PASTES.IO FOR DEVELOPERS

A paste API you can try right here.

Create, retrieve, search, and delete pastes over a small HTTP API. Use the live playground, copy a cURL request, then move the same call into your application or CLI.

Try the API Use the CLI Manage API keys

Base URLhttps://pastes.io

AuthenticationBearer API key

Request bodiesJSON or form data

QUICKSTART

Create your first paste

Create an API key in your profile, place it in an environment variable, and send JSON to /api/paste.

curl --request POST \
  'https://pastes.io/api/paste' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer $PASTES_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"title":"Hello from the API","content":"Hello, world!","syntax":"txt","expire":"1M"}'

Keep API keys out of source control and logs. Send them in the Authorization header, never in a query string.

Not writing HTTP calls by hand? The pastes CLI does the same thing in one command: cat error.log | pastes.

COMMAND LINE

Prefer the terminal?

The pastes CLI wraps this API so you can pipe a command's output straight into a link. It prints only the paste URL on stdout, so it composes with other tools, and pastes login works over SSH on machines with no browser.

npm install -g pastes
pastes login

./deploy.sh 2>&1 | pastes

It is open source and MIT licensed. Read the CLI documentation for the full command reference, options, and CI setup, or browse the source.

AUTHENTICATION

Bearer API keys

Authenticate a request with this HTTP header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Key required

Creating, listing/searching, and deleting pastes require an API key.

Key optional for reads

Public paste reads work without a key. Include one so your account plan and quota are applied instead of the caller's IP quota.

LIMITS

Rate limits and daily quotas

Daily limits reset at 00:00 UTC. Paste creation limits are shared between the website and API for the same user or anonymous client.

Plan	Paste creation	API reads + searches	Paste size
Free / anonymous	2 per 5 minutes 20 per UTC day	100 per UTC day, shared	1 MB
Pro	50 per 5 minutes 500 per UTC day	Unlimited	25 MB

Paste size is the combined text and attachment size in upload flows that support attachments. The current create API accepts text content only.

Responses may include RateLimit-Limit, RateLimit-Remaining, and RateLimit-Reset. A 429 response also includes Retry-After, in seconds.

LIVE API PLAYGROUND

Send a real request

Requests go directly from this page to the Pastes.io API.

pastes.io only

API key

Checking your profile for an API key… The key is kept only in this page and is never placed in the URL.

Request

Endpoint

POST /api/paste

Title

Syntax

Expires

Content

This endpoint requires an API key.

cURL

curl --request POST \
  'https://pastes.io/api/paste' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer $PASTES_API_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"title":"Hello from the API","content":"Created from the Pastes.io API playground.","syntax":"txt","expire":"1M"}'

ENDPOINTS

API reference

JSON examples show the important fields. Read responses can include additional metadata such as timestamps, extension, status, user, and attachments.

POST/api/paste

Create a paste

Requires an API key. Accepts application/json, multipart form data, or URL-encoded form data.

Field	Required	Description
`title`	Yes	Title for the paste.
`content`	Yes	Text content. The current API create endpoint does not upload attachments.
`syntax`	No	Language slug such as `txt`, `javascript`, `python`, or `markdown`. Defaults to `txt`.
`expire`	No	Defaults to `1M`. Free accounts must use `1M`. Pro also supports `10M`, `1H`, `1D`, `1W`, `2W`, `6M`, `1Y`, `N`, and `SD`.
`password`	No	Password used to protect the paste.

{
  "success": {
    "messages": "Paste successfully created",
    "slug": "hello-from-the-api-123",
    "paste_url": "https://pastes.io/hello-from-the-api-123"
  }
}

GET/api/pastes/:slug

Get a paste

Returns paste content and metadata. An API key is optional. Password-protected pastes return 401; use the POST form below for those pastes.

{
  "success": {
    "title": "Hello from the API",
    "slug": "hello-from-the-api-123",
    "syntax": "txt",
    "content": "Hello, world!",
    "views": 0,
    "url": "https://pastes.io/hello-from-the-api-123"
  }
}

POST/api/pastes/:slug

Get a password-protected paste

An API key is optional. Send the paste password in a JSON or form-data body.

{ "password": "your-paste-password" }

GET/api/pastes?q=:query&page=:page

List or search your pastes

Requires an API key. Leave q empty to list your pastes. Each page contains up to 50 results; page defaults to 1.

q — optional title/content search text allowed by your plan.
page — optional positive integer.

DELETE/api/pastes/:slug

Delete a paste

Requires an API key belonging to the paste owner. Deletion is permanent. A successful request returns { "success": "Paste successfully deleted" }.

GET/raw/:slug

Get raw content

Returns text/plain instead of JSON. This is a website content route, not an API-key endpoint: it uses the normal Pastes.io session and is generally a Pro feature. Password-protected pastes accept an x-password header. Prefer the header over putting a password in the URL.

ERRORS

HTTP status codes

400Invalid request or plan-restricted option

401Missing key or invalid paste password

403The authenticated user cannot perform the action

404Paste not found, unavailable, or expired

429Rate limit or daily quota exceeded

503Temporary service or quota-enforcement failure

Need more room for automation?

Pro raises creation limits and removes the API read/search quota.

Compare plans