer updates is encouraged. The API was updated in 2019 to reflect a new data structure. The REST API base URL is https://api.nobelprize.org/2.1 and No authentication required.

dlt is an open-source Python library that handles authentication, pagination, and schema evolution automatically. dlthub provides AI context files that enable code assistants to generate production-ready pipelines. Install with uv pip install "dlt[workspace]" and start loading Nobel Prize data in under 10 minutes.


What data can I load from Nobel Prize?

Here are some of the endpoints you can load from Nobel Prize:

ResourceEndpointMethodData selectorDescription
laureates/laureatesGETlaureatesReturns detailed information about Nobel laureates (persons or organizations).
nobel_prizes/nobelPrizesGETnobelPrizesReturns Nobel prize information; may require supplementary call to laureates for full details.
prizes/prizesGETprizesProvides a list of prize categories and years.
living/livingGETlivingLists laureates who are currently alive.
categories/categoriesGETcategoriesLists all prize categories.

How do I authenticate with the Nobel Prize API?

Requests can be made without authentication headers.

1. Get your credentials

No credentials are required; you can start using the API immediately.

2. Add them to .dlt/secrets.toml

[sources.nobel_prize_source]

dlt reads this automatically at runtime — never hardcode tokens in your pipeline script. For production environments, see setting up credentials with dlt for environment variable and vault-based options.


How do I set up and run the pipeline?

Set up a virtual environment and install dlt:

uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate uv pip install "dlt[workspace]"

1. Install the dlt AI Workbench:

dlt ai init --agent <your-agent> # <agent>: claude | cursor | codex

This installs project rules, a secrets management skill, appropriate ignore files, and configures the dlt MCP server for your agent. Learn more →

2. Install the rest-api-pipeline toolkit:

dlt ai toolkit rest-api-pipeline install

This loads the skills and context about dlt the agent uses to build the pipeline iteratively, efficiently, and safely. The agent uses MCP tools to inspect credentials — it never needs to read your secrets.toml directly. Learn more →

3. Start LLM-assisted coding:

Use /find-source to load data from the Nobel Prize API into DuckDB.

The rest-api-pipeline toolkit takes over from here — it reads relevant API documentation, presents you with options for which endpoints to load, and follows a structured workflow to scaffold, debug, and validate the pipeline step by step.

4. Run the pipeline:

python nobel_prize_pipeline.py

If everything is configured correctly, you'll see output like this:

Pipeline nobel_prize_pipeline load step completed in 0.26 seconds 1 load package(s) were loaded to destination duckdb and into dataset nobel_prize_data The duckdb destination used duckdb:/nobel_prize.duckdb location to store data Load package 1749667187.541553 is LOADED and contains no failed jobs

Inspect your pipeline and data:

dlt pipeline nobel_prize_pipeline show

This opens the Pipeline Dashboard where you can verify pipeline state, load metrics, schema (tables, columns, types), and query the loaded data directly.


Python pipeline example

This example loads laureates and nobel_prizes from the Nobel Prize API into DuckDB. It mirrors the endpoint and data selector configuration from the table above:

import dlt from dlt.sources.rest_api import RESTAPIConfig, rest_api_resources @dlt.source def nobel_prize_source(=dlt.secrets.value): config: RESTAPIConfig = { "client": { "base_url": "https://api.nobelprize.org/2.1", "auth": { "type": "api_key", "": , }, }, "resources": [ {"name": "laureates", "endpoint": {"path": "laureates", "data_selector": "laureates"}}, {"name": "nobel_prizes", "endpoint": {"path": "nobelPrizes", "data_selector": "nobelPrizes"}} ], } yield from rest_api_resources(config) def get_data() -> None: pipeline = dlt.pipeline( pipeline_name="nobel_prize_pipeline", destination="duckdb", dataset_name="nobel_prize_data", ) load_info = pipeline.run(nobel_prize_source()) print(load_info)

To add more endpoints, append entries from the resource table to the "resources" list using the same name, path, and data_selector pattern.


How do I query the loaded data?

Once the pipeline runs, dlt creates one table per resource. You can query with Python or SQL.

Python (pandas DataFrame):

import dlt data = dlt.pipeline("nobel_prize_pipeline").dataset() sessions_df = data.laureates.df() print(sessions_df.head())

SQL (DuckDB example):

SELECT * FROM nobel_prize_data.laureates LIMIT 10;

In a marimo or Jupyter notebook:

import dlt data = dlt.pipeline("nobel_prize_pipeline").dataset() data.laureates.df().head()

See how to explore your data in marimo Notebooks and how to query your data in Python with dataset.


What destinations can I load Nobel Prize data to?

dlt supports loading into any of these destinations — only the destination parameter changes:

DestinationExample value
DuckDB (local, default)"duckdb"
PostgreSQL"postgres"
BigQuery"bigquery"
Snowflake"snowflake"
Redshift"redshift"
Databricks"databricks"
Filesystem (S3, GCS, Azure)"filesystem"

Change the destination in dlt.pipeline(destination="snowflake") and add credentials in .dlt/secrets.toml. See the full destinations list.


Next steps

Continue your data engineering journey with the other toolkits of the dltHub AI Workbench:

  • data-exploration — Build custom notebooks, charts, and dashboards for deeper analysis with marimo notebooks.
  • dlthub-runtime — Deploy, schedule, and monitor your pipeline in production.
dlt ai toolkit data-exploration install dlt ai toolkit dlthub-runtime install

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