A list of public JSON APIs for use in web development
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment ordersome time ago I enjoyed using coursera API[0] for building apps for educational purposes, the idea was something like "oh here is a new interesting JS framework, let's build the coursera viewer with it". the api doesn't require any consumer keys or auth to be applied, it provides the meaningful data, thus it was so appealing to me. [0] - https://docs.google.com/document/d/15gwppUMLp0s1OhbzFZvFSeTb...
There is a version of the internet of APIs that I wish came to fruition, where it was a series of pipes of raw, live information that you could use to display interesting things about the world or ingest into your own software. Think a personal dashboard of easy to set up and reliable tidbits of information from all around the web. APIs tend to be hyper specialized and actually far more about using the platform within the platform boundaries…
The source repo, that has been more recently updated: https://github.com/public-apis/public-apis
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 428
- Total comments
- 41
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03-21 | A collective list of public JSON APIs | arcxyz | 2 | 0 |
| 2016-03-31 | A collective list of public JSON APIs for use in web development | tilt | 3 | 0 |
| 2016-06-30 | A list of over 200 open JSON APIs | wesbos | 4 | 0 |
| 2017-01-15 | Public APIs | jmduke | 2 | 0 |
| 2017-02-19 | A collective list of public JSON APIs for use in web development | geospeck | 1 | 0 |
| 2017-03-29 | A curated list of free public APIs for developers | mromnia | 4 | 0 |
| 2017-07-26 | A list of public JSON APIs for use in web developmentFirst breakout · Best thread | happy-go-lucky | 270 | 23 |
| 2019-02-04 | Public APIs: A collective list of free APIsLatest 20+ point return | kumaranvpl | 141 | 17 |
| 2023-11-27 | A list of free APIs for use in software and web development | aragonite | 1 | 1 |