They Said So® Famous Quotes API

Free Basic Premium Ultra Enterprise
Monthly price $0 $4.99 $9.99 $24.99 $74.99
Rate Limit 5 calls/day 1000 calls/day 2,500 calls/day 8000 calls/day Unlimited
Attribution Required
Quote of the day
API Access
Bulk retrieval allowed
Custom defined Quote of the days(that is right your own QOD!)
Total custom QOD definitions 0 0 0 5 25
Random Quotes (Quotes search and random quotes)
API Access
Bulk retrieval limit(Number of quotes in the result) 1 3 5 15
Author Details
Popular list
Search author names
Enhanced author details in response(birthday, occupation etc)
Private Quotes (Store your own quotes on They Said So Platform)
API Access
QShows (Quote collection service)
API Access
Number of quotes in a single collection 25 25 50 50
Number of QShows 10 25 50 250
Quote Image generation
API Access
Upload your own fonts and background images
Remove They Said So® branding
Get Key Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe


What can you do with They Said So API?

At They Said So® we have a huge collection of quotes in our database. And our easy to use REST style Quotes API gives easy way to access the data.

This page is only for high level reference only. For full documentation of the API and to test the API end points from your browser visit https://quotes.rest.

  • Access Quote of the day in various categories
  • Create and host your own Quote of the day service in various categories
  • Search and get quotes based on author, tags, length etc.
  • Store and retrieve your own private quotes
  • Create quotes collections (QShow) on various topics
  • Access curated quotes images or create your own images

Attribution

Note if you are using our public API / quotes from our website an attribution link back to theysaidso.com is required. If you don't want to display attribution please sign up for the private API. Here is the code you can cut and paste to provide attribution.


                           <span style="z-index:50;font-size:0.9em; font-weight: bold;">
                                 <img src="https://theysaidso.com/branding/theysaidso.png" height="20" width="20" alt="theysaidso.com"/>
                                 <a href="https://theysaidso.com" title="Powered by quotes from theysaidso.com" style="color: #ccc; margin-left: 4px; vertical-align: middle;">
                                   They Said So®
                                 </a>
                           </span>
		  

Which will translate to something like this in your webpage. Nothing too big. Just a small token of appreciation from you for our service.


If you are using the paid subscription no attribution is required.

Security and CORS

This server sends the Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * CORS header for all API requests. This allows you to use a JavaScript client in a web browser to make requests to the API. Please note that this is insecure and will allow anyone to see your API key. We strongly recommended that you use a server-side proxy to keep your key secret in all public clients.

API End Points

The end point for connecting, if you subscribe directly from us use this endpoint.


                        https://quotes.rest/ 
                  

Authentication

The API's marked as public below can be accessed without any authentication.

Here is an example of requesting an inspiring quote of the day using curl.

curl -v  -i -X GET http://quotes.rest/qod.json?category=inspire  

For the API's that are private currently we support API Key based authentication. Please set a request header 'X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret' with value of your API key. Alternatively you can also pass api_key= as a request parameter, though we strongly discourage this mode of passing the key.

Here is an example of requesting for a random quote using curl.

curl -v  -i -X GET -H 'X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret: <your_api_key>'  http://quotes.rest/quote/random.json  

Here is an example of requesting for a random quote using passing api_key as a parameter.

http://quotes.rest/quote/random.json?api_key=<your_api_key>

Formats

Want it in JSON format? Just append .json to the query like below. Alternatively you send a http accept header indicating you expect json response. Mashape by default does this so if you are using Mashape the following is not applicable.

 GET http://quotes.rest/qod.json

Just append .xml to the query to get the result in XML format.

 GET http://quotes.rest/qod.xml

Want it in javascript friendly format. We support JSONP format as well. Append .js to your request.

 GET http://quotes.rest/qod.js

Rate Limit

To maintain our service level we rate limit (10 API calls per hour) our public API usage. If you sign up and use the private api key or any of the supported authentication schemes this limit is increased according to the service level of your plan.

