Breaking Bad Characters API

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Breaking Bad Characters API
  description: Community-built REST API exposing characters, quotes, episodes, and deaths from the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul television universe. The original upstream provider (breakingbadapi.com) is no longer reachable as of 2026 — DNS resolution fails and the documentation site at https://breakingbadapi.com/documentation returns no response. This OpenAPI document is preserved as a historical record of the API's documented contract, drawn from the canonical source repository at github.com/timbiles/Breaking-Bad--API and from archived community documentation (drangovski.github.io, mridul.tech/breaking-bad-api).
  version: 1.0.0
  contact:
    name: Tim Biles (original maintainer)
    url: https://github.com/timbiles/Breaking-Bad--API
  license:
    name: BSD-3-Clause
    url: https://github.com/timbiles/Breaking-Bad--API/blob/master/LICENSE.rst
  x-generated-from: documentation
  x-last-validated: '2026-05-29'
  x-status: deprecated
  x-deprecation-note: The hosted service at breakingbadapi.com is unreachable as of 2026-05-29 (DNS does not resolve). Schema and operations are preserved here for historical reference and to support nostalgic/educational re-implementations.
servers:
- url: https://www.breakingbadapi.com/api
  description: Original community-hosted endpoint (unreachable as of 2026)
tags:
- name: Characters
  description: Characters from the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul universe.
paths:
  /characters:
    get:
      operationId: listCharacters
      summary: List Characters
      description: Returns a list of every character from the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul universe.
      tags:
      - Characters
      parameters:
      - name: limit
        in: query
        description: Maximum number of characters to return.
        required: false
        schema:
          type: integer
          minimum: 1
          example: 10
      - name: offset
        in: query
        description: Number of characters to skip before starting to collect the result set.
        required: false
        schema:
          type: integer
          minimum: 0
          example: 0
      - name: name
        in: query
        description: Filter characters by full name. Use `+` for spaces (e.g. `Walter+White`).
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          example: Walter+White
      - name: category
        in: query
        description: Filter by series — `Breaking+Bad`, `Better+Call+Saul`, or both joined by `,`.
        required: false
        schema:
          type: string
          example: Breaking+Bad,Better+Call+Saul
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Array of character records.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/Character'
              examples:
                ListCharacters200Example:
                  summary: Default listCharacters 200 response
                  x-microcks-default: true
                  value:
                  - char_id: 1
                    name: Walter White
                    birthday: 09-07-1958
                    occupation:
                    - High School Chemistry Teacher
                    - Meth King Pin
                    img: https://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cast_bb_700x1000_walter-white-lg.jpg
                    status: Presumed dead
                    nickname: Heisenberg
                    appearance:
                    - 1
                    - 2
                    - 3
                    - 4
                    - 5
                    portrayed: Bryan Cranston
                    category: Breaking Bad
                    better_call_saul_appearance: []
                  - char_id: 2
                    name: Jesse Pinkman
                    birthday: 09-24-1984
                    occupation:
                    - Methamphetamine Manufacturer
                    - Distributor
                    img: https://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cast_bb_700x1000_jesse-pinkman-lg.jpg
                    status: Alive
                    nickname: Cap n' Cook
                    appearance:
                    - 1
                    - 2
                    - 3
                    - 4
                    - 5
                    portrayed: Aaron Paul
                    category: Breaking Bad
                    better_call_saul_appearance: []
        '429':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/RateLimited'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /characters/{id}:
    get:
      operationId: getCharacterById
      summary: Get Character By Id
      description: Returns a single character by numeric id.
      tags:
      - Characters
      parameters:
      - name: id
        in: path
        required: true
        description: Numeric character id.
        schema:
          type: integer
          example: 1
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Character record (array with a single element, as returned by the upstream service).
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/Character'
              examples:
                GetCharacterById200Example:
                  summary: Default getCharacterById 200 response
                  x-microcks-default: true
                  value:
                  - char_id: 1
                    name: Walter White
                    birthday: 09-07-1958
                    occupation:
                    - High School Chemistry Teacher
                    - Meth King Pin
                    img: https://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cast_bb_700x1000_walter-white-lg.jpg
                    status: Presumed dead
                    nickname: Heisenberg
                    appearance:
                    - 1
                    - 2
                    - 3
                    - 4
                    - 5
                    portrayed: Bryan Cranston
                    category: Breaking Bad
                    better_call_saul_appearance: []
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
  /character/random:
    get:
      operationId: getRandomCharacter
      summary: Get Random Character
      description: Returns one randomly selected character.
      tags:
      - Characters
      responses:
        '200':
          description: One character record, wrapped in an array.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/Character'
              examples:
                GetRandomCharacter200Example:
                  summary: Default getRandomCharacter 200 response
                  x-microcks-default: true
                  value:
                  - char_id: 17
                    name: Saul Goodman
                    birthday: 11-12-1960
                    occupation:
                    - Lawyer
                    img: https://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cast_bb_700x1000_saul-goodman-lg.jpg
                    status: Alive
                    nickname: Slippin' Jimmy
                    appearance:
                    - 2
                    - 3
                    - 4
                    - 5
                    portrayed: Bob Odenkirk
                    category: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
                    better_call_saul_appearance:
                    - 1
                    - 2
                    - 3
                    - 4
                    - 5
                    - 6
      x-microcks-operation:
        delay: 0
        dispatcher: FALLBACK
components:
  responses:
    NotFound:
      description: The requested resource was not found.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          examples:
            NotFoundExample:
              summary: Default 404 response
              x-microcks-default: true
              value:
                message: Not Found
    RateLimited:
      description: Rate limit exceeded. The original upstream enforced 10,000 requests per day per IP and returned 429 until the 24-hour window rolled over.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          examples:
            RateLimitedExample:
              summary: Default 429 response
              x-microcks-default: true
              value:
                message: Rate limit exceeded. Try again in 24 hours.
  schemas:
    Error:
      type: object
      description: Generic error envelope.
      properties:
        message:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable error message.
          example: Not Found
    Character:
      type: object
      description: A character from the Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul series.
      x-schema-source: documentation
      x-source-url: https://github.com/timbiles/Breaking-Bad--API
      properties:
        char_id:
          type: integer
          description: Unique numeric id for the character.
          example: 1
        name:
          type: string
          description: Character's full name.
          example: Walter White
        birthday:
          type: string
          description: Character's birthday in M-D-YYYY format.
          example: 09-07-1958
        occupation:
          type: array
          description: List of the character's known occupations.
          items:
            type: string
          example:
          - High School Chemistry Teacher
          - Meth King Pin
        img:
          type: string
          format: uri
          description: URL of the character's portrait image (JPG).
          example: https://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cast_bb_700x1000_walter-white-lg.jpg
        status:
          type: string
          description: Whether the character is alive, deceased, or presumed dead.
          example: Presumed dead
        nickname:
          type: string
          description: A known nickname.
          example: Heisenberg
        appearance:
          type: array
          description: List of Breaking Bad seasons in which the character appeared.
          items:
            type: integer
          example:
          - 1
          - 2
          - 3
          - 4
          - 5
        portrayed:
          type: string
          description: Actor who portrayed the character.
          example: Bryan Cranston
        category:
          type: string
          description: Comma-separated list of series the character appears in.
          example: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
        better_call_saul_appearance:
          type: array
          description: List of Better Call Saul seasons in which the character appeared.
          items:
            type: integer
          example: []