Quotable is a free, open source quotations API. It was originally built as part of a FreeCodeCamp project. If you are interested in contributing, please check out the Contributors Guide.
There is a rate limit of 180 requests per minute, per IP address. If you exceed the rate limit, the API will respond with a 429 error.
https://api.quotable.io
You can try out the API on our public Postman workspace.
- Get random quote
- Get Random Quotes
- List Quotes
- Get Quote By ID
- List Authors
- Search Quotes (beta)
- Search Authors (beta)
- Get Author By Slug
- List Tags
- Basic Quote Machine (CodePen)
- React Quote Machine (CodeSandbox)
- React Native App (Github)
- Paginated Author List (codeSandbox)
- Paginated Quote List (codeSandbox)
GET /randomReturns a single random quote from the database
⛔️ This method is deprecated in favor of Get Random Quotes
Query parameters
| param | type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| maxLength | Int |
The maximum Length in characters ( can be combined with minLength ) |
| minLength | Int |
The minimum Length in characters ( can be combined with maxLength ) |
| tags | String |
Get a random quote with specific tag(s). This takes a list of one or more tag names, separated by a comma (meaning AND) or a pipe (meaning OR). A comma separated list will match quotes that have all of the given tags. While a pipe (|) separated list will match quotes that have any one of the provided tags. Tag names are not case-sensitive. Multi-word tags can be kebab-case ("tag-name") or space separated ("tag name") |
| author | String |
Get a random quote by one or more authors. The value can be an author name or slug. To include quotes by multiple authors, provide a pipe-separated list of author names/slugs. |
| authorId | String |
deprecated Same as author param, except it uses author _id instead of slug |
Response
{
_id: string
// The quotation text
content: string
// The full name of the author
author: string
// The `slug` of the quote author
authorSlug: string
// The length of quote (number of characters)
length: number
// An array of tag names for this quote
tags: string[]
}GET /quotes/randomGet one or more random quotes from the database. This method supports several filters that can be used to get random quotes with specific properties (ie tags, quote length, etc.)
By default, this methods returns a single random quote. You can specify the number of random quotes to return via the limit parameter.
⚠️ This method is equivalent to the/randomendpoint. The only difference is the response format: Instead of retuning a singleQuoteobject, this method returns anArrayofQuoteobjects.
| param | type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| limit | Int |
default: 1 min: 1 max: 50 The number of random quotes to retrieve. |
| maxLength | Int |
The maximum Length in characters ( can be combined with minLength ) |
| minLength | Int |
The minimum Length in characters ( can be combined with maxLength ) |
| tags | String |
Get a random quote with specific tag(s). This takes a list of one or more tag names, separated by a comma (meaning AND) or a pipe (meaning OR). A comma separated list will match quotes that have all of the given tags. While a pipe (|) separated list will match quotes that have any one of the provided tags. Tag names are not case-sensitive. Multi-word tags can be kebab-case ("tag-name") or space separated ("tag name") |
| author | String |
Get a random quote by one or more authors. The value can be an author name or slug. To include quotes by multiple authors, provide a pipe-separated list of author names/slugs. |
| authorId | String |
deprecated Same as author param, except it uses author _id instead of slug |
Response
// An array containing one or more Quotes
Array<{
_id: string
// The quotation text
content: string
// The full name of the author
author: string
// The `slug` of the quote author
authorSlug: string
// The length of quote (number of characters)
length: number
// An array of tag names for this quote
tags: string[]
}>Examples
Get random quote try in browser
GET /quotes/randomGet 5 random quotes try in browser
GET /quotes/random?limit=3Random Quote with tags "technology" AND "famous-quotes" try in browser
GET /quotes/random?tags=technology,famous-quotesRandom Quote with tags "History" OR "Civil Rights" try in browser
GET /quotes/random?tags=history|civil-rightsRandom Quote with a maximum length of 50 characters try in browser
GET /quotes/random?maxLength=50Random Quote with a length between 100 and 140 characters try in browser
GET /quotes/random?minLength=100&maxLength=140GET /quotesGet all quotes matching a given query. By default, this will return a paginated list of all quotes, sorted by _id. Quotes can also be filter by author, tag, and length.
Query parameters
| param | type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| maxLength | Int |
The maximum Length in characters ( can be combined with minLength ) |
| minLength | Int |
The minimum Length in characters ( can be combined with maxLength ) |
| tags | String |
Filter quotes by tag(s). Takes a list of one or more tag names, separated by a comma (meaning AND) or a pipe (meaning OR). A comma separated list will match quotes that have all of the given tags. While a pipe (|) separated list will match quotes that have either of the provided tags. Tag names are not case-sensitive. Multi-word tags can be kebab-case ("tag-name") or space separated ("tag name") |
| author | String |
Get quotes by a specific author. The value can be an author name or slug. To get quotes by multiple authors, provide a pipe separated list of author names/slugs. |
| authorId | String |
deprecated Same as author param, except it uses author _id instead of slug |
| sortBy | enum |
Default: "dateAdded" values: "dateAdded", "dateModified", "author", "content" The field used to sort quotes |
| order | enum |
values: "asc", "desc" default: depends on sortBy The order in which results are sorted. The default order depends on the sortBy field. For string fields that are sorted alphabetically, the default order is ascending. For number and date fields, the default order is descending. |
| limit | Int |
Min: 1 Max: 150 Default: 20 Sets the number of results per page. |
| page | Int |
Min: 1 Default: 1 The page of results to return. If the value is greater than the total number of pages, request will not return any results |
Response
{
// The number of quotes returned in this response
count: number
// The total number of quotes matching this query
totalCount: number
// The current page number
page: number
// The total number of pages matching this request
totalPages: number
// The 1-based index of the last result included in the current response.
