Free API for Students Learning APIs

A reliable, free, no-signup public API designed to be the first one a student calls. Real enough to be motivating, simple enough not to overwhelm.

Why this is good for teaching

• Zero signup — 30 students start in 30 seconds
• Per-session data — student A's POST does not collide with student B's
• Auto-resets after 30 minutes of inactivity — re-run the same exercise
• Same data, three protocols — REST in week 1, GraphQL in week 2, SOAP in week 3
• Auth is real — students learn JWT not as theory but as a token they hold

Suggested 4-lesson plan

1. Lesson 1 — anatomy of a request: use the browser dev-tools / curl to call GET /api/v1/users. Read the JSON. Learn status codes.
2. Lesson 2 — write your own: in any language, fetch and display the list. Try a POST. Watch it persist for the session.
3. Lesson 3 — auth: POST /auth/token, store the returned JWT, use it as Bearer to fetch /api/v1/me. Discuss why it expires.
4. Lesson 4 — capstone: build a mini app — a TODO list, a product catalogue, an address book — using only the sandbox as backend.

For instructors

• Pre-built tutorials students can read in class:
  • Test a REST API with Postman
  • Call a GraphQL API
  • OAuth2 flows walkthrough
• The full OpenAPI 3.0 spec doubles as a worked example of API design
• The Swagger UI is great for live in-class demos — try-it-out is enabled

For students

This is also a perfect backend for portfolio projects when you don't want to build (or pay to host) one. Build a real-looking CRUD app and put it on your CV.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use this in a paid course?

Yes, with attribution. A link back to https://demo.totalshiftleft.ai is appreciated.

Do you offer larger / dedicated instances for classes?

Yes — email teach@totalshiftleft.ai if your class needs higher rate limits or persistent storage.

Other free public APIs in this sandbox

Topics: API for students · learn APIs in college · bootcamp API exercise · classroom API sandbox · beginner API tutorial · first API project