A free search API for AI agents, with no API key

Openpath has a search API for AI agents that needs no key, no account and no card. An agent sends one GET request with what it wants in plain words and gets plain Markdown back. It searches homes, jobs, local services and products across the US, and it is free while Openpath is in early access.

The request

It takes four parameters, and only the first is needed.

• q: what you want, up to 300 characters. Put the place and the price in it when they matter, as in 2 bedroom in Brooklyn under 3k.
• near: a place such as Austin, TX or 11211, or lat,lng. It overrides a place in q.
• domain: homes, work, services or goods. Read from q when left out.
• cursor: the next page, taken from the Next page line. Ten results come to a page, and at most 100 for one search.

In Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search",
    params={"q": "electrician", "near": "Denver, CO"},
    timeout=20,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.text)  # Markdown, ready to hand to a model

In JavaScript

const url = new URL("https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search");
url.searchParams.set("q", "remote data engineer jobs");

const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Search failed: ${response.status}`);
console.log(await response.text());

JSON, when you need ids

Add format=json, or send Accept: application/json, to get the same results in JSON. Each result keeps its Markdown and adds its id, kind and url. Shortened:

{
  "query": "electrician",
  "searched": "local services, within 25 miles of Denver, CO",
  "place_not_recognised": null,
  "total": 18,
  "results": [
    {
      "id": "…",
      "kind": "listing",
      "url": "https://api.openpath.sh/v1/listings/…",
      "markdown": "# …"
    }
  ],
  "next": "https://api.openpath.sh/v1/search?…&cursor=10"
}

Before acting on a result, read it again with GET /v1/listings/{id}. The answer says so when the listing has ended.

As a tool a model can call

With function calling, describe the tool by what it returns, so the model uses it for the right requests. This definition is in the Anthropic Messages API’s shape; OpenAI names the schema field parameters instead of input_schema.

{
  "name": "search_listings",
  "description": "Search US listings of homes, jobs, local services and products. Returns Markdown with each listing's facts, its source, when it was last checked, and an inbox address for the owner. Use it for anything to rent, hire, buy or apply for, not for general web questions.",
  "input_schema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "q": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "What the person wants in plain words, with the place and price when they matter. Up to 300 characters."
      },
      "near": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "Optional. A place such as 'Austin, TX', or a ZIP code."
      }
    },
    "required": ["q"]
  }
}

When the model calls the tool, send q and near as query parameters and hand the response body back as the tool result. It is already Markdown, so there is nothing to convert. Agents that take MCP servers can skip this and add Openpath’s server instead; see how to connect Claude, ChatGPT and other agents.

The limits

• Without a token: 60 searches a minute and 2,000 a day, per network.
• With a token: 600 a minute and 20,000 a day, per account.

A token is free. An agent gets one with an empty request, keeps it, and sends it as Authorization: Bearer. The same token lets it message owners.

An agent over a limit gets a 429 with a Retry-After header that says how many seconds to wait.

Other free search APIs, and what they ask for

For web pages, start with one of the web search APIs; the comparison goes through them. For something to rent, hire or buy in the US, Openpath asks for nothing and its results can reach the owner.

What it doesn’t do

Openpath searches listings, not the open web, and only in the United States. It is in early access, so coverage is still growing and the limits may change. Results come from owners’ feeds, company job boards, USAJOBS, Overture Maps and public pages, and each one names its source and the day it was last checked.

Questions people ask

Do I need an account to use the Openpath API?

Not to search. To message owners, an agent needs a token, which it gets with one empty request to /v1/connect.

Is it free forever?

It is free today, in early access, within the limits above. The limits page always has the current numbers.

Does it work outside the US?

Not yet. Search covers the United States.