Noun Project API

Art & Design / OAuth Advanced HTTP
Varies by plan (check documentation)

Overview

The Noun Project API gives access to a vast library of over 3 million community-created icons covering virtually every concept imaginable. It uses OAuth 1.0a for authentication, which is more involved than API key auth but gives you access to both free and licensed icon downloads. Icon designers and app developers use it to find icons that match specific semantic meanings.

💡

Beginner Tip

OAuth 1.0a requires signing each request with your key and secret — use a library like oauth-1.0a for Node.js or requests_oauthlib for Python rather than crafting signatures manually.

Available Data

Use case: Integrate icons data into web and mobile applications
Noun Project data via REST API
JSON-formatted response data
Requires OAuth authentication

Example Response

JSON Response
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Noun Project",
    "description": "Icons",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

icons[].id Unique Noun Project icon ID
icons[].term Primary keyword describing the icon concept
icons[].thumbnail_url URL to a small PNG preview of the icon
icons[].license_description Usage license, either "public-domain" or "creative-commons-attribution"
icons[].uploader.name Username of the designer who created the icon

Implementation Example

const url = "http://api.thenounproject.com/";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
  "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized with oauth error Incorrect OAuth signature or expired timestamp in the signed request
Use an OAuth 1.0a library to sign requests; manually crafted signatures almost always have subtle errors
HTTP (not HTTPS) URL The documented base URL uses http:// which browsers block on HTTPS pages
Force https:// in the URL; the server accepts HTTPS despite the docs listing HTTP
Empty icons array Search term has no matching icons in the database
Try synonyms or more general terms; very specific phrases may not match any icon titles

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 5/20
🔒 Security 0/15
🛠 Developer XP 3/20
✓ Reliability 10/15

Partially tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth OAuth
HTTPS NO
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Art & Design
Difficulty Advanced
Verified: 2026-04-04

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