Common Crawl index API 2026: the current CC-MAIN index IDs

the current crawlgraph index id is cc-main-2026-apr-may-jun. it is built from Common Crawl's CC-MAIN-2026-17, CC-MAIN-2026-21, and CC-MAIN-2026-25 crawls, and covers 121.1M domains and 3.90B domain-level links. pass that id as release_id to query it:

bash

curl -X POST https://crawlgraph.com/api/v1/backlinks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cg_live_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"example.com","release_id":"cc-main-2026-apr-may-jun"}'

if you want Common Crawl's own per-crawl url index instead of the domain-level link graph, the cdx endpoint takes one crawl id at a time:

text

https://index.commoncrawl.org/CC-MAIN-2026-25-index?url=example.com&output=json

the current index ids

two different identifiers get called "the common crawl index", and mixing them up is the usual reason an api call 404s:

crawl ids like CC-MAIN-2026-25 name a single weekly crawl. the pattern is CC-MAIN-<year>-<week>. these are what the cdx endpoint at index.commoncrawl.org accepts, always with the -index suffix and a url= parameter.
graph release ids like cc-main-2026-apr-may-jun name a hyperlink-graph release built from several crawls. these are what crawlgraph queries, and what release_id expects.

the current graph release combines three source crawls into one queryable domain graph:

CC-MAIN-2026-17
CC-MAIN-2026-21
CC-MAIN-2026-25

the 121.1M domains and 3.90B domain-level links are the upstream graph totals, not crawlgraph estimates.

how to check which index is newest

do not hardcode an id from a blog post, this one included. both sides publish a machine-readable list. common crawl lists every crawl id, newest first:

bash

curl https://index.commoncrawl.org/collinfo.json | head -20

and crawlgraph lists every graph release it has indexed, with an available flag so you know which ones answer queries:

bash

curl https://crawlgraph.com/api/v1/releases \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cg_live_…"

the two lists run at different speeds. a warc crawl shows up in collinfo.json weeks before its hyperlink graph exists, so the newest crawl id is normally ahead of the newest graph release. the release schedule walks through that lag.

what the cutover changes for lookups

each crawlgraph release is an immutable snapshot. at cutover, the active lookup database moves to the new release while the search, export, and account flows stay the same. a lookup can show a different backlink profile because it now reflects observations from the newer source crawls.

a release is a snapshot

Common Crawl data is not a live view of the web. an absent link means it was not observed in that release, which is different from proving that the page or link no longer exists.

backlink-change digests for lifetime customers

lifetime customers with a saved site are being enrolled for release digests on their main domain. when a new queryable release arrives, the email summarizes newly observed referring domains, domains absent from the newer snapshot, and authority movement between the two releases.

every digest includes a one-click unsubscribe for that monitored domain. unsubscribing stops future release digests without changing lifetime account access.

compare two releases through the api

api users can call GET /api/v1/changes with a domain and two release ids to compare snapshots directly. the from and to query parameters make the pair explicit. when the older release is omitted, crawlgraph selects the nearest queryable ancestor of the newer release.

the response separates added and removed observations, reports authority movement, and identifies both releases used for the comparison. request and response details are in the changes api reference.

run a lookup on the current index

no key yet? enter your domain below to see which referring domains the Apr-Jun 2026 index observed for your site.

livetry it on your own site

run this query against your domain - free

first 5 backlinks free. no signup required.

faq

what is the current common crawl index in 2026?

for domain-level backlink work, the current crawlgraph graph release is cc-main-2026-apr-may-jun, built from CC-MAIN-2026-17, CC-MAIN-2026-21, and CC-MAIN-2026-25. for raw url lookups, the current crawl id is whichever entry sits first in index.commoncrawl.org/collinfo.json.

what does a cc-main index api url look like?

https://index.commoncrawl.org/CC-MAIN-2026-25-index?url=example.com&output=json. the crawl id changes, the -index suffix and the url= parameter do not. a url built on a crawl id that is not in collinfo.json will not resolve, which is why guessing a week number rarely works.

how do i pin a query to a specific index?

send release_id in the body of POST /api/v1/backlinks. omit it and crawlgraph uses the latest queryable release, which is the right default for monitoring and the wrong one for a reproducible study.

how often does the current index change?

common crawl publishes a new crawl every 1-2 months, and the hyperlink graph for it lands roughly six weeks after the warc files. crawlgraph cuts over only after the new graph is ingested and verified, so the current index id is stable for weeks at a time.

do i need a key to query the current index?

not for the site. the lookup box above runs on the current release with no signup. the api has a free tier with a self-serve key, documented in the api reference.