Chuck Norris Jokes API

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Chuck Norris Jokes API
  description: |
    Free JSON REST API for hand-curated Chuck Norris facts maintained by
    @matchilling. Supports random retrieval, category filtering, full-text
    search, and direct lookup by joke identifier. No authentication is required
    and there are no documented rate limits.
  version: "1.0.0"
  contact:
    name: Mathias Schilling
    url: https://github.com/chucknorris-io
    email: [email protected]
  license:
    name: GPL-3.0
    url: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html
  termsOfService: https://api.chucknorris.io/
servers:
  - url: https://api.chucknorris.io
    description: Production
tags:
  - name: Jokes
    description: Chuck Norris jokes (facts) endpoints.
  - name: Categories
    description: Joke category metadata.
  - name: Search
    description: Full-text search across the joke corpus.
paths:
  /jokes/random:
    get:
      operationId: getRandomJoke
      summary: Get Random Joke
      description: |
        Retrieve a single random Chuck Norris joke. Optionally constrain the
        random selection to a specific category by passing the `category` query
        parameter (must be one of the values returned by `/jokes/categories`).
      tags:
        - Jokes
      parameters:
        - name: category
          in: query
          required: false
          description: Restrict the random selection to a single category.
          schema:
            type: string
            example: dev
      responses:
        '200':
          description: A random Chuck Norris joke.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Joke'
              examples:
                random:
                  $ref: '#/components/examples/JokeRandom'
            text/plain:
              schema:
                type: string
                description: Plain-text joke value (when Accept is text/plain).
        '404':
          description: Unknown category.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
  /jokes/categories:
    get:
      operationId: listCategories
      summary: List Joke Categories
      description: |
        Return the full list of supported joke categories. Use any of these
        values with the `category` parameter of `/jokes/random` to constrain
        random selection.
      tags:
        - Categories
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Array of category identifiers.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/CategoryList'
              examples:
                categories:
                  $ref: '#/components/examples/Categories'
            text/plain:
              schema:
                type: string
                description: Newline-delimited list of categories.
  /jokes/search:
    get:
      operationId: searchJokes
      summary: Search Jokes
      description: |
        Free-text search across the Chuck Norris joke corpus. Returns an array
        of jokes whose `value` matches the supplied query, along with the total
        count.
      tags:
        - Search
      parameters:
        - name: query
          in: query
          required: true
          description: Free-text search term.
          schema:
            type: string
            minLength: 3
            maxLength: 120
            example: dev
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Matching jokes.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SearchResult'
              examples:
                search:
                  $ref: '#/components/examples/SearchResults'
        '400':
          description: Missing or invalid query parameter.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
  /jokes/{id}:
    get:
      operationId: getJokeById
      summary: Get Joke By Id
      description: Retrieve a single joke by its 22-character identifier.
      tags:
        - Jokes
      parameters:
        - name: id
          in: path
          required: true
          description: Joke identifier as returned by other endpoints.
          schema:
            type: string
            example: Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
      responses:
        '200':
          description: The requested joke.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Joke'
              examples:
                byId:
                  $ref: '#/components/examples/JokeById'
        '404':
          description: Joke not found for the supplied identifier.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
components:
  schemas:
    Joke:
      type: object
      description: A single Chuck Norris joke (fact).
      required:
        - categories
        - created_at
        - icon_url
        - id
        - updated_at
        - url
        - value
      properties:
        categories:
          type: array
          description: Categories this joke belongs to (empty when uncategorized).
          items:
            type: string
        created_at:
          type: string
          description: Timestamp the joke was created (UTC, ISO-like format).
          example: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        icon_url:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: URL to the Chuck Norris avatar image.
          example: https://api.chucknorris.io/img/avatar/chuck-norris.png
        id:
          type: string
          description: Stable identifier for the joke.
          example: Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
        updated_at:
          type: string
          description: Timestamp the joke was last updated.
          example: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        url:
          type: string
          description: Canonical URL for the joke on chucknorris.io.
        value:
          type: string
          description: The Chuck Norris fact text.
          example: Chuck Norris can see around corners.
    CategoryList:
      type: array
      description: List of available joke category identifiers.
      items:
        type: string
        example: dev
    SearchResult:
      type: object
      description: Result envelope returned by the search endpoint.
      required:
        - total
        - result
      properties:
        total:
          type: integer
          description: Total number of jokes matching the query.
          example: 17
        result:
          type: array
          description: Matching jokes.
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Joke'
    Error:
      type: object
      description: Error envelope returned by the API.
      properties:
        timestamp:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          example: "2026-05-30T23:16:45.026Z"
        status:
          type: integer
          example: 404
        error:
          type: string
          example: Not Found
        path:
          type: string
          example: /jokes/missing
  examples:
    JokeRandom:
      summary: Random joke response
      value:
        categories: []
        created_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        icon_url: https://api.chucknorris.io/img/avatar/chuck-norris.png
        id: GPGW82o1R8m3KhiKmKlpJA
        updated_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        url: https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/GPGW82o1R8m3KhiKmKlpJA
        value: Chuck Norris can see around corners.
    JokeById:
      summary: Joke lookup by id
      value:
        categories: [dev]
        created_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        icon_url: https://api.chucknorris.io/img/avatar/chuck-norris.png
        id: Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
        updated_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
        url: https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
        value: Chuck Norris's code compiles before he writes it.
    Categories:
      summary: Category list response
      value:
        - animal
        - career
        - celebrity
        - dev
        - explicit
        - fashion
        - food
        - history
        - money
        - movie
        - music
        - political
        - religion
        - science
        - sport
        - travel
    SearchResults:
      summary: Search response for "dev"
      value:
        total: 2
        result:
          - categories: [dev]
            created_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
            icon_url: https://api.chucknorris.io/img/avatar/chuck-norris.png
            id: Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
            updated_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
            url: https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/Yke6bi5xSdWvSq_dkCCGkA
            value: Chuck Norris's code compiles before he writes it.
          - categories: [dev]
            created_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
            icon_url: https://api.chucknorris.io/img/avatar/chuck-norris.png
            id: 8w3Pj9z6Q9KqgKfQ8KkLPg
            updated_at: "2020-01-05 13:42:25.099703"
            url: https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/8w3Pj9z6Q9KqgKfQ8KkLPg
            value: Chuck Norris can divide by zero.