Cities LookupCities Lookup API

OnlineCredit Usage:1 per callRefreshed 2 weeks ago
avg: 1552ms|p50: 1412ms|p75: 1645ms|p90: 1924ms|p99: 2483ms

Overview

To use Cities Lookup, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

GET Endpoint

URL
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/citieslookup

Example

How to call the Cities Lookup API in different programming languages.

cURL Request
curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/citieslookup?city=San%20Francisco&limit=5" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"
JavaScript (Fetch API)
const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/citieslookup?city=San%20Francisco&limit=5', {
  method: 'GET',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
Python (Requests)
import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/citieslookup?city=San%20Francisco&limit=5', headers=headers)

data = response.json()
print(data)
Go (net/http)
package main

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

)

func main() {
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/citieslookup?city=San%20Francisco&limit=5", nil)

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Example Response
{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "search": "San Francisco",
    "foundCities": [
      {
        "name": "San Francisco",
        "altName": "",
        "country": "US",
        "countryName": "United States",
        "featureCode": "PPLA2",
        "population": 874961,
        "populationCategory": "major",
        "loc": {
          "type": "Point",
          "coordinates": [
            -122.4194,
            37.7749
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Authentication

The Cities Lookup API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

Required Header
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the Cities Lookup API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The following parameters are available for the Cities Lookup API:

Some Cities Lookup parameters marked with Premium are available exclusively on paid plans.View pricing

Lookup City

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionDefaultExample
citystringrequired
The city name for which you want to get the data (e.g., New York)
-San Francisco
limitPremiumintegeroptional
Limit number of cities that match your search criteria
Range: 1 - 20
15

Response

The Cities Lookup API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats. The JSON response is shown in the Example section above; alternative formats below.

Other Response Formats

XML Response
200 OK
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <search>San Francisco</search>
    <foundCities>
      <foundCitie>
        <name>San Francisco</name>
        <altName></altName>
        <country>US</country>
        <countryName>United States</countryName>
        <featureCode>PPLA2</featureCode>
        <population>874961</population>
        <populationCategory>major</populationCategory>
        <loc>
          <type>Point</type>
          <coordinates>
            <coordinate>-122.4194</coordinate>
            <coordinate>37.7749</coordinate>
          </coordinates>
        </loc>
      </foundCitie>
    </foundCities>
  </data>
</response>
YAML Response
200 OK
status: ok
error: null
data:
  search: San Francisco
  foundCities:
    - name: San Francisco
      altName: ''
      country: US
      countryName: United States
      featureCode: PPLA2
      population: 874961
      populationCategory: major
      loc:
        type: Point
        coordinates:
          - -122.4194
          - 37.7749
CSV Response
200 OK
keyvalue
searchSan Francisco
foundCities[{name:San Francisco,altName:,country:US,countryName:United States,featureCode:PPLA2,population:874961,populationCategory:major,loc:{type:Point,coordinates:[-122.4194,37.7749]}}]

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
statusstringIndicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error")ok
errorstring | nullContains error message if status is "error", otherwise nullnull
dataobject | nullContains the API response data if successful, otherwise null{...}

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

FieldTypeSample ValueDescription
searchstring"San Francisco"
The search query used to find cities
[ ] Array items:array[1]Array of objects
Array of city objects matching the search criteria
â”” namestring"San Francisco"
-
â”” altNamestring""
-
â”” countrystring"US"
-
â”” countryNamestring"United States"
-
â”” featureCodestring"PPLA2"
-
â”” populationnumber874961
-
â”” populationCategorystring"major"
-
â”” locobject{...}
-
â”” typestring"Point"
-
â”” coordinatesarray[-122.4194, ...]
-

Headers

Only X-API-Key is required. Optional headers include Accept for response format negotiation (JSON, XML, or YAML), User-Agent, and X-Request-ID for request tracing. See all request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access Cities Lookup through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the cities lookup data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Test Cities Lookup in the GraphQL Explorer to confirm availability and experiment with queries.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

GraphQL Endpoint
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql
GraphQL Query Example
query {
  citieslookup(
    input: {
      city: "San Francisco"
      limit: 5
    }
  ) {
    search
    foundCities
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The Cities Lookup API accepts cross-origin requests from any origin, so it can be called directly from browser-based applications without a proxy. See CORS support →

Rate Limiting

Cities Lookup requests are throttled per minute on the Free plan and unthrottled on paid plans. Exceeding the limit returns 429 Too Many Requests; rate-limit usage is reported in the X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset response headers. See per-plan limits and best practices →

Error Codes

The Cities Lookup API uses standard HTTP status codes — 200 on success, 400 for invalid parameters, 401 for missing or invalid keys, 403 for insufficient credits, 429 for rate-limit exhaustion, and 500/503 for server-side issues. Each error response includes an X-Request-ID header you can quote when contacting support. See full error handling guide →

SDKs for Cities Lookup

Official Cities Lookup packages on npm, PyPI, NuGet, and JitPack — plus a Postman collection and an OpenAPI spec. See the SDK guide →

No-Code Integrations

Cities Lookup works with Zapier, Make, Pipedream, n8n, and Power Automate using the same API key. See setup guides →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an API key for Cities Lookup?
Sign up for a free account at dashboard.apiverve.com. Your API key will be automatically generated and available in your dashboard. The same key works for Cities Lookup and all other APIVerve APIs. The free plan includes 1,000 credits plus a 500 credit bonus.
How many credits does Cities Lookup cost?

Each successful Cities Lookup API call consumes credits based on plan tier. Check the pricing section above for the exact credit cost. Failed requests and errors don't consume credits, so you only pay for successful cities lookup lookups.

Can I use Cities Lookup in production