4chan API

Welcome to the documentation for 4chan's read-only JSON API, originally launched in September of 2012.

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Getting started

Data from the 4chan API is exclusively accessible from a.4cdn.org, via either http:// or https:// protocols. a.4cdn.org serves JSON representations of posts made at 4chan.org and 4channel.org boards. All examples in the documentation for the 4chan API use https://.

CORS is supported from origins boards.4chan.org or boards.4channel.org, via http:// or https://. Requests are accepted when using the following HTTP request types:

• GET
• OPTIONS
• HEAD

Table of contents

Documentation Page	Description
Endpoints and Site Domains	A quick rundown of all 4chan API endpoints and site domains.
Media and Static Content	Paths and locations for static site content including custom spoiler images, country flags, capcodes and user submitted media
Archive.json	Documentation for the 4chan native archive and its JSON
Boards.json	Documentation for the 4chan board list and its attributes.
Catalog.json	Documentation for the JSON representation of the 4chan native catalog
Index endpoint	Documentation for the JSON representation of board index (main) pages
Thread endpoint	Documentation for the JSON representation of specific 4chan threads.
Thread list	Documentation for the board threadlist and its brief stats

API Rules

1. Do not make more than one request per second.
2. Thread updating should be set to a minimum of 10 seconds, preferably higher.
3. Use If-Modified-Since when doing your requests.
4. Make API requests using the same protocol as the app. Only use SSL when a user is accessing your app over HTTPS.

API Terms of Service

1. You may not use "4chan" in the title of your application, product, or service.
2. You may not use the 4chan name, logo, or brand to promote your application, product, or service.
3. You must disclose the source of the information shown by your application, product, or service as 4chan, and provide a link.
4. You may not market your application, product, or service as being "official" in any way.
5. You may not clone 4chan or its existing features/functionality. Example: Don't suck down our JSON, host it elsewhere, and throw ads around it.
6. These terms are subject to change without notice.

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To view a pretty-printed version of our thread, index, and catalog JSON, use JSONLint.

Still have questions or concerns? Open an issue or email [email protected]