# List the anchor texts of a target's backlinks

Returns the anchor texts of the links pointing to a domain or page, with backlink and linking domain counts. Use it to see how other sites describe a target.

Tool `web.anchors.list` on Open web and SEO. Contract version 1, released 2026-10-27.

## Example call

Over REST, send the input in the body. Over MCP, pass the same input to `call_tool`.

cURL:

```bash
curl https://api.voxoria.ai/v1/tools/web.anchors.list/calls \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VOXORIA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input":{"target":"moz.com"}}'
```

Python:

```python
import os

import httpx

response = httpx.post(
    "https://api.voxoria.ai/v1/tools/web.anchors.list/calls",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['VOXORIA_API_KEY']}"},
    json={"input": {"target": "moz.com"}},
    timeout=60,
)
print(response.json())
```

TypeScript:

```ts
const response = await fetch("https://api.voxoria.ai/v1/tools/web.anchors.list/calls", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.VOXORIA_API_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({"input": {"target": "moz.com"}}),
});
console.log(await response.json());
```

MCP (`tools/call` params):

```json
{
  "name": "call_tool",
  "arguments": {
    "tool": "web.anchors.list",
    "input": {
      "target": "moz.com"
    }
  }
}
```

Both return [the full response](/docs/call-response.md): the call's ID, status and cost, with this tool's result in `output`.

## Input

| Input | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `target` | string | Yes |  | The domain or subdomain, without scheme or www, such as "moz.com", or the full URL of one page. 1 or more characters. |
| `link_status` | string | No | `live` | Which backlinks count: live (still on the linking page), lost (gone from it, or the page itself gone) or all. One of `live`, `lost`, `all`. |
| `page` | integer | No | `1` | Page of results, page_size per page. Anchors come by linking_domain_count, highest first. At least 1. |
| `page_size` | integer | No | `10` | Results per page. Each result adds to the price of the call. From 1 to 100. |

## Output

A successful call returns these blocks in its `output`. A field not marked required can be `null`.

### results

A list of rows. Always present, possibly empty.

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `anchor` | string | Yes | Text of the links. Links with no text, such as image links, are not listed. |
| `backlink_count` | integer | No | Links to the target with this text. |
| `dofollow_backlink_count` | integer | No | Of those, the links that pass ranking credit, having no nofollow attribute. |
| `linking_domain_count` | integer | No | Domains that link to the target with this text. |
| `linking_page_count` | integer | No | Pages that link to the target with this text. |
| `first_seen_at` | string | No | When a link with this text was first found, as an ISO 8601 timestamp in UTC. |
| `lost_at` | string | No | When the last link with this text was lost, as an ISO 8601 timestamp in UTC. Absent while a link remains. |

## Example output

The `output` of a real call, each list cut to 3 items.

```json
{
  "results": [
    {
      "anchor": "Moz",
      "backlink_count": 140211,
      "dofollow_backlink_count": null,
      "linking_domain_count": 25998,
      "linking_page_count": 107660,
      "first_seen_at": "2019-01-15T22:56:54Z",
      "lost_at": null
    },
    {
      "anchor": "MOZ",
      "backlink_count": 8588,
      "dofollow_backlink_count": null,
      "linking_domain_count": 3932,
      "linking_page_count": 8196,
      "first_seen_at": "2019-01-15T23:33:15Z",
      "lost_at": null
    }
  ]
}
```