JokeAPI

About JokeAPI

JokeAPI is a REST API that delivers formatted jokes across multiple categories, including Programming, Misc, Dark, Pun, Spooky, and Christmas. It currently serves 1368 jokes in 6 languages, primarily English and German, with other languages not guaranteed to have validated formatting. Requests can be filtered by category, language, response format (JSON, XML, YAML, or plain text), joke type (single or two-part), search string, or ID range, and content can be filtered using blacklist flags such as nsfw, religious, political, racist, sexist, and explicit.

The API requires no API token, registration, authorization, or payment to use. It enforces a rate limit of 120 requests per minute per client, returning an HTTP 429 error and rate-limit headers (Retry-After, RateLimit-Limit, RateLimit-Remaining, RateLimit-Reset) once the budget is exceeded; joke submissions are limited to 5 requests per minute, though submissions are currently disabled. Community-made wrapper libraries exist for languages including C#, Dart, Go, Java, Kotlin, Node.js/JavaScript, Odin, PHP, Python, Rust, and TypeScript, maintained independently of the API.

The service is aimed at developers building applications that need programmatic access to jokes, such as those wanting to integrate humor into their software while controlling content through category and flag filtering. A safe mode is available for projects that need to exclude explicit content.

Key features

• REST API for jokes with no API token, registration, or payment required
• Multiple response formats: JSON, XML, YAML, or plain text
• Serves 1368 jokes across 6 languages
• Search jokes by string or by ID range
• Safe Mode to exclude potentially offensive jokes

Frequently asked questions