Lyrics.ovh API
Free song lyrics API with no key. Fetch full lyrics by artist and title with a single GET request. CORS enabled. Tested curl example and live response.
Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026
What is the Lyrics.ovh API?
Lyrics.ovh is a free API that returns the full lyrics of a song given an artist and title. It requires no API key and responds to a simple GET request with the lyrics as plain text in a JSON field.
Lyrics.ovh is about as simple as an API gets: put the artist and title in the URL path and get the lyrics back in a single `lyrics` field. There is no search step, no key and no pagination.
That simplicity comes with matching constraints. Matching is strict, so misspellings and 'feat.' credits will miss, and coverage is patchier than commercial lyrics providers. It is also worth being aware that song lyrics are copyrighted works — this is fine for personal projects, but commercial use generally requires a licensed provider such as Musixmatch.
Quick facts
- Base URL
https://api.lyrics.ovh/v1- Authentication
- No key required.
- Rate limit
- No published limit; the service is community-run and can be slow.
- Pricing
- Free. Note that lyrics are copyrighted content — check licensing before commercial use.
- CORS
- Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
- Official docs
- Read the docs
How to use the Lyrics.ovh 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 the lyrics of a song
GET https://api.lyrics.ovh/v1/coldplay/yellow
curl 'https://api.lyrics.ovh/v1/coldplay/yellow'const res = await fetch("https://api.lyrics.ovh/v1/coldplay/yellow");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("https://api.lyrics.ovh/v1/coldplay/yellow", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json()){
"lyrics": "Look at the stars\nlook how they shine for you\nand everything you do\nyeah they were all yellow\nI came along\nI wrote a song for you\nand all the things you do\nand it was called yellow\nSo then I took my turn\noh what a thing to have done\nand it was all yellow\n\nyour skin\noh yeah your skin and bones\nturn into something beautiful\nand you know\nyou know I love you so\nyou know I love you so\n\nI swam across\nI jumped across for you\noh what a thing to do\n'cos you were all yellow\nI drew a line\nI drew a line for you\noh what a thing to do\nand it was all yellow\n\nand your skin\noh yeah your skin and bones\nturn into something beautiful\nand you know\nfor you I bleed myself dry\nfor you I bleed myself dry\n\nit's true\nlook how they shine for you\nlook how they shine for you\nlook how they shine for\nlook how they shine for you\nlook how they shine for you\nlook how they shine\n\nlook at the stars\nlook how they shine for you\nand all the things that you do"
}Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
<artist> | path | Required | Artist name, URL-encoded. coldplay |
<title> | path | Required | Song title, URL-encoded. yellow |
Response fields
lyricsstring- Full song lyrics as a single string with newline characters preserved.
errorstring- Present instead of `lyrics` when no match was found.
What you can build with the Lyrics.ovh API
- Display lyrics alongside a now-playing track in a personal music app
- Build a lyrics search feature for a hobby project
- Analyse song text for a linguistics or data project
- Create karaoke-style displays for personal use
Common errors and how to fix them
404 with an error field
No lyrics found for that artist and title combination.
Fix: Matching is strict — drop 'feat.' credits, remaster suffixes and punctuation, and check spelling.
Slow or timed-out response
The service is community-run with limited capacity.
Fix: Set a generous timeout and cache results you have already fetched.
Lyrics.ovh API — frequently asked questions
Is there a free lyrics API?
Yes, Lyrics.ovh returns full song lyrics by artist and title with no API key. Coverage is smaller than commercial providers and matching is strict.
Why can't it find a song I know exists?
Matching is exact rather than fuzzy. Remove featured-artist credits, remaster or live suffixes and punctuation, and verify the spelling of both artist and title.
Can I use song lyrics commercially?
Generally not without a licence. Lyrics are copyrighted works, and commercial products normally use a licensed provider such as Musixmatch. This API is best suited to personal projects.
Does it preserve line breaks?
Yes, the lyrics come back as one string with newline characters, so render it in a pre-formatted element or convert newlines to line breaks.
Tools that pair with this API
Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and estimated reading time instantly. Free online word counter for essays, blogs and social media.
Character Counter
Count characters with and without spaces in real time and check limits for Twitter/X, Instagram captions, meta descriptions and SMS messages.
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.
Alternatives to Lyrics.ovh API
If Lyrics.ovh does not fit, these music 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iTunes Search | Free Apple iTunes Search API with no key: search songs, albums, artists, apps, podcasts and books with artwork and preview URLs. Tested curl example. | No key | Yes | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Deezer | Free Deezer API with no key for public data: artists, albums, tracks, charts and 30-second previews. Rich metadata and images. Tested curl example. | No key | No | 19 Aug 2026 |
| TheAudioDB | Free music metadata API with a public test key: artist biographies, album artwork, track listings, banners and logos for media libraries. Tested example. | No key | Yes | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Radio Browser | Free radio station API with no key: 50,000+ internet radio stations worldwide with stream URLs, tags, country, language, bitrate and logos. Tested example. | No key | Yes | 19 Aug 2026 |
| Mixcloud | Free Mixcloud API with no key for public reads: user profiles, follower and listen counts, and the shows they have uploaded. Tested example included. | No key | Yes | 21 Aug 2026 |
| MusicBrainz | Free MusicBrainz API with no key: open music encyclopaedia with artists, releases, recordings, labels and relationships. The reference music database. Tested. | No key | Yes | 20 Aug 2026 |
Lyrics.ovh 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.