Lemmy API

Free Lemmy API with no key: posts, comments, communities and site data from any federated Lemmy instance. A Reddit-style API without gatekeeping. Tested.

No API key requiredHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026

What is the Lemmy API?

The Lemmy API is a free, key-free API for the federated link aggregator platform. Public endpoints return posts, comments, communities and instance metadata from any Lemmy server without authentication.

Lemmy is the fediverse's Reddit equivalent, and its API is open in the way Reddit's no longer is: no key, no OAuth for public reads, no per-request pricing. For anyone who lost access when Reddit's API terms changed, this is the practical alternative.

The response shape is nested and view-oriented: a post arrives as a `post_view` containing the post, its community, its creator and vote counts together. That means one request gives you everything needed to render a listing, rather than several joins.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://lemmy.world/api/v3
Authentication: Public reads need no auth. Voting, posting and subscribing require a JWT obtained by logging in.
Rate limit: Set per instance; typically generous for reads.
Pricing: Free and open source.
CORS: Not enabled — call it from your server
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the Lemmy 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 instance and site information

GET https://lemmy.world/api/v3/site

curl

curl 'https://lemmy.world/api/v3/site'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://lemmy.world/api/v3/site");
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://lemmy.world/api/v3/site", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)

{
  "site_view": {
    "site": {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "Lemmy.World",
      "sidebar": "The World's Internet Frontpage  \nLemmy.World is a general-purpose Lemmy instance of various topics, for the entire world to use.\n\nBe polite and follow the rules ⚖ \nhttps://legal.lemmy.world/tos\n\n## Get started \nSee the [Getting Started Guide](https://support.lemmy.world/quickstart)\n\n## Donations 💗\nIf you would like to make a donation to support the cost of running this platform, please do so at the following donation URLs.\n\n**If you can, please use / switch to Ko-Fi, it has the lowest fees for us**\n\n[![Ko-Fi (Donate)](https://img.shields.io/badge/KoFi_Donate-FHFWorld-red?style=flat-square&logo=kofi&color=red)](https://ko-fi.com/fhfworld)\n\n[![Bunq (Donate)](https://img.shields.io/badge/Bunq_Donate-FHF-green?style=flat-square&logo=bunq&color=darkgreen)](https://bunq.me/fhf)\n\n[![Open Collective backers and sponsors](https://img.shields.io/opencollective/all/mastodonworld?style=flat-square&logo=opencollective&color=7FADF2)](https://opencollective.com/mastodonworld)\n\n[![Patreon](https://img.shields.io/badge/Patreon-MastodonWorld-green?style=flat-square&logo=patreon&color=lightblue)](https://patreon.com/mastodonworld)\n\n[![Liberapay patrons](https://img.shields.io/liberapay/patrons/fhf?style=flat-square&logo=liberapay)](https://en.liberapay.com/fhf)\n\n[![GitHub Sponsors](https://img.shields.io/github/sponsors/Fedihosting-Foundation?style=flat-square&logo=github&label=Sponsors)](https://github.com/sponsors/Fedihosting-Foundation)\n\n## Join the team 😎\n[Check out ou

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`site`	path	Optional	Instance metadata, admins and counts. `site`
`post/list`	path	Optional	List posts, optionally filtered by community. `post/list`
`community`	string	Optional	Community name to filter posts. `technology`
`sort`	string	Optional	Hot, New, TopDay, TopWeek and similar. `Hot`
`limit`	integer	Optional	Results per page, max 50. `20`

Response fields

site_view.siteobject: Instance name, description, icon and banner.
site_view.countsobject: Users, posts, comments and community totals.
posts[].postobject: Post title, URL, body and timestamps.
posts[].creatorobject: Author account details.
posts[].communityobject: Community the post belongs to.
posts[].countsobject: Score, upvotes, downvotes and comment count.

What you can build with the Lemmy API

Build a Lemmy client or read-only community viewer
Aggregate discussion from multiple fediverse instances
Monitor communities for mentions of a topic
Replace a Reddit API integration with an open alternative

Common errors and how to fix them

404 or version mismatch

The instance runs a different Lemmy version with a changed API path.

Fix: Check the instance's version via /api/v3/site; the API has changed across major releases.

Empty posts for a community

The community name must be exact, and federation may be incomplete.

Fix: Use community_name exactly as it appears; remote communities only show content the instance has federated.

401

The endpoint requires a logged-in JWT.

Fix: Public reads work unauthenticated; voting and posting do not.

Lemmy API — frequently asked questions

Is the Lemmy API free?

Yes, completely free and open source with no API key for public reads. It is a practical alternative to Reddit's now-restricted API.

Do I need an account to read posts?

No. Public posts, comments and community listings are readable without authentication. Only voting, posting and subscribing require a login token.

Can I query any Lemmy instance?

Yes, every instance exposes the same API at its own domain. Note that instances differ in Lemmy version, and the API has changed between major releases.

Why do I see different content on different instances?

Federation is partial. Each instance only holds content from communities its users have subscribed to, so the same query against two instances returns different results.

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 Lemmy API

If Lemmy does not fit, these social media 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
Mastodon	Free Mastodon API: public timelines, instance metadata, trending hashtags and account data from any Mastodon server with no key for public endpoints. Tested.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
DEV Community	Free DEV.to API with no key for public content: articles, tags, users and comments from the developer community platform. Tested curl example and live JSON.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Bluesky Public API	Free Bluesky public API with no key: profiles, posts, followers and feeds from the AT Protocol network. No authentication for public data. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Microlink	Free link preview API with no key for basic use: extract title, description, image, author and favicon from any URL. Powers unfurl previews. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
joinmastodon Servers	Free Mastodon server directory API with no key: browse vetted fediverse instances with user counts, languages, categories and open registration status. Tested.	No key	Yes	20 Aug 2026
Matrix Client-Server Versions	Free unauthenticated Matrix endpoint listing the spec versions and unstable features a homeserver supports — the first call any Matrix client makes. Tested example included.	No key	Yes	21 Aug 2026

All Social Media APIs

Lemmy 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.