Bulk Retrieval

In all the cases our API endpoints return one quotes per call. In certain paid plans bulk retrival of more than one quotes is possible. The following are endpoints that support bulk retrieval. The maximum number of quotes is dependent on the subscribed plan. Please consult the above table for the exact number for each plan.

  • /qod - QOD - You can get QOD for all the categories by setting parameter "category" to value "all"
  • /quote/random - You can get more than one quote by setting the parameter "limit" to a numeric value less than or equal to the allowed maximum for your subscribed plan.
  • /quote/search - You can get more than one quote by setting the parameter "limit" to a numeric value less than or equal to the allowed maximum for your subscribed plan.

Quote of the day public ratelimited

You can get the quote of the day via our REST API. Inspiring Quote of the day, Management quote of the day, Life quote of the day and many more are supported.


      GET /qod

Code Samples

		
		function get_quote_of_the_day() {
		    var xhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
		    xhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
			 if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
			     // Access the result here
			     alert(this.responseText);
			 }
		    };
		    xhttp.open("GET", "https://quotes.rest/qod?category=inspire", true);
		    xhttp.setRequestHeader("Content-type", "application/json");
		    xhttp.setRequestHeader("X-Theysaidso-Api-Secret", "YOUR API HERE");
		    xhttp.send();
		}

		get_quote_of_the_day()
		

		     
		
		curl -X GET "https://quotes.rest/qod" -H  "accept: application/json" -H  "content-type: application/json" -H  "X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret: api_key"
		
		
		

				function call_api($method, $url, $data = false,$api_key=null)
				{
				    $curl = curl_init();

				    switch ($method)
				    {
					case "POST":
					    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);

					    if ($data)
						curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);
					    break;
					case "PUT":
					    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_PUT, 1);
					    break;
					default:
					    if ($data)
						$url = sprintf("%s?%s", $url, http_build_query($data));
				    }

				    $headers = [
					'Content-Type: application/json'
					];
				    if ( !empty($api_key))
					$headers[] = 'X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret: '. $api_key;

				    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
				    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
				    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);

				    $result = curl_exec($curl);

				    curl_close($curl);

				    return $result;
				}

				$qod_result = call_api("GET","https://quotes.rest/qod?category=funny",false,null);

				print_r($qod_result);

			  
			
		
			import requests


			url = 'https://quotes.rest/qod?category=management'
			api_token = "YOUR API KEY HERE"
			headers = {'content-type': 'application/json',
				   'X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret': format(api_token)}

			response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
			#print(response)
			quotes=response.json()['contents']['quotes'][0]
			print(quotes)
		
	      
		
        var request = URLRequest(url: URL(string: "https://quotes.rest/qod")!)
        request.httpMethod = "GET"
        request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Content-Type")
        request.addValue("application/json", forHTTPHeaderField: "Accept")
        request.addValue("YOUR API KEY HERE", forHTTPHeaderField: "X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret")
        
        URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request, completionHandler: { data, response, error -> Void in
            do {
                print(data!)
                print(response!)
                let jsonDecoder = JSONDecoder()
                // Access the response here by using json model class
                // You can autogenerate Json4Swift_Base swift class below by pasting the JSON response in
                // the webpage http://www.json4swift.com
                let responseModel = try jsonDecoder.decode(Json4Swift_Base.self, from: data!)
                print(responseModel)
            } catch {
                print("JSON Serialization error")
            }
        }).resume()
		
	      
		
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.PrintStream;
import java.net.URL;
import java.net.URLConnection;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;

public class QuoteOfTheDay {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        URL url = new URL("https://quotes.rest/qod?category=funny");

        try{
            //make connection
            HttpURLConnection urlc = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
            urlc.setRequestMethod("GET");
            // set the content type
            urlc.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", "application/json");
            urlc.setRequestProperty("X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret", "YOUR API KEY HERE");
            System.out.println("Connect to: " + url.toString());
            urlc.setAllowUserInteraction(false);
            urlc.connect();

