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Stack Exchange API

Free Stack Exchange API with no key: questions, answers, users, tags and search across Stack Overflow and 170+ sites. Tested curl example and live JSON.

No API key requiredCORS enabledHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026

What is the Stack Exchange API?

The Stack Exchange API provides free, key-free access to questions, answers, comments, users and tags across Stack Overflow and every other Stack Exchange site, with search and filtering.

One API covers the entire Stack Exchange network — Stack Overflow, Server Fault, Super User and over 170 others — selected with a single `site` parameter. Anonymous access works, though registering a free app key raises the daily quota considerably.

Two implementation details matter. Responses are gzip-compressed by default and most HTTP clients handle that transparently, but a raw socket client will see binary. And the default `filter` returns a trimmed field set — question bodies are excluded unless you request a filter that includes them.

Quick facts

Base URL
https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3
Authentication
Anonymous access allowed. A free app key raises the daily quota from 300 to 10,000 requests.
Rate limit
300 requests per day per IP anonymously; 10,000 per day with a free key.
Pricing
Free. Content is CC BY-SA licensed and attribution is required.
CORS
Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
Official docs
Read the docs

How to use the Stack Exchange API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 19 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. Fetch recent Stack Overflow questions

GET https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/questions?site=stackoverflow&pagesize=1&order=desc&sort=activity

curl
curl 'https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/questions?site=stackoverflow&pagesize=1&order=desc&sort=activity'
JavaScript (fetch)
const res = await fetch("https://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/questions?site=stackoverflow&pagesize=1&order=desc&sort=activity");
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://api.stackexchange.com/2.3/questions?site=stackoverflow&pagesize=1&order=desc&sort=activity", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())
Response — HTTP 200
{
  "items": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "android",
        "shell",
        "automation",
        "adb"
      ],
      "owner": {
        "account_id": 1631142,
        "reputation": 131,
        "user_id": 1505650,
        "user_type": "registered",
        "profile_image": "https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/f050b80594d5d59676e0620842eb0316?s=256&d=identicon&r=PG",
        "display_name": "HaroldT",
        "link": "https://stackoverflow.com/users/1505650/haroldt"
      },
      "is_answered": true,
      "view_count": 19270,
      "accepted_answer_id": 11398427,
      "answer_count": 5,
      "score": 7,
      "last_activity_date": 1787171265,
      "creation_date": 1341545159,
      "question_id": 11355417,
      "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
      "link": "https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11355417/android-notifications-through-adb",
      "title": "Android Notifications through ADB"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "quota_max": 300,
  "quota_remaining": 298
}

Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
sitestringRequiredWhich network site to query. stackoverflow
pagesizeintegerOptionalResults per page, max 100. 20
order / sortstringOptionalasc or desc, and activity, votes, creation or relevance. desc
taggedstringOptionalSemicolon-separated tags to filter by. python;pandas
filterstringOptionalField filter — the default omits question bodies. withbody

Response fields

itemsarray
The results array.
items[].titlestring
Question title.
items[].tagsarray
Tags applied to the question.
items[].scoreinteger
Net vote score.
items[].is_answeredboolean
Whether an answer has been accepted.
items[].linkstring
Canonical URL — required for CC BY-SA attribution.
quota_remaininginteger
Requests left in your daily quota.
has_moreboolean
Whether further pages exist.

What you can build with the Stack Exchange API

  • Show recent questions for a tag on a documentation site
  • Monitor unanswered questions about your library
  • Analyse technology trends from tag activity
  • Build a developer Q&A search across the network

Common errors and how to fix them

400 without site

The `site` parameter is mandatory on almost every endpoint.

Fix: Always pass site=stackoverflow or another network site.

throttle_violation

Daily quota exhausted or requests sent too rapidly.

Fix: Register a free app key for 10,000/day, and watch `quota_remaining` in each response.

Question body missing

The default filter excludes bodies to keep responses small.

Fix: Pass filter=withbody to include them.

Stack Exchange API — frequently asked questions

Does the Stack Exchange API need an API key?

No, anonymous access works, but it is limited to 300 requests per day per IP. Registering a free app key raises that to 10,000.

Why is the question body missing from my results?

The default filter trims responses to keep them small. Pass filter=withbody to include question and answer bodies.

Can I query sites other than Stack Overflow?

Yes. The `site` parameter selects from over 170 network sites — serverfault, superuser, askubuntu and the rest all use the same API.

Do I need to attribute content from the API?

Yes. Stack Exchange content is CC BY-SA licensed, so you must attribute the author and link back to the original post using the `link` field.

Tools that pair with this API

Alternatives to Stack Exchange API

If Stack Exchange 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.

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Postman EchoPostman 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 keyNo19 Aug 2026
DummyJSONFree 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 keyYes19 Aug 2026
Swagger ValidatorFree Swagger/OpenAPI validator API with no key: check any OpenAPI or Swagger specification for schema errors by URL. Returns structured messages. Tested.No keyYes20 Aug 2026
Terraform RegistryQuery the public Terraform Registry for modules and providers, with versions, download counts and source repositories. No API key. Verified example included.No keyNo21 Aug 2026
All Developer & Testing APIs

Stack Exchange is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 19 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.