lastItemIndex: number
// The array of quotes
results: Array<{
_id: string
// The quotation text
content: string
// The full name of the author
author: string
// The `slug` of the quote author
authorSlug: string
// The length of quote (number of characters)
length: number
// An array of tag names for this quote
tags: string[]
}>
}Examples
Get the first page of quotes, with 20 results per page try in browser
GET /quotes?page=1Get the second page of quotes, with 20 results per page try in browser
GET /quotes?page=2Get all quotes with the tags love OR happiness try in browser
GET /quotes?tags=love|happinessGet all quotes with the tags technology AND famous-quotes try in browser
GET /quotes?tags=technology,famous-quotesGet all quotes by author, using the author's slug. try in browser
GET /quotes?author=albert-einsteinGET /quotes/:idGet a quote by its ID
Response
{
_id: string
// The quotation text
content: string
// The full name of the author
author: string
// The length of quote (number of characters)
length: number
// An array of tag names for this quote
tags: string[]
}GET /authorsGet all authors matching the given query. This endpoint can be used to list authors, with several options for sorting and filter. It can also be used to get author details for one or more specific authors, using the author slug or ids.
Query parameters
| param | type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| slug | string |
Filter authors by slug. The value can be one or more author slugs. To get multiple authors by slug, the value should be a pipe separated list of slugs. |
| sortBy | enum |
Default: "name" values: "dateAdded", "dateModified", "name", "quoteCount" The field used to sort authors. |
| order | enum |
values: "asc", "desc" The order in which results are sorted. The default order depends on the sortBy field. For string fields that are sorted alphabetically (ie name), the default order is ascending. For number and date fields (ie quoteCount) the default order is descending. |
| limit | Int |
Min: 1 Max: 150 Default: 20 Sets the number of results per page. |
| page | Int |
Min: 1 Default: 1 The page of results to return. If the value is greater than the total number of pages, request will not return any results |
Response
{
// The number of results included in this response.
count: number
// The total number of results matching this request.
totalCount: number
// The current page number
page: number
// The total number of pages matching this request
totalPages: number
// The 1-based index of the last result included in this response. This shows the
// current pagination offset.
lastItemIndex: number | null
// The array of authors
results: Array<{
// A unique id for this author
_id: string
// A brief, one paragraph bio of the author. Source: wiki API
bio: string
// A one-line description of the author. Typically it is the person's primary
// occupation or what they are know for.
description: string
// The link to the author's wikipedia page or official website
link: string
// The authors full name
name: string
// A slug is a URL-friendly ID derived from the authors name. It can be used as
slug: string
// The number of quotes by this author
quoteCount: string
}>
}Examples
Get all authors, sorted alphabetically by name try in browser
GET /authors?sortBy=nameGet all authors, sorted by number of quotes in descending order try in browser
GET /authors?sortBy=quoteCount&order=descGet a single author by slug. try in browser
GET /authors?slug=albert-einsteinGet multiple authors by slug. In this case, you provide a pipe-separated list of slugs try in browser
GET /authors?slug=albert-einstein|abraham-lincolnGET /search/quotesThis endpoint allows you to search for quotes by keywords, content, and/or author name. Unlike the List Quotes endpoint, this method is powered by Atlas Search and is designed to power a search bar UI.
- Search results are sorted by score
- The query can be wrapped in quotes to search for an exact phrase. In this case, results will only include quotes that match the query exactly.
- Supports fuzzy search (optional). This allows for minor typos and misspelling in the search query. For more info on how this works, refer to the Atlas docs
Query Params
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | String |
The search string. The query can be wrapped in quotes to search for an exact phrase. |
| fields | String |
Default: "content,author,tags" Specify the fields to search by. This takes a comma separated list of field names. Supported search fields are "content", "author", "tags". By default, it will search by all fields simultaneously. |
| fuzzyMaxEdits | Int |
Min: 0 Max: 2 Default: 0 The maximum number of single-character edits required to match the specified search term. Setting this to zero disables fuzzy matching. |
| fuzzyMaxExpansions | Int |
Max: 150 Min: 0 Default: 50 When fuzzy search is enabled, this is the maximum number of variations to generate and search for. This limit applies on a per-token basis. |
| limit | Int |
Min: 0 Max: 150 Default: 20 The maximum number of results per page |
| page | Int |
Min: 1 Default: 1 Sets the page number for pagination |
Response
{
// The number of results included in this response.
