aid: lemmy
name: Lemmy
description: >-
  Lemmy is a free, open-source, self-hostable federated link aggregator and discussion platform
  built as a Reddit alternative. It exposes a versioned REST API at /api/v4/ for creating posts,
  commenting, managing communities, voting, searching, and administering instances. Lemmy federates
  across the Fediverse using the ActivityPub protocol, allowing users on different Lemmy instances
  and compatible platforms (Mastodon, PeerTube, Friendica) to interact without a central server.
  Each instance operator configures their own rate limits; default limits include 50 comments per
  10 minutes, 100 searches per 10 minutes, and 5 new registrations per day. Authentication uses
  JWT bearer tokens obtained via the login endpoint. The software is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and
  written in Rust with an Actix web framework backend.
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
  - Communities
  - Federated
  - Fediverse
  - Link Aggregator
  - Open-Source
  - Social Networks
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/lemmy/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
  - aid: lemmy:api
    name: Lemmy REST API
    description: >-
      The Lemmy REST API provides programmatic access to all core platform features including
      creating and managing posts, comments, communities, and user accounts. Developers can use the
      API to vote on content, follow communities, search across the federated network, moderate
      communities, send private messages, manage multi-communities, and administer instances.
      Authentication uses JWT bearer tokens. The API is versioned at /api/v4/ and is available on
      any public Lemmy instance, with lemmy.world being the largest instance. Rate limits are
      configurable per instance; common defaults include 50 comments per 10 minutes, 100 search
      requests per 10 minutes, and 5 registrations per day.
    humanURL: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/
    baseURL: https://lemmy.world/api/v4
    tags:
      - Comments
      - Communities
      - Federated
      - Fediverse
      - Link Aggregator
      - Posts
      - Social Networks
      - Voting
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/
      - type: Authentication
        url: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/client_development/authentication.html
      - type: GitHubRepository
        url: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy
      - type: GitHubRepository
        url: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy-js-client
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: openapi/openapi.yml
      - type: JSONSchema
        url: json-schema/post.json
      - type: JSONSchema
        url: json-schema/comment.json
      - type: JSONSchema
        url: json-schema/community.json
      - type: JSONLDContext
        url: json-ld/lemmy-context.jsonld
      - type: Vocabulary
        url: vocabulary/lemmy-vocabulary.yml
      - type: Example
        url: examples/login.json
      - type: Example
        url: examples/create-post.json
      - type: Example
        url: examples/search.json
      - type: RateLimits
        url: rate-limits/lemmy-rate-limits.yml
      - type: Plans
        url: plans/lemmy-plans-pricing.yml
      - type: FinOps
        url: finops/lemmy-finops.yml
common:
  - type: GitHubOrganization
    url: https://github.com/LemmyNet
  - type: Website
    url: https://join-lemmy.org
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/client_development/
  - type: License
    url: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/blob/main/LICENSE
  - type: Blog
    url: https://join-lemmy.org/news/
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/lemmy-rate-limits.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/lemmy-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/lemmy-finops.yml
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy
  - type: ActivityPub
    url: https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com