Lemmy Instance API
An instance's own settings, counts and NodeInfo, so you know what the other routes can return before you call them.
GET /v1/lemmy/instance1 credit Failed requests are free
About this endpoint
GET /v1/lemmy/instance?instance=lemmy.world returns data.site with the instance's name, description, sidebar, icon, banner, software name and version, registration mode, federationEnabled, downvotesEnabled, nsfwEnabled, isPrivate, hidesModeratorNames, defaultSort, defaultListing, limits, stats (users, posts, comments, communities and active-user counts), admins and languages.
data.nodeinfo is the host's NodeInfo document when it answers, with software.name, software.version, usage totals and openRegistrations; it is null when the host does not publish a readable document, and site is still returned. Custom emoji, blocked URL patterns and taglines are left out by default because they can be megabytes; ask for them with include=emoji, include=blockedUrls or include=taglines.
Lemmy Instance API FAQ
Why is nodeinfo sometimes null?
Not every instance publishes a NodeInfo document at a readable path. The site object is already the answer, so a missing NodeInfo leaves site intact and sets nodeinfo to null.
How do I get custom emoji or blocked URLs?
Pass include=emoji or include=blockedUrls, comma-separated if you want both. They are off by default because a custom-emoji-heavy site object can be more than a megabyte.
What does isPrivate mean?
Some instances mark themselves private. The site object is still returned here, but list and lookup routes against the same instance answer lookupStatus: private instead of rows.
How many credits does an instance lookup cost?
Pricing is documented on the operation in the API registry (shown on this page). Confirm on every response with meta.creditsCharged: that field is the billing source of truth.