Wayback Machine

+

+

+this dude at the top waiting for bird at the top

+The **Internet Archive** is an American [non-profit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501\(c\)\(3\)_organization) library founded in 1996 by [Brewster Kahle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_Kahle) that runs a [digital library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_library) website, [archive.org](http://archive.org).[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Found0-4)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Found1-5)[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-NYT-20230813-6) It provides free access to collections of digitized media including [websites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website), [software applications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_software), [music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music), [audiovisual](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiovisual), and print materials. The Archive also advocates a [free](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_wants_to_be_free) and open [Internet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet). Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge".[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Archive2024-7)

+this dude at the top waiting for bird at the top

+The **Internet Archive** is an American [non-profit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501\(c\)\(3\)_organization) library founded in 1996 by [Brewster Kahle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_Kahle) that runs a [digital library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_library) website, [archive.org](http://archive.org).[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Found0-4)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Found1-5)[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-NYT-20230813-6) It provides free access to collections of digitized media including [websites](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website), [software applications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_software), [music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music), [audiovisual](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiovisual), and print materials. The Archive also advocates a [free](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_wants_to_be_free) and open [Internet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet). Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge".[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-Archive2024-7)

+The Internet Archive allows the public to upload and download digital material to its data cluster, but the bulk of its data is collected automatically by its [web crawlers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_crawler), which work to preserve as much of the public web as possible. Its [web archive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_archiving), the Wayback Machine, contains hundreds of billions of web captures.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-8)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#cite_note-9) The Archive also oversees numerous [book digitization projects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Book_collections), collectively one of the world's largest book digitization efforts.

+## History

+Headquarters in Building 116 of the [Presidio of San Francisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_San_Francisco) in 2008

+The Wayback Machine is a digital archive that captures and preserves snapshots of the [World Wide Web](/wiki/world_wide_web) over time, offering a glimpse into its past. It functions as a vast library of internet history, allowing users to explore how websites have evolved through the years, thanks to ongoing [Web Archiving](/wiki/web_archiving) efforts.

+## See also

+- [Internet Archive](/wiki/internet_archive)

+- [Digital Preservation](/wiki/digital_preservation)

+- [Web Crawler](/wiki/web_crawler)