lemmy.search_communities

stable Advanced

Search Lemmy communities.

GET /v1/lemmy/search_communities

What you get#

A list of Lemmy results in Onekey's unified shape, in data (an array). An empty array is a normal, successful answer and is charged like any other; a source that reports "nothing found" as an error returns a free 404 not_found instead.

What it costs#

Advanced · 5 credits for a fresh fetch, charged only when it succeeds.
Free when served from cache (0.2 credit for a cached response over 100 KB).
Free if the request is invalid (never charged) or the source fails or reports not found (refunded).

Parameters#

Name	Type	Required	Default	What it is	Constraints
`instance`	string	no	-	Known Lemmy instance (allowlisted), default lemmy.world	max 253 chars; must match `[a-z0-9.-]{3,253}`; trimmed, lowercased
`q`	string	yes	(required)	Search query	max 200 chars; trimmed, repeated spaces collapsed

Request#

curl "https://api.onekey.dev/v1/lemmy/search_communities?q=python" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Try it

Add your key to run this call right here. No key? Get one free. The key stays in this tab.

Recorded response#

A real Lemmy response, recorded and returned in Onekey's shape. Fields the platform does not provide are null.

json

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "content": {
        "id": "6090",
        "title": "Python",
        "text": "Welcome to the [Python community](https://programming.dev/c/python) on the programming.dev Lemmy instance!\n\n##### [📅 Events](https://pycon.org/#calendar)\n\n::: spoiler Past\nNovember 2023\n- [PyCon Ireland 2023](https://python.ie/pycon-2023/), 11-12th\n- [PyData Tel Aviv 2023](https://pydata.org/telaviv2023/) 14th\n\nOctober 2023\n- [PyConES Canarias 2023](https://2023.es.pycon.org/), 6-8th\n- [DjangoCon US 2023](https://2023.djangocon.us/), 16-20th ([!django 💬](https://programming.dev/post/90489))\n\nJuly 2023\n- [PyDelhi Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/pydelhi/events/294140277/), 2nd\n- [PyCon Israel](https://2023.pycon.org.il/), 4-5th\n- [DFW Pythoneers](https://www.meetup.com/dfwpython/events/293749882/), 6th\n- [Django Girls Abraka](https://djangogirls.org/en/abraka/), 6-7th\n- [SciPy 2023](https://www.scipy2023.scipy.org/) 10-16th, Austin\n- [IndyPy](https://www.meetup.com/indypy/events/293963956), 11th\n- [Leipzig Python User Group](https://www.meetup.com/leipzig-python-user-group/events/294330224/), 11th\n- [Austin Python](https://www.meetup.com/austinpython/events/293844612/), 12th\n- [EuroPython 2023](https://ep2023.europython.eu/), 17-23rd\n- [Austin Python: Evening of Coding](https://www.meetup.com/austinpython/events/294089607/), 18th\n- [PyHEP.dev 2023 - \"Python in HEP\" Developer's Workshop](https://indico.cern.ch/event/1234156/timetable/#20230725.detailed), 25th\n\nAugust 2023\n- [PyLadies Dublin](https://www.meetup.com/pyladiesdublin/events/293742378/), 15th\n- [EuroSciPy 2023](https:/",
        "createdAt": "2023-06-12T23:51:06Z"
      },
      "entity": {
        "name": "python",
        "url": "https://programming.dev/c/python",
        "stats": {
          "followers": 8053
        }
      },
      "media": {
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://programming.dev/pictrs/image/1d99f7cb-50e7-4994-94c4-fd23f30209b7.png"
      },
      "ext": {
        "posts": 735
      },
      "engagement": {
        "comments": 3602
      }
    },
    {
      "content": {
        "id": "107",
        "title": "Python",
        "text": "News and discussions about the programming language Python\n\n---",
        "createdAt": "2019-04-25T21:49:00Z"
      },
      "entity": {
        "name": "python",
        "url": "https://lemmy.ml/c/python",
        "stats": {
          "followers": 3649
        }
      },
      "media": {
        "thumbnailUrl": null
      },
      "ext": {
        "posts": 109
      },
      "engagement": {
        "comments": 102
      }
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "platform": "lemmy",
    "endpoint": "search_communities",
    "cached": false,
    "stale": false,
    "age_s": 0,
    "fetched_at": "2026-01-01T12:00:00+00:00",
    "credits_charged": 5,
    "request_id": "7f3a9c2e5b1d4c8fa2e6d0b9c4f18e37"
  },
  "error": null
}

Field mapping#

How this endpoint's source fields become Onekey's unified schema. Fields the source lacks come back as null.

Source path	Onekey field	Transform
`community.id`	`content.id`	`toString`
`community.name`	`entity.name`	-
`community.title`	`content.title`	-
`community.description`	`content.text`	-
`community.actor_id`	`entity.url`	`safeUrl`
`community.icon`	`media.thumbnailUrl`	`safeUrl`
`community.published`	`content.createdAt`	`toIsoDate`
`counts.subscribers`	`entity.stats.followers`	`toNumber`
`counts.posts`	`ext.posts`	`toNumber`
`counts.comments`	`engagement.comments`	`toNumber`

Caching and freshness#

Fresh for about 2 minutes. Repeat calls in that window are served from cache and are free.
Between 2 minutes and 15 minutes the cached copy is still served instantly and marked stale: true while Onekey refreshes it in the background.
If the source is down when a refresh is needed, the last copy can be served for up to 1 hour more (marked stale).
A "not found" is remembered for 1 minute and is free.
The cache is shared across all customers, which is what keeps repeat calls cheap.

What can go wrong#

Status	Code	What to do
401	`unauthorized`	Check the `x-api-key` header.
402	`insufficient_credits`	Add credits; your balance must cover the price.
404	`not_found`	Unknown endpoint path.
422	`invalid_params`	Fix the parameters using the table above. Free.
429	`rate_limited`	Wait `Retry-After` seconds, then retry.
502	`upstream_error`	The source failed. Refunded; retry with backoff.

See Errors for the full list and retry guidance.

Status: stable (verified against the live source).