GitLab API

Free GitLab API with no key for public projects: repositories, issues, merge requests, pipelines and releases. Works on gitlab.com and self-hosted. Tested.

No API key requiredHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 20 Aug 2026

What is the GitLab API?

The GitLab REST API provides free, key-free access to public project data — repositories, issues, merge requests, CI pipelines and releases — on gitlab.com and any self-hosted GitLab instance.

Public GitLab data is readable without authentication, covering repositories, issues, merge requests and CI pipeline results. The same API works identically against self-hosted GitLab, which is a large share of enterprise Git hosting.

The CI/CD endpoints are what distinguish it from other Git host APIs: pipeline status, job logs and artefacts are all exposed, which makes it possible to build genuinely useful build dashboards without a separate CI integration.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://gitlab.com/api/v4
Authentication: Public data needs no auth. Private projects and writes require a personal access token.
Rate limit: Roughly 500 requests per minute per IP for unauthenticated requests on gitlab.com.
Pricing: Free for public data.
CORS: Not enabled — call it from your server
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the GitLab API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 20 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. List public GitLab projects

GET https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects?per_page=1&order_by=star_count

curl

curl 'https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects?per_page=1&order_by=star_count'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects?per_page=1&order_by=star_count");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects?per_page=1&order_by=star_count", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200

[
  {
    "id": 13083,
    "description": "GitLab FOSS is a read-only mirror of GitLab, with all proprietary code removed.\n\nThis project was previously used to host GitLab Community Edition, but all development has now moved to https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab.\n",
    "name": "GitLab FOSS",
    "name_with_namespace": "GitLab.org / GitLab FOSS",
    "path": "gitlab-foss",
    "path_with_namespace": "gitlab-org/gitlab-foss",
    "created_at": "2013-09-26T06:02:36.000Z",
    "default_branch": "master",
    "tag_list": [
      "Canonical",
      "hacktoberfest",
      "infra-mgmt Managed"
    ],
    "topics": [
      "Canonical",
      "hacktoberfest",
      "infra-mgmt Managed"
    ],
    "ssh_url_to_repo": "git@gitlab.com:gitlab-org/gitlab-foss.git",
    "http_url_to_repo": "https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss.git",
    "web_url": "https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss",
    "readme_url": "https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/blob/master/README.md",
    "forks_count": 8268,
    "avatar_url": "https://gitlab.com/uploads/-/system/project/avatar/13083/project_avatar.png",
    "star_count": 7172,
    "last_activity_at": "2026-08-19T20:41:24.467Z",
    "visibility": "public",
    "namespace": {
      "id": 9970,
      "name": "GitLab.org",
      "path": "gitlab-org",
      "kind": "group",
      "full_path": "gitlab-org",
      "parent_id": null,
      "avatar_url": "/uploads/-/system/group/avatar/9970/project_avatar.png",
      "web_url": "https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org"
    }
  }
]

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`projects`	path	Optional	List or search public projects. `projects`
`per_page`	integer	Optional	Results per page, max 100. `20`
`order_by`	string	Optional	id, name, created_at, last_activity_at or star_count. `star_count`
`search`	string	Optional	Search term. `kubernetes`
`projects/<id>/pipelines`	path	Optional	CI pipelines for a project. `pipelines`

Response fields

idinteger: Project id, used in all other project endpoints.
name / path_with_namespacestring: Project name and full path.
descriptionstring: Project description.
star_count / forks_countinteger: Popularity metrics.
last_activity_atstring: Timestamp of the most recent activity.
web_urlstring: Browser URL for the project.
visibilitystring: public, internal or private.

What you can build with the GitLab API

Build a CI/CD dashboard from pipeline data
Track issues and merge requests across projects
Display project activity on a team page
Write tooling that works against self-hosted GitLab

Common errors and how to fix them

Project id vs path

Most endpoints take a numeric id.

Fix: URL-encode the full path as an alternative, e.g. group%2Fproject.

401 on a project you can see in a browser

It is internal rather than public.

Fix: Internal visibility requires authentication even though it is not private.

Pagination headers ignored

Total counts are in response headers, not the body.

Fix: Read X-Total and X-Next-Page rather than expecting pagination metadata in the JSON.

GitLab API — frequently asked questions

Does the GitLab API need a token?

Not for public project data. Private and internal projects, and any write operation, require a personal access token.

Does the same code work with self-hosted GitLab?

Yes, that is a key advantage. Change the base URL and the same API works against any self-hosted instance.

How do I reference a project?

Either by numeric id, or by URL-encoding the full path — group%2Fsubgroup%2Fproject. The encoded slashes are required.

Where is the pagination information?

In response headers such as X-Total, X-Page and X-Next-Page, not in the JSON body — which catches people out.

Tools that pair with this API

JSON Formatter

Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.

Markdown to HTML Converter

Convert Markdown to clean HTML with a live preview — headings, emphasis, links, lists, code blocks, tables and blockquotes. 100% in your browser.

Alternatives to GitLab API

If GitLab does not fit, these developer & testing apis cover similar ground. Every one was called before publishing, and each links to its own reference page with a working curl command and the response it returned.

API	What it does	Auth	CORS	Last verified
GitHub REST API	GitHub REST API with no key for public data: repository details, users, issues, releases and commits. 60 req/hour unauthenticated, 5,000 with a token.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
JSONPlaceholder	Free fake REST API for testing and prototyping. Posts, comments, users and todos with full GET, POST, PUT and DELETE support. No key. Real curl examples.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Postman Echo	Postman Echo reflects your HTTP request back as JSON: headers, body, query params and auth. Free, no key, ideal for debugging clients. Real POST example.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
DummyJSON	Free fake REST API with realistic products, users, carts, recipes and auth. Supports search, pagination, sorting and POST. No key. Tested GET and POST examples.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Go Module Proxy	Free Go module proxy API with no key: list versions of any public Go module, get commit info and checksums straight from proxy.golang.org. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Google Favicon Service	Free favicon API with no key: pass a domain and get back that site's favicon as a PNG at any size. Handles missing icons with a fallback. Tested example included.	No key	No	21 Aug 2026

All Developer & Testing APIs

GitLab is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 20 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.