Dog API website screenshot

Dog API

The internet's biggest collection of open-source dog pictures. Fetching over 20,000 dog images accessible by more than 120 breeds via a free, no-auth REST API returning JSON. Optional alt-text variants pair every image URL with descriptive text for accessibility.

Dog API publishes 3 APIs on the APIs.io network: Breeds API, Images API, and Info API. Tagged areas include Dogs, Image, Open Data, and Open-Source.

The Dog API catalog on APIs.io includes 2 JSON-LD contexts and 2 Spectral governance rulesets.

Dog API’s developer surface includes documentation, GitHub presence, tooling, code examples, and 8 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub
20.1/100 emerging ▬ flat Agent 40/100 agent ready Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-08-20 · rubric v0.12.0
AccessFreemium
3 APIs
DogsImageOpen DataOpen-Source

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-08-20 · rubric v0.12.0
Composite quality — 20.1/100 · emerging
Contract Quality 5.0 / 21
Developer Ergonomics 1.6 / 17
Access Clarity 2.7 / 17
Operational Transparency 1.5 / 11
Contract Governance 1.0 / 10
Discoverability 5.5 / 9
Regulatory Posture 3.1 / 15
Agent readiness — 40/100 · agent ready
Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10
Documented Reversibility 6 / 6
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 0 / 10
Idempotency 9 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 8 / 8
Request/Response Examples 7 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 4 / 4
Regulatory Posture applies to this provider. Its tags matched the Government & Public Sector regime, so Regulatory Posture carries 15 points of the composite. If this regime is wrong for your business, say so on your provider repo — the applicability map is public and we will correct it.
The six quality facets above are damped to 85 points between them, because the conditional facet above carries the other 15. That is why each facet's contribution is shown against a damped maximum: raising a quality facet moves the composite by 85% of its nominal weight, not 100%. The full arithmetic is at apis.io/rating/.
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/dog-api: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 3

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Dog API Breeds API

List and look up master breeds and their sub-breeds.

Dog API Images API

Fetch random or breed-specific dog images (with optional alt text).

Dog API Info API

Look up free-text breed information where available.

Open Collections 5

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

API Collection

OPEN COLLECTION

Dog Breeds API

OPEN COLLECTION

Dog Breeds Images API

OPEN COLLECTION

Dog Breeds Info API

OPEN COLLECTION

Dog API

OPEN COLLECTION

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Dog Api Plans Pricing

3 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Dog Api Rate Limits

5 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Dog Api Finops

FINOPS

Semantic Vocabularies 2

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Dog Api Context

9 classes · 4 properties

JSON-LD

Dog Api Context

10 classes · 0 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 2

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

Dog API API Rules

5 rules · 3 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

Dog API API Rules

34 rules · 14 errors 19 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 8

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

AltImageListResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

AltImage

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

BreedListResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

ErrorResponse

3 properties

JSON SCHEMA

ImageListResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

ImageResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

StringListResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

StringResponse

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

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JSON Structure 8

JSON Structure definitions describing this provider's data shapes.

Dog Api Alt Image List Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api Alt Image Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api Breed List Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api Error Response Structure

3 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api Image List Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api Image Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api String List Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Dog Api String Response Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

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Examples 11

Example request and response payloads for these APIs.

Breed Images

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Alt Image Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Alt Image List Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Breed List Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Error Response Example

3 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Image List Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api Image Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api String List Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Dog Api String Response Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

List All Breeds

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Random Image

2 fields

EXAMPLE

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Security Posture 1

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Dog Api Domain Security

TLSv1.3

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Dog Api Agentic Access

24 operations

24 operations · 0 acting

AGENTIC

Resources

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation
Documentation

Agent Surfaces 1

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess
AgenticAccess

Build 7

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHub
GitHub
 MCP Server (Community)
Tools
 p5.js Example
CodeExamples
 Vanilla JS Example
CodeExamples
 jQuery Example
CodeExamples
 Flutter Example
CodeExamples
 Node.js Example
CodeExamples

