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.
Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-19
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 2026-08-19, 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 'https://lemmy.world/api/v3/site'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);import requests
res = requests.get("https://lemmy.world/api/v3/site", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json()){
"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[](https://ko-fi.com/fhfworld)\n\n[](https://bunq.me/fhf)\n\n[](https://opencollective.com/mastodonworld)\n\n[](https://patreon.com/mastodonworld)\n\n[](https://en.liberapay.com/fhf)\n\n[](https://github.com/sponsors/Fedihosting-Foundation)\n\n## Join the team 😎\n[Check out ouParameters
| 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.
Lemmy is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-19; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.