NPR Identity Service

npr · Media

Media No Auth Free & Open entertainment

The entry point to user-specific information

Authentication

No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.

Sample Requests

GET Get the latest state information about the logged-in user

After a successful login, the client should send a `GET` call approximately once an hour to refresh the user data.

https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

Headers — extra info sent with the request

Authorization

example

curl -X GET "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user" \
  -H "Authorization: example"

import requests
headers = {
    "Authorization": "example"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user",
    headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())

const url = 'https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user';

const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'example'
  },
}); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

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

func main() {
	targetURL := "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user"
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "example")

	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://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user")

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

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "example"

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

<?php
$url = "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user";
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
    "header" => implode("\r\n", [
        "Authorization: example"
    ]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

POST Copy listening data from a temporary user account to the logged-in user's account

This can and should only be used by clients who have access to the `temporary_user` grant type. Third-party developers do not have access to this grant type by default, and will not need this endpoint.

https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit?temp_user=1

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

Headers — extra info sent with the request

Authorization

example

curl -X POST "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit?temp_user=1" \
  -H "Authorization: example"

import requests
params = {
    "temp_user": "1"
}
headers = {
    "Authorization": "example"
}
response = requests.post(
    "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit",
    params=params,
    headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit');
url.searchParams.set('temp_user', '1');

const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'example'
  },
}); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

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

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("temp_user", "1")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", targetURL, nil)
	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "example")

	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://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "temp_user" => "1"
})

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

req = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "example"

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

<?php
$url = "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/user/inherit?" . http_build_query([
    "temp_user" => "1"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "POST",
    "header" => implode("\r\n", [
        "Authorization: example"
    ]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

POST Update the following status of the logged-in user for a particular aggregation

After a successful call, this returns a User document with an updated list of affiliations.

https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

Headers — extra info sent with the request

Authorization

example

curl -X POST "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following" \
  -H "Authorization: example"

import requests
headers = {
    "Authorization": "example"
}
response = requests.post(
    "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following",
    headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())

const url = 'https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following';

const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'example'
  },
}); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

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

func main() {
	targetURL := "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following"
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", targetURL, nil)
	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "example")

	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://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following")

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

req = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "example"

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

<?php
$url = "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/npr.org/identity/2/v2/following";
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "POST",
    "header" => implode("\r\n", [
        "Authorization: example"
    ]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

Postman Setup Guide

Get Postman ↗

See official documentation for authentication and setup.

What can you build with NPR Identity Service?

NPR Identity Service is a Media API. Developers commonly use media APIs for:

storing and delivering images, video, and audio
building digital asset management and media libraries
transcoding and optimising media for the web
adding video streaming and playback to your app
automating content tagging and metadata extraction

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

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide

Open documentation ↗