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Welcome to the GlobalSymbols API

The GlobalSymbols API is a REST API for accessing GlobalSymbols data from web, mobile, and server-side applications. It is designed to be consistent, predictable, and easy to integrate.

Version notice

This page describes the v2 API and will remain the reference point for future GlobalSymbols API releases.

The legacy v1 API will be discontinued in the very near future. If you are currently using /api/v1/... URLs, you should update your integration to use /api/v2/... instead.

For most clients, this migration should be straightforward: register an API key if needed and update your request URLs to v2. Response shapes are intended to remain the same, so most integrations should not require payload-handling changes.

Authentication

All requests require an API key. Send your key in either of these headers:

Authorization: ApiKey <your_key>
X-Api-Key: <your_key>

Need an API key?

Request a key if you are using the API for the first time, or request a replacement if you already have an email address on file.

Rate limits

To support fair usage and platform stability, the API is limited to 100 requests per minute per client. If you exceed that limit, you may receive rate-limit responses, so your integration should include retry or backoff handling.

If you require a higher limit please email hello@globalsymbols.com

Documentation

The official API documentation includes the latest details on:

Available endpoints and base URLs
Query parameters and filters
Response schemas and status codes
Example requests and responses

Image formats

Symbol image responses include an image_url and a native_format field so your integration can determine which file type is available for each symbol.

The API currently exposes symbol images in PNG and SVG formats. PNG is the safest format to rely on for client integrations. SVG is available when the underlying repository publishes that symbol as SVG.

The exact image format depends on what each repository publishes. Use the API response fields to discover the format for each symbol instead of assuming a single format across all repositories.

Within the platform, image uploads are validated and are limited to a maximum file size of 800 KB.

How images are supplied

In general, the API supplies images as URLs in response fields such as image_url. This lets clients fetch and cache image assets separately from the main JSON response.

The exception is preview-oriented fields, which will be embedded inline rather than returned as separate asset URLs.

Example request

Replace the base URL with the one listed in the official documentation for your environment.

curl -H "X-Api-Key: <your_key>" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  "https://your-api-base-url/api/v2/languages/active"

Example response

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "English",
    "scope": "individual",
    "category": "living",
    "iso639_3": "eng"
  }
]

Getting started

Request an API key.
Review the official documentation for the endpoint you want to use.
Test requests with cURL, Postman, or your preferred HTTP client.
Add retry or backoff handling for rate-limited responses.

The official documentation is the authoritative source for technical details and integration guidance.

Developer