Interactive Fiction Database

Free plan APIWeb

Visit Interactive Fiction Database Alternatives

What Interactive Fiction Database is

Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB) is a free community catalog for interactive fiction games, with tools to help players find titles and choose what to play. Members can add listings and edit existing entries. Search covers titles, authors, and descriptions, with filters for genre, language, authoring system, format, rating, and publication date. Discovery features include personalized recommendations, lists, polls, reviews, ratings, competitions, and member profiles. A Play Online option opens supported games in a browser without an interpreter download; IFDB catalogs game information rather than hosting the games.

IFDB provides HTTP APIs returning JSON for searches, listing retrieval, tag editing, and publishing iFiction XML. The APIs are intended for low-volume, user-driven applications, not frequent crawling or high-load mirroring. Full SQL exports that exclude personal information are available through the IF Archive and updated roughly quarterly. IFDB is web-based and provides an API for third-party software. The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains the site, which is funded by supporter donations.

Who it suits

IFDB suits players looking for interactive fiction through searchable listings and community recommendations. It also offers a catalog and API for developers building low-volume, user-driven applications.

What it does well

Members can add and edit game listings.
Search includes structured filters for discovery.
Supported games can launch in a browser.
APIs return JSON and support iFiction XML publishing.
SQL exports exclude personal information.

What to know first

IFDB catalogs game information rather than hosting games.
APIs are not intended for frequent crawling or high-load mirroring.
SQL exports are updated roughly quarterly.
Browser play is available only for supported listings.

Getting started

Open https://ifdb.org/ in a web browser.
Search by title, author, or description, or narrow results with the available filters.
Browse recommendations, reviews, ratings, polls, or lists to find a game.
Open a listing and use Play Online when that option is available.
For third-party software, use IFDB’s HTTP APIs or the iFiction XML publishing interface.

Verdict

IFDB combines a member-maintained catalog with discovery tools and APIs. Players should check whether a listing supports browser play, while developers should keep API use low-volume and user-driven.

Questions

Is IFDB free?

Yes. IFDB has a free plan, and no free trial is offered.

Can I play games on IFDB?

Some listings have a Play Online option that launches the game in a browser without an interpreter download. IFDB catalogs game information rather than hosting the games.

What platforms does IFDB support?

IFDB is available on the web and through an API. Its supported game platforms include Z-machine, TADS, Hugo, and executable applications.

Does IFDB have an API?

Yes. Its HTTP APIs return JSON and support searches, retrieving listings, editing tags, and publishing listings from iFiction XML. They are intended for low-volume, user-driven applications.

Who maintains IFDB?

The IFDB committee of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains the site. Supporters’ donations fund it.

Can I download IFDB catalog data?

Full SQL database exports that exclude users’ personal information are available through the IF Archive. They are updated roughly quarterly.

Facts from Interactive Fiction Database's own pages

API: IFDB provides HTTP APIs returning JSON for software that accesses its data, including search and game lookup. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
API limits: The APIs are intended for low-volume, user-driven applications and are not designed for high-speed crawling or large automated batches. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Catalog: Members can add game listings and edit existing entries to keep the catalog current. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Collaborative catalog: Members can add and edit game listings, so updates and corrections do not have to wait for site administrators. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Community features: The site includes reviews, ratings, polls, lists, competitions, and member profiles. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Community moderation: The Code of Conduct prohibits harassment, spam, malware, misleading links, and bad-faith ratings, and says moderators may remove ratings or reviews judged not to be in good faith. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Content licensing: User-uploaded original material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States, while cataloged games themselves are not hosted by IFDB. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Cookies and logs: IFDB uses cookies only at the user’s request to keep them logged in, and says its cookies contain no password or other personal information; it says it does not attempt to identify visitors from IP addresses. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Data exports: Full SQL database exports excluding users’ personal information are available through the IF Archive and are updated roughly quarterly. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Integrations: The putific API accepts iFiction XML so authoring software can offer a “Publish to IFDB” feature. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Operator: IFDB is maintained by the IFDB committee of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation and funded by supporters’ donations. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Operator and funding: The Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation maintains IFDB, which is funded by donations from interactive fiction supporters. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Play in browser: A game's “Play Online” button can launch it in a browser without requiring a download, when that option is available on its listing. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Play online: The Play Online button lets users start supported games in a web browser without downloading an interpreter. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Privacy: Many features are accessible without personal information; IFDB says it does not sell or commercially exploit registration information. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Purpose: IFDB is an interactive fiction game catalog and recommendation engine run as a wiki-style community project. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Recommendations: Members can create Recommended Lists and use personalized tools that help match games to individual tastes. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Search: Search supports title, author, and description matching, plus structured filters such as genre, language, authoring system, format, rating, and publication date. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026
Security: IFDB's policy prohibits circumventing passwords or other features that protect personal information and using exploits that may disrupt the site. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
Support: Users can contact the IFDB committee by email or report technical issues and suggest features through its GitHub repository. · ifdb.org, 5 Oct 2026
User content: IFDB says it stores metadata about games rather than hosting the games themselves, and user-uploaded original material is generally licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States, with an exception for qualifying cover art. · ifdb.org, 4 Oct 2026

Where Interactive Fiction Database stands on Freedom251

Game Databases#6 of 14