JSON API

Every listing page on FindLocal has a JSON twin. No key, no signup, CORS open, GET only. Base URL https://findlocal.community.

Endpoints

Quick start

# Live music in Boston this week
curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/events?city=boston&cat=music&when=week&limit=5'

# Free things in Brooklyn this weekend, evenings only
curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/events?city=new-york&region=Brooklyn&when=weekend&free=1&tod=evening'

# Literary events in Providence
curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/events?city=providence&cat=literary'

# Every active venue in Chicago
curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/venues?city=chicago'

Filtering /api/events

The parameters mirror the site's URLs exactly: /city/boston?cat=music&when=weekend on the site is /api/events?city=boston&cat=music&when=weekend on the API. Unknown values are ignored rather than rejected; check meta.total if a filter seems to do nothing.

Event fields

Booleans are 0/1, straight from the database. /api/events never returns is_deleted: 1 rows; /api/events/<id> and ids= do, so you can render an honest "no longer listed" state.

Venue fields

/api/venues accepts city and an optional region.

Categories

Cities (47)

Examples

JavaScript

const params = new URLSearchParams({ city: 'seattle', when: 'weekend', cat: 'comedy,music', limit: '50' });
const res = await fetch(`https://findlocal.community/api/events?${params}`);
const { data, meta } = await res.json();
console.log(`${meta.total} events this weekend`);
for (const e of data) console.log(`${e.event_date} ${e.start_time ?? ''} · ${e.title} @ ${e.venue_name}`);

Python

import requests

r = requests.get("https://findlocal.community/api/events", params={"city": "denver", "when": "today", "free": "1"}, timeout=15)
r.raise_for_status()
for e in r.json()["data"]:
    print(e["event_date"], e["start_time"], e["title"], "—", e["venue_name"])

Paging

curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/events?city=austin&page=1'
curl 'https://findlocal.community/api/events?city=austin&page=2'   # until data comes back empty

Caching, status codes, fair use

• Cache-Control: public, max-age=60, s-maxage=300 — cached 5 minutes at the edge, 1 minute in the browser.
• 200 with { data }; 404 { error } for an unknown event id; OPTIONS answers 204 for preflight.
• Responses carry X-Robots-Tag: noindex; the HTML pages are what should rank.
• Free and unauthenticated. Cache on your side, keep rates reasonable, link back to the event's FindLocal page or the venue. Volume or guarantees: findlocalinternal@gmail.com.
• Every listing page advertises its JSON twin with <link rel="alternate" type="application/json">.

Walkthrough with more examples: How to use the FindLocal Events API.