count: number
// The total number of results matching this request.
totalCount: number
// The current page number
page: number
// The total number of pages matching this request
totalPages: number
// The 1-based index of the last result included in this response. This shows the
// current pagination offset.
lastItemIndex: number | null
// The array of authors
results: Array<{
// A unique id for this author
_id: string
// A brief, one paragraph bio of the author. Source: wiki API
bio: string
// A one-line description of the author. Typically it is the person's primary
// occupation or what they are know for.
description: string
// The link to the author's wikipedia page or official website
link: string
// The authors full name
name: string
// A slug is a URL-friendly ID derived from the authors name. It can be used as
slug: string
// The number of quotes by this author
quoteCount: string
}>
}Examples
Search for "every good technology is basically magic" (try in browser)
GET /search/quotes?query=every good technology is basically magicResults:
- "Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic."
Search for the phrase "divided house"
GET /search/quotes?query=divided houseResults
- "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Search for quotes with the keywords "life" or "happiness" (try in browser)
GET /search/quotes?query=life happinessSearch for quotes by an author named "kennedy" (try in browser)
GET /search/quotes?query=Kennedy&fields=authorGET /search/authorsThis endpoint allows you search for authors by name. It is designed to power a search bar for authors that displays autocomplete suggests as the user types.
- Powered by Atlas Search.
- Real autocomplete
- Results are sorted by score
- Parses the query into "terms". Things like initials, prefixes, suffixes, and stopwords are not considered search terms. They will still impact the score of a result, but are not required to match.
Example
query="John F. Kennedy"
terms=["john", "kennedy"]
term term
| |
John F. Kennedy Jr.
| |
initial suffix
Example
query="Saint Augustine of Hippo"
terms=["Augustine", "Hippo"]
term term
| |
Saint Augustine of Hippo
| |
prefix stopword
Query Parameters
| Param | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | String |
The search query |
| autocomplete | Boolean |
default: true Enables autocomplete matching |
| matchThreshold | Int |
Min: 1 Max: 3 Default: 2 Sets the minimum number of search terms (words) that must match for an author to be included in results. Basically, if this is set to 1, the results will include all authors that match at least one part of the name. So query="John F. Kennedy" the results would include all authors that match either "john" OR "kennedy". If this is set to 2: when the search query includes two or more "terms", at least two of those terms must match. So query="John F. Kennedy" would only return authors that match "John" AND "Kennedy". |
| limit | Int |
Min: Max: 150 Default: 20 Maximum number of results per page |
| page | Int |
Min: 1 Default: 1 Sets the page number for pagination |
Response
{
// The number of results included in this response.
count: number
// The total number of results matching this request.
totalCount: number
// The current page number
page: number
// The total number of pages matching this request
totalPages: number
// The 1-based index of the last result included in this response. This shows the
// current pagination offset.
lastItemIndex: number | null
// The array of authors
results: Array<{
// A unique id for this author
_id: string
// A brief, one paragraph bio of the author. Source: wiki API
bio: string
// A one-line description of the author. Typically it is the person's primary
// occupation or what they are know for.
description: string
// The link to the author's wikipedia page or official website
link: string
// The authors full name
name: string
// A slug is a URL-friendly ID derived from the authors name. It can be used as
slug: string
// The number of quotes by this author
quoteCount: string
}>
}Examples
Search for author named "Einstein" (try in browser)
GET /search/authors?query=EinsteinResults:
- Albert Einstein
Autocomplete search for "Einstein" (try in browser)
GET /search/authors?query=EinstResults:
- Albert Einstein
Search for "John Adams" (try in browser)
GET /search/authors?query=john adamsResults
- John Adams
- John Quincy Adams
Search for "John Quincy Adams" (try in browser)
GET /search/authors?query=john quincy adamsResults:
- John Quincy Adams)
- John Adams
Get a single Author by slug. This method can be used to get author details such as bio, website link, and profile image.
If you want to get all quotes by a specific author, use the /quotes endpoint and filter by author author name/slug.
If you want to get multiple authors by slug in a single request, use the /authors endpoint and filter by slug.
GET /authors/:idResponse
{
// A unique id for this author
_id: string
// A brief, one paragraph bio of the author. Source wiki API.
bio: string
// A one-line description of the author.
description: string
// The link to the author's wikipedia page or official website
link: string
// The authors full name
name: string
// A slug is a URL-friendly ID derived from the authors name. It can be used as
slug: string
// The number of quotes by this author
quoteCount: string
}GET /tagsGet a list of all tags
Query parameters
| param | type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| sortBy | enum |
Default: "name" values: "dateAdded", "dateModified", "name", "quoteCount" The field used to sort tags. |
| order | enum |
values: "asc", "desc" The order in which results are sorted. The default order depends on the sortBy field. For string fields that are sorted alphabetically, the default order is ascending. For number and date fields, the default order is descending. |
Response
{
// The number of all tags by this request
count: number
// The array of tags
results: Array<{
_id: string
name: string
}>
}
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