Public API Lists
A community-maintained list of free public APIs you can search or fetch as JSON.
- Stars
- 16.3k
- Forks
- 1.9k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- —
- Last update
- 2 months ago
- Type
- Learning resource
What it is
This is a curated, searchable list of free public APIs (web services that anyone can call to get data), organized into about 48 categories such as weather, animals, finance, and science. The README describes it as a hand-curated list of 730+ APIs, with a website for browsing and a JSON version of the list. It is useful when you need a data source for a side project or want to see what services exist.
- Browse the categories on the website to find a weather, finance, or animal-data API for a prototype
- Download the list through the project's JSON endpoint to build your own API picker
- Check the Auth, HTTPS, and CORS columns to decide whether an API will work from a browser app
- Follow the contributing guide to suggest a new API to the list
Great for
- Developers looking for a free data source for a side project
- Students learning how to call web APIs
- Beginners who want example APIs with no sign-up required
- People who want to check whether an API requires a key, supports HTTPS, or allows CORS
Not ideal for
- Anyone who needs guaranteed uptime or production SLAs, since the README does not make such promises for the listed APIs and the list itself is volunteer-maintained
- People expecting a single downloadable software package, because this is a directory, not a program to install
How to get it
- 1
Use it in the browser (or self-host)
Open the website
https://public-api-lists.github.io/public-api-lists/ - 2
Run it
- Open the website and browse or search for a category that fits your project.
- Open the API's documentation link from its row in the list.
- Check the Auth column and sign up for a key if one is required.
- Make a test request from your browser or terminal to confirm the response.
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the JSON API at public-api-lists.github.io/public-api-lists/api/all.json to load the full list into your own tools.
- Filter by the Auth column to find APIs that need no key, which are easiest to start with.
- Filter by CORS support when building a browser-only front end.
- Read the contributing guide if you want to add or correct entries.
Downloads
Strengths
- Large collection of 730+ APIs in one place, according to the README
- Table columns show auth type, HTTPS support, and CORS status, which helps quick screening
- Free JSON endpoint and MIT license make the data easy to reuse
Trade-offs
- Many CORS and status entries are marked Unknown, so you must verify each API yourself
- Individual APIs can change or disappear, and the README does not describe how often entries are checked
- Some listed services are sponsors or promotional, so the list is not purely neutral
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| public-api-lists (this) | 16.3k | Learning resource | beginner | 2 months ago | Developers looking for a free data source for a side project |
| public-apis | 495k | Curated list | beginner | 5 days ago | Developers looking for a third-party API to add to a side project |
| rustlings | 64.5k | Learning resource | beginner | 11 days ago | People learning Rust for the first time |
| first-contributions | 56.7k | Learning resource | beginner | 4 days ago | People who have never submitted a pull request to an open source project |
| ECC | 295k | Dev tool | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who already use Claude Code and want a shared workflow for planning, testing and review |
| ponytail | 182k | AI model / agent | beginner | 8 days ago | Developers who use Claude Code or similar AI agents and find the generated code too long |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.