---
title: ToolRouter — Tool Detail
description: Detailed documentation for a ToolRouter tool including skills, parameters, and examples.
url: https://toolrouter.com/tools/wikipedia-lookup
---
# Wikipedia Lookup

Search Wikipedia by keyword, get article summaries, fetch full text, discover historical events for any date, or grab a random article. Supports 50+ language editions. Ideal for background research, fact grounding, entity disambiguation, and knowledge about any topic, person, place, or concept.

- **Version:** 0.02
- **Categories:** data, productivity

## Skills (5)

### Search Wikipedia (`search`)

Search Wikipedia articles by keyword or phrase. Returns matching articles with titles, excerpts, descriptions, and thumbnails.

**Parameters:**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `query` | string | Yes | Search query — keywords or phrase to find articles about |
| `limit` | number | No | Maximum number of results to return (1-50) [default: 5] |
| `language` | string | No | Wikipedia language code (e.g. "en", "es", "fr", "de", "ja") [default: "en"] |

**Returns:** List of matching Wikipedia articles with title, excerpt, description, thumbnail URL, and article link

**Examples:**

*Search for articles about quantum computing:*

```json
{
  "query": "quantum computing"
}
```

*Search French Wikipedia for the Eiffel Tower:*

```json
{
  "query": "Tour Eiffel",
  "language": "fr",
  "limit": 3
}
```

### Get Article Summary (`get_summary`)

Get a concise summary of any Wikipedia article by title. Returns the article description, summary text, thumbnail, coordinates (for places), and direct URLs.

**Parameters:**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `title` | string | Yes | Wikipedia article title (e.g. "Albert Einstein", "Tokyo", "Python (programming language)") |
| `language` | string | No | Wikipedia language code (e.g. "en", "es", "fr", "de", "ja") [default: "en"] |

**Returns:** Article summary with title, description, plain text extract, thumbnail, article URL, and coordinates if applicable

**Examples:**

*Get a summary of the article about Albert Einstein:*

```json
{
  "title": "Albert Einstein"
}
```

*Get a summary of Tokyo from Japanese Wikipedia:*

```json
{
  "title": "東京都",
  "language": "ja"
}
```

### Get Full Article (`get_full_article`)

Get the full plain text content of a Wikipedia article. Use this when you need detailed information beyond the summary. Content is truncated at max_length to control response size.

**Parameters:**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `title` | string | Yes | Wikipedia article title (e.g. "World War II", "Machine learning") |
| `language` | string | No | Wikipedia language code (e.g. "en", "es", "fr", "de", "ja") [default: "en"] |
| `max_length` | number | No | Maximum character length of returned content (100-50000) [default: 5000] |

**Returns:** Full plain text article content with metadata, truncated at max_length if the article exceeds it

**Examples:**

*Get the full article about machine learning:*

```json
{
  "title": "Machine learning"
}
```

*Get a longer excerpt of the World War II article in Spanish:*

```json
{
  "title": "Segunda Guerra Mundial",
  "language": "es",
  "max_length": 15000
}
```

### On This Day (`on_this_day`)

Get historical events, births, deaths, or notable happenings for any date. Returns a list of events with year and linked Wikipedia articles.

**Parameters:**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `month` | number | Yes | Month of the year (1-12) |
| `day` | number | Yes | Day of the month (1-31) |
| `type` | string | No | Type of historical entries to retrieve (events, births, deaths, selected, holidays) [default: "selected"] |

**Returns:** List of historical events for the given date, each with descriptive text, year, and up to 3 linked Wikipedia articles

**Examples:**

*Get notable events that happened on July 4th:*

```json
{
  "month": 7,
  "day": 4
}
```

*Get famous births on December 25th:*

```json
{
  "month": 12,
  "day": 25,
  "type": "births"
}
```

### Random Article (`random_article`)

Get a random Wikipedia article summary. Great for discovery, trivia, or serendipitous learning. Returns the same format as get_summary.

**Parameters:**

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|------|------|----------|-------------|
| `language` | string | No | Wikipedia language code (e.g. "en", "es", "fr", "de", "ja") [default: "en"] |

**Returns:** Random Wikipedia article summary with title, description, extract, thumbnail, and article URL

**Examples:**

*Get a random English Wikipedia article:*

```json
{}
```

*Get a random article from German Wikipedia:*

```json
{
  "language": "de"
}
```

## Quick Start

```bash
# Via CLI
TOOLROUTER_API_KEY=tr_live_xxx npx -y toolrouter-mcp call wikipedia-lookup search --query quantum computing

# Via REST API
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer tr_live_xxx" \
     -d '{"tool":"wikipedia-lookup","skill":"search","input":{"query":"quantum computing"}}' \
     https://api.toolrouter.com/v1/tools/call
```

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I search Wikipedia by keyword first?

Yes. `search` finds matching articles by keyword and helps you narrow down the right title before you fetch a summary or full article.

### What is the difference between summary and full article lookup?

`get_summary` gives a concise overview with article metadata, while `get_full_article` returns the full plain-text article up to the length you set with `max_length`.

### Can I look up events for a specific date?

Yes. `on_this_day` returns historical events for a month and day, plus linked articles for extra context.

### Can I use non-English Wikipedia editions?

Yes. The tool supports 50+ language editions. Pass the `language` you want, and remember that article titles are case-sensitive.

---

## Get Started with ToolRouter

**Already connected?** Call any tool with `use_tool({ tool, skill, input })`. Browse tools with `discover` or visit https://toolrouter.com/llms-full.txt

**New to ToolRouter?** Connect with one command (no API key needed — auto-provisions on first use):

```bash
# MCP (Claude Code, Codex CLI)
claude mcp add toolrouter -- npx -y toolrouter-mcp

# MCP (Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Claude Desktop)
{"mcpServers":{"toolrouter":{"command":"npx","args":["-y","toolrouter-mcp"]}}}

# Claude Chat / Claude Cowork / Claude Mobile — add as a connector:
# Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → URL: https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp

# ChatGPT — add as an app:
# Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → enable Developer mode → Create app → MCP Server URL: https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp

# CLI (works instantly, no restart needed)
npx -y toolrouter-mcp tools                    # browse all tools
npx -y toolrouter-mcp search "seo"             # search by keyword
npx -y toolrouter-mcp call seo analyze_page --url https://example.com
```

Free tools work immediately. For paid tools, visit https://toolrouter.com/claim to add credits.

All platforms: https://toolrouter.com/connect | Full catalog: https://toolrouter.com/llms-full.txt | Docs: https://toolrouter.com/docs