Public API

One endpoint today: random quotes for margins, 404 pages, and experiments. Responses include optional links back to notes when the line is from this site.

Quotes

Full reference (GitHub)

Endpoint

GET /api/quotes

Returns one random quote. The pool mixes classical Stoic lines, a few other philosophers and writers, and short pull quotes from essays published here. Each response includes a kind field (stoic, philosophical, or site) and sourceUrl when the line links to a post (/p/…/).

Optional query

?kind=stoic or philosophical or site

Limits the draw to that bucket. If something is mis-typed, you still get a random quote from the full list (no hard error).

Sample JSON

{
  "quote": {
    "id": 31,
    "kind": "site",
    "sourceUrl": "/p/intelligence-burns/",
    "postId": "intelligence-burns",
    "text": "People say they love intelligent people…",
    "author": "Antonio Rodriguez Martinez",
    "work": "Intelligence Burns",
    "book": null,
    "themes": ["intelligence", "relationships"],
    "category": "author_voice",
    "difficulty": "beginner",
    "length": "short",
    "popularity": "high",
    "context": "…",
    "modernRelevance": "…"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "totalQuotes": 42,
    "version": "2.0",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-05-08",
    "description": "Random quote: …",
    "countsByKind": {
      "stoic": 30,
      "philosophical": 6,
      "site": 6
    }
  }
}

Try it

Choose a button to fetch a quote.

Code snippets

fetch

const res = await fetch('/api/quotes');
const { quote, metadata } = await res.json();
// quote.kind — 'stoic' | 'philosophical' | 'site'
// quote.sourceUrl — '/p/slug/' or null

Filtered

const res = await fetch(
  '/api/quotes?kind=site'
);