# Quotes API (`gentle_cloud/quotes-api`) Actor

Aggregate inspirational, motivational, and famous quotes from multiple free public APIs. Supports bulk fetch, random, daily quote, author filtering, and keyword search.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/gentle_cloud/quotes-api.md
- **Developed by:** [Monkey Coder](https://apify.com/gentle_cloud) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Social media, E-commerce
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 28 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Quotes API

Aggregate inspirational, motivational, and famous quotes from multiple free public APIs into a clean, structured dataset. Perfect for content creators, developers building motivational apps, social media managers, and anyone who needs bulk access to quality quotes.

### 📚 Data Sources

This Actor aggregates quotes from three reliable free APIs:

- **DummyJSON** — 1,400+ curated quotes with author attribution
- **ZenQuotes** — Random inspirational quotes refreshed regularly
- **Forismatic** — Classic motivational quotes database

### ✨ Features

- **Bulk aggregation** — Fetch up to 500 quotes in a single run
- **Random mode** — Get random quotes for variety
- **Daily quote** — Fetch today's inspirational quote
- **Author filtering** — Find quotes by specific authors (Einstein, Gandhi, etc.)
- **Keyword search** — Filter quotes containing specific words or phrases
- **Source selection** — Choose which APIs to fetch from
- **Deduplication** — Automatic removal of duplicate quotes across sources
- **Structured output** — Clean JSON with quote, author, source, and metadata

### 🚀 How to Use

1. Click **"Start"** to run with default settings (50 quotes from all sources)
2. Or customize your run:
   - Set **Maximum Quotes** (1-500)
   - Choose a **Mode**: Bulk, Random, or Today's Quote
   - Add a **Search Query** to filter by keyword (e.g., "love", "success")
   - Set an **Author Filter** to find quotes by a specific person
   - Select **Data Sources** to pick which APIs to use

### 📊 Sample Output

```json
[
    {
        "quote": "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.",
        "author": "Albert Einstein",
        "source": "dummyjson",
        "source_id": "42",
        "category": "",
        "tags": [],
        "index": 1,
        "fetched_at": "2026-03-19T12:00:00+00:00"
    },
    {
        "quote": "The only way to do great work is to love what you do.",
        "author": "Steve Jobs",
        "source": "zenquotes",
        "source_id": "",
        "category": "",
        "tags": [],
        "index": 2,
        "fetched_at": "2026-03-19T12:00:00+00:00"
    }
]
```

### 📝 Output Fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `quote` | The quote text |
| `author` | Author name |
| `source` | API source (dummyjson, zenquotes, forismatic) |
| `source_id` | Source-specific identifier (if available) |
| `category` | Quote category (if available) |
| `tags` | Associated tags |
| `index` | Sequential number in results |
| `fetched_at` | UTC timestamp of when the quote was fetched |

### ⚙️ Notes

- **Rate limits**: The Actor respects API rate limits with built-in delays between requests
- **Memory**: Minimal memory usage (256 MB is sufficient)
- **Typical runtime**: 10-60 seconds depending on quote count
- **No API keys required**: All data sources are completely free and open

# Actor input Schema

## `max_quotes` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of quotes to fetch (1-500)

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Fetch mode: 'bulk' for aggregated quotes, 'random' for random quotes, 'today' for daily quote

## `search_query` (type: `string`):

Filter quotes containing this keyword or phrase (e.g. 'love', 'success')

## `author_filter` (type: `string`):

Filter quotes by author name (partial match, e.g. 'Einstein', 'Gandhi')

## `sources` (type: `string`):

Which APIs to fetch from: 'all', 'dummyjson', 'zenquotes', or 'forismatic'

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "max_quotes": 50,
  "mode": "bulk",
  "search_query": "",
  "author_filter": "",
  "sources": "all"
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "max_quotes": 50,
    "mode": "bulk",
    "search_query": "",
    "author_filter": "",
    "sources": "all"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("gentle_cloud/quotes-api").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "max_quotes": 50,
    "mode": "bulk",
    "search_query": "",
    "author_filter": "",
    "sources": "all",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("gentle_cloud/quotes-api").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "max_quotes": 50,
  "mode": "bulk",
  "search_query": "",
  "author_filter": "",
  "sources": "all"
}' |
apify call gentle_cloud/quotes-api --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,gentle_cloud/quotes-api"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/MjpCgQhlWbzTBqIZg/builds/ImZT2JwabW302Nz6O/openapi.json