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.
Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-20
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 2026-08-20, 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 'https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects?per_page=1&order_by=star_count'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);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())[
{
"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.
GitLab is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-20; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.