            //get result
            BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(urlc.getInputStream()));
            String l = null;
            while ((l=br.readLine())!=null) {
                System.out.println(l);
            }
            br.close();
        } catch (Exception e){
            System.out.println("Error occured");
            System.out.println(e.toString());
        }
    }

}
		
	      
		
using System; 
using System.IO; 
using System.Net; 
   
namespace TheySaidSo
{
    public class QuoteOfTheDay
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Create a request for the URL.  
            WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(
              "https://quotes.rest/qod?category=inspire");
             
            request.Headers.Add("X-TheySaidSo-Api-Secret", "YOUR API KEY HERE");
             
            // Get the response. 
            WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
            // Display the status. 
          //  Console.WriteLine(((HttpWebResponse)response).StatusDescription);
             
            // Get the stream containing content returned by the server.
            // The using block ensures the stream is automatically closed.
            using (Stream dataStream = response.GetResponseStream())
            {
                // Open the stream using a StreamReader for easy access. 
                StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(dataStream);
                // Read the content. 
                string responseFromServer = reader.ReadToEnd();
                // Display the content. 
                Console.WriteLine(responseFromServer);
            }
             
            // Close the response. 
            response.Close();
        }
    }
}
		
	      

Response

The above calls will result in a response like the following.


{
  "success": {
    "total": 1
  },
  "contents": {
    "quotes": [
      {
        "quote": "If you respect yourself in stressful situations, it will help you see the positive… It will help you see the message in the mess.",
        "length": "135",
        "author": "Steve Maraboli",
        "tags": [
          "inspire",
          "self-respect",
          "stress"
        ],
        "category": "inspire",
        "language": "en",
        "date": "2020-02-02",
        "permalink": "https://theysaidso.com/quote/steve-maraboli-if-you-respect-yourself-in-stressful-situations-it-will-help-you",
        "id": "nwW3g7V0xszGDNIehz6yTgeF",
        "background": "https://theysaidso.com/img/bgs/man_on_the_mountain.jpg",
        "title": "Inspiring Quote of the day"
      }
    ]
  },
  "baseurl": "https://theysaidso.com",
  "copyright": {
    "year": 2022,
    "url": "https://theysaidso.com"
  }
}

     
  
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<response>
  <success>
    <total>1</total>
  </success>
  <contents>
    <quotes>
      <quote>If you respect yourself in stressful situations, it will help you see the positive… It will help you see the message in the mess.</quote>
      <length>135</length>
      <author>Steve Maraboli</author>
      <tags>inspire</tags>
      <tags>self-respect</tags>
      <tags>stress</tags>
      <category>inspire</category>
      <language>en</language>
      <date>2020-02-02</date>
      <permalink>https://theysaidso.com/quote/steve-maraboli-if-you-respect-yourself-in-stressful-situations-it-will-help-you</permalink>
      <id>nwW3g7V0xszGDNIehz6yTgeF</id>
      <background>https://theysaidso.com/img/bgs/man_on_the_mountain.jpg</background>
      <title>Inspiring Quote of the day</title>
    </quotes>
  </contents>
  <baseurl>https://theysaidso.com</baseurl>
  <copyright>
    <year>2022</year>
    <url>https://theysaidso.com</url>
  </copyright>
</response>
  