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Access & Security 1

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity
DomainSecurity

Commercial 1

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

License
License

Company 1

The organization behind the API

Website
Website

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: dog-api
name: Dog API
description: The internet's biggest collection of open-source dog pictures. Fetching over 20,000 dog images accessible by
  more than 120 breeds via a free, no-auth REST API returning JSON. Optional alt-text variants pair every image URL with descriptive
  text for accessibility.
kind: contract
x-type: opensource
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/dog-api.png
tags:
- Dogs
- Image
- Open Data
- Open-Source
tags_raw:
- Dogs
- Images
- Open Data
- Open Source
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2024-11-14'
modified: '2026-05-30'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
access: 3rd-Party
position: Consuming
apis:
- aid: dog-api:dog-api-breeds-api
  name: Dog API Breeds API
  description: List and look up master breeds and their sub-breeds.
  humanURL: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/
  baseURL: https://dog.ceo/api
  tags:
  - Breeds
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/dog-api-breeds-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/documentation
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/ElliottLandsborough/dog-ceo-api
  - type: SourceImages
    url: https://github.com/jigsawpieces/dog-api-images
  - type: Rules
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rules/dog-api-rules.yml
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-schema/dog-api-breed-list-response-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-structure/dog-api-breed-list-response-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api.jsonld
  - type: JSONLDContext
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api-context.jsonld
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/vocabulary/dog-api.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/plans/dog-api-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/dog-api-rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/finops/dog-api-finops.yml
- aid: dog-api:dog-api-images-api
  name: Dog API Images API
  description: Fetch random or breed-specific dog images (with optional alt text).
  humanURL: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/
  baseURL: https://dog.ceo/api
  tags:
  - Image
  tags_raw:
  - Images
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/dog-api-images-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/documentation
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/ElliottLandsborough/dog-ceo-api
  - type: SourceImages
    url: https://github.com/jigsawpieces/dog-api-images
  - type: Rules
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rules/dog-api-rules.yml
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-schema/dog-api-breed-list-response-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-structure/dog-api-breed-list-response-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api.jsonld
  - type: JSONLDContext
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api-context.jsonld
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/vocabulary/dog-api.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/plans/dog-api-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/dog-api-rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/finops/dog-api-finops.yml
- aid: dog-api:dog-api-info-api
  name: Dog API Info API
  description: Look up free-text breed information where available.
  humanURL: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/
  baseURL: https://dog.ceo/api
  tags:
  - Info
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/dog-api-info-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/documentation
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/ElliottLandsborough/dog-ceo-api
  - type: SourceImages
    url: https://github.com/jigsawpieces/dog-api-images
  - type: Rules
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rules/dog-api-rules.yml
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-schema/dog-api-breed-list-response-schema.json
  - type: JSONStructure
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-structure/dog-api-breed-list-response-structure.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api.jsonld
  - type: JSONLDContext
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/json-ld/dog-api-context.jsonld
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/vocabulary/dog-api.yml
  - type: Plans
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/plans/dog-api-plans-pricing.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/dog-api-rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/dog-api/refs/heads/main/finops/dog-api-finops.yml
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/dog-api-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/dog-api-domain-security.yml
- type: Website
  url: https://dog.ceo
- type: Documentation
  url: https://dog.ceo/dog-api/documentation
- type: GitHub
  url: https://github.com/ElliottLandsborough/dog-ceo-api
- type: License
  url: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
- type: Tools
  title: MCP Server (Community)
  url: https://github.com/JithunMethusahan/dog-api-mcp-community
- type: CodeExamples
  title: p5.js Example
  url: https://editor.p5js.org/codingtrain/sketches/lQxT7PTKC
- type: CodeExamples
  title: Vanilla JS Example
  url: https://codepen.io/elliottlan/pen/MNEWNx
- type: CodeExamples
  title: jQuery Example
  url: https://codepen.io/elliottlan/pen/KOXKLG
- type: CodeExamples
  title: Flutter Example
  url: https://github.com/LIVELUCKY/dogs
- type: CodeExamples
  title: Node.js Example
  url: https://github.com/mrbrunelli/dog-time-decorator
features:
- name: No Authentication
  description: Fully open API; no key, token, or login required to consume any endpoint.
- name: 120+ Breeds, 20,000+ Images
  description: Broad coverage of master breeds and sub-breeds curated from the jigsawpieces/dog-api-images dataset.
- name: Alt-Text Variant
  description: Every image-returning endpoint has an `/alt` sibling that pairs the URL with descriptive alt text for accessibility.
- name: Random Sampling
  description: Random selection is available across breeds, sub-breeds, and images, with optional counts up to the upstream
    limit.
- name: Open-Source Implementation
  description: PHP Symfony source code is MIT-licensed and self-hostable; cache and image storage are pluggable.
- name: Simple Envelope
  description: Every response uses a uniform `{message, status}` JSON envelope, with `code` added on error responses.
useCases:
- name: Pet UI Components
  description: Drop random dog imagery into web or mobile components, demos, and onboarding flows.
- name: Accessibility Demos
  description: Showcase or test alt-text rendering and screen-reader behavior with the `/alt` endpoint family.
- name: API Workshops & Tutorials
  description: Use as a zero-friction, no-auth example API when teaching REST consumption, MCP, or API mocking.
- name: ML Vision Datasets
  description: Pull breed-tagged dog photography as a permissive public dataset for vision model training and evaluation.
- name: Mock & Contract Testing
  description: A stable, public envelope makes the Dog API a useful upstream for Spectral, Microcks, and contract-testing
    exercises.
integrations:
- name: Microcks
  description: OpenAPI ships with `x-microcks-operation` extensions and named default examples for direct mock import.
- name: Spectral
  description: A repo-local Spectral ruleset enforces Dog API path, summary, parameter, and schema conventions.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com