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public-apis

A community-curated list of free public APIs you can use in your own projects.

GitHub Download source
Stars
495k
Forks
55.3k
Licence
MIT
Language
Python
Last update
4 days ago
Type
Curated list

What it is

This is a curated directory of public APIs, which are services that let programs request data or features from outside sources. The README says it is manually maintained by community members and people working at APILayer, and it covers many domains. The top of the README mainly promotes the APILayer suite of paid-plus-free REST APIs and related Postman collections. Developers use it to find an API to build on rather than searching the web for one.

  • Browse the categories to find a weather, geolocation, or currency API for a prototype
  • Open a listed API's documentation link and try a sample request
  • Use the Postman buttons in the table to run an APILayer API collection

Great for

  • Developers looking for a third-party API to add to a side project
  • Students exploring what kinds of data services exist
  • Teams comparing candidate APIs before choosing one

Not ideal for

  • People who need a runnable tool or application, since this is a list and not software to install
  • Anyone who needs guaranteed uptime or support, because listed APIs are maintained by different third parties
  • Readers who want an unbiased comparison, since the README is heavily promotional toward APILayer products
Step-by-step guide: how to use public-apisInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs
Public API Lists vs public-apisGithub Ranking vs public-apis

How to get it

  1. 1

    Read it online

    Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/public-apis/public-apis
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Open the README on GitHub or in your local clone
    • Scroll to the category you need, such as weather or finance
    • Open the linked documentation for an API that looks useful
    • Check its sign-up and auth requirements before building on it
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Use the table of contents or search within the README to narrow by category
    • Check each API's auth and rate-limit details on its own documentation page
    • Use the Postman run buttons in the APILayer section to test requests quickly

Downloads

Source code (.zip)master branch · straight from GitHubOfficial website & docsAPILayer.com/?utm_source=Github&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Public-apis-repo

Strengths

  • Large, widely-starred collection of many domains in one place
  • Simple to browse and search as a plain Markdown file
  • Released under the MIT license

Trade-offs

  • Many listed APIs have their own terms, limits, or paid tiers that the list itself does not spell out in this excerpt
  • The README excerpt is dominated by APILayer promotion, which may bias what appears first
  • No release tags are published, so there is no versioned snapshot to rely on

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
public-apis (this)495kCurated listbeginner4 days agoDevelopers looking for a third-party API to add to a side project
public-api-lists16.3kLearning resourcebeginner2 months agoDevelopers looking for a free data source for a side project
awesome-cpp74.2kCurated listbeginner6 days agoC++ developers looking for a library for a specific task
awesome-shadcn-ui20.7kCurated listbeginner4 days agoDevelopers looking for ready-made shadcn/ui components such as calendars, date pickers, forms or dialogs
awesome-oss-alternatives19.8kCurated listbeginner1.2 years agoDevelopers looking for open-source replacements for paid SaaS tools in a specific category
stack-on-a-budget12.5kCurated listbeginner8 days agoDevelopers building side projects on a budget

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.