TheCocktailDB API

www.thecocktaildb.com · Food

Food No Auth Free & Open Food Drinks Cocktails

Free cocktail recipe database — search by name, ingredient, or category. Returns ingredients, measurements, instructions, and photos. No API key for basic use.

Authentication

No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.

Sample Requests

GET Search cocktails

Search for margarita cocktail recipes.

https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=margarita

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=margarita"

import requests
params = {
    "s": "margarita"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php');
url.searchParams.set('s', 'margarita');

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("s", "margarita")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "s" => "margarita"
})

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/search.php?" . http_build_query([
    "s" => "margarita"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

GET Random cocktail

Get a random cocktail recipe.

https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php"

import requests
response = requests.get(
    "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php",
)
print(response.json())

const url = 'https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php';

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	targetURL := "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php"
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php")

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://www.thecocktaildb.com/api/json/v1/1/random.php";
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

Postman Setup Guide

Get Postman ↗

No API key — use "1" in URL
Search: GET /api/json/v1/1/search.php?s=mojito
By ingredient: GET /api/json/v1/1/filter.php?i=vodka
Random: GET /api/json/v1/1/random.php
Categories: GET /api/json/v1/1/list.php?c=list

What can you build with TheCocktailDB API?

TheCocktailDB API is a Food API. Developers commonly use food APIs for:

surfacing recipes, nutrition, and ingredient data
building menu and restaurant discovery apps
powering diet, calorie, and meal-planning tools
accessing food safety and product information
integrating grocery ordering and delivery

No authentication required. This API is open — no signup or key needed. Ideal for quick prototypes and public-facing features. TheCocktailDB API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide

Open documentation ↗