One repository. 50+ categories. 1,400+ free APIs. 448,968 GitHub stars. And it's been hiding in plain sight since 2016.
If you've ever paid for a weather API, a geocoding service, or a currency exchange endpoint before checking whether a free alternative exists — this post is for you.
The public-apis GitHub repository is one of the most successful open-source projects of all time, and yet a surprising number of developers still don't know about it. Let's change that.
public-apis is a community-curated collective list of over 1,400 free APIs, organized across 50+ categories. Think of it as the "Awesome Lists" of APIs — but on steroids.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| ⭐ GitHub Stars | 448,968 |
| 🍴 Forks | 49,331 |
| 👥 Contributors | 1,365+ |
| 📝 Total Commits | 4,877+ |
| 📂 Categories | 50+ |
| 🔌 APIs Listed | 1,400+ |
| 🗓️ Created | March 20, 2016 |
| 📜 License | MIT |
Every API entry includes:
apiKey, OAuth, or No (truly free!)Here's a taste of what's inside:
The repository was created by Matheus Felipe (matheusfelipeog) on March 20, 2016. What started as a personal reference list of free APIs grew into something far bigger than anyone expected.
Today, the project is stewarded by APILayer (the company behind IPstack, Weatherstack, Marketstack, and more), who maintain the repository alongside a massive community of contributors. The project remains MIT-licensed and fully open source.
Fun fact: This is currently the #5 most-starred repository on all of GitHub — behind only freeCodeCamp, build-your-own-x, and a handful of others. It has more stars than React, Vue, TensorFlow, and Bootstrap combined (well, almost).
https://restcountries.com/v3.1/allZero auth. Returns every country with flags, currencies, languages, capitals, timezones. Perfect for dropdown menus.
https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecastNo API key. Free global weather. 7-day forecast with hourly granularity. The liberating alternative to paid weather APIs.
https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/priceNo API key needed for basic usage. Crypto prices, market caps, 24h changes. The free tier is generous.
https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/postsFake REST API with posts, comments, users, todos, albums, photos. Essential for prototyping and testing.
https://api.nasa.govAPOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day), Mars Rover photos, Earth imagery. Free API key, rate limit of 1,000/hour.
The README is massive — here's how to find what you need fast:
No entries if you want zero-friction APIsYes in CORS is criticalThere's also a public-apis official website and a searchable API explorer if you prefer a GUI.
A few things to keep in mind:
No for auth). Always read the docs.apiKey ≠ paid: Many APIs require an API key but are still free within generous limits. NASA, OpenWeatherMap, Finnhub — all free-tier.Unknown or No, you'll need a backend proxy or server-side calls.In 2026, the API economy is massive. Companies spend thousands per month on API subscriptions — often for services that have free, open alternatives. The public-apis repository democratizes access to data in a way that few other projects have.
Whether you're a student building a portfolio project, an indie hacker shipping an MVP, or a senior engineer prototyping a new feature — this repository saves you time, money, and the frustration of hunting for free endpoints.
The project is open-source (MIT). If you find a great free API that's not listed, open a PR. That's how it grew from zero to 448,968 stars — one contribution at a time.
Have you used any of these APIs in your projects? Found a hidden gem that deserves more attention? Drop a comment below — let's build a better list together.