  
parseResponse({
    "meta": {
        "Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*",
        "Access-Control-Allow-Methods": "GET,OPTIONS",
        "Access-Control-Allow-Headers": "x-access-token",
        "X-Auth-Status": "true",
        "X-RateLimit-Limit": "10 per hour",
        "X-RateLimit-Remaining": "8",
        "Cache-Control": "private, max-age=43200, pre-check=86400, post-check=43200",
        "Expires": "Mon, 03 Feb 2020 05:51:18 GMT",
        "X-Powered-By": "Luracast Restler v3.0.0rc3",
        "Content-Type": "text/javascript; charset=utf-8",
        "Content-Language": "en-US"
    },
    "data": {
        "success": {
            "total": 1
        },
        "contents": {
            "quotes": [
                {
                    "quote": "If you respect yourself in stressful situations, it will help you see the positive… It will help you see the message in the mess.",
                    "length": "135",
                    "author": "Steve Maraboli",
                    "tags": [
                        "inspire",
                        "self-respect",
                        "stress"
                    ],
                    "category": "inspire",
                    "language": "en",
                    "date": "2020-02-02",
                    "permalink": "https://theysaidso.com/quote/steve-maraboli-if-you-respect-yourself-in-stressful-situations-it-will-help-you",
                    "id": "nwW3g7V0xszGDNIehz6yTgeF",
                    "background": "https://theysaidso.com/img/bgs/man_on_the_mountain.jpg",
                    "title": "Inspiring Quote of the day"
                }
            ]
        },
        "baseurl": "https://theysaidso.com",
        "copyright": {
            "year": 2022,
            "url": "https://theysaidso.com"
        }
    }
});
  

QOD Categories public ratelimited

We have more than 15 categories (5 categories published now. 10 categories are being added) for our Quote of the Day service. To get the all the categories in the QOD system, use the following API.

  GET http://quotes.rest/qod/categories.json

Here is an example using curl.

curl -v  -i -X GET http://quotes.rest/qod/categories.json

QOD for a specific category public ratelimited

Here is example of requesting a Management Quote of the day!

 GET http://quotes.rest/qod.json?category=management 

Here is an example using curl.

curl -v  -i -X GET http://quotes.rest/qod.json?category=management

Random Quote private ratelimited

Want a random quote from our system? Call the following API.

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/random.json

Quote with length restrictions private ratelimited

Want a quote that fits your display profile? You can use any of the following combination to pick the best quote size.

The following returns a quote with at least 100 char length.

 GET  http://quotes.rest/quote/search.json?minlength=100 

The following returns a quote with maximum of 100 char length i.e. 0-100 char length quote.

 GET  http://quotes.rest/quote/search.json?maxlength=100 

The following returns a quote with a length between 100 chars to 300 chars.

 GET  http://quotes.rest/quote/search.json?minlength=100&maxlength=300 

Categories private ratelimited

We categorize the quotes with tags and we have lot of categories of quotes in our system. To browse the categories in the system, use the following api.

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/categories/popular.json

OR

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/categories/search.json

If you need a random quote from any of the above 500+ categories, just specify the category in you query.

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/search.json?category=<category>

Author private ratelimited

Our quotes database has quotes from more than 100,000 authors. No where else you have this much variety. You can browse the author names by adjusting the start parameter.

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/authors/popular.json

OR

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/authors/search.json

If you want a random quote by an author, here is how you get it.

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/search.json?author=<author> 

Combination Example

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/search?minlength=100&category=<category>&author=<author> 

Private Quotes private ratelimited

You can also programmatically add quotes to our system using our API. Use REST PUT to add a new quote. This will be your private quote in the system.

 PUT/POST http://quotes.rest/quote.json?quote=<quote>&author=<author>&tags=<tags>

Curated Quote Image private ratelimited

We have beautiful curated quotes as images. You can access them easily using our API and show them in your websites or Applications. To get a random quote image use the following:

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/image/search.json

Random Quote Image from a category private ratelimited

To get a random quote image from a particular category use the following:

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/image/search.json?category=<category>

Random Quote Image from an Author private ratelimited

To get a random quote image from a particular author use the following:

 GET http://quotes.rest/quote/image/search.json?author=<author>

API Console

The following are the API calls you can make. You can try out / test the calls right from this page. Please note, javascript needs to be enabled to see the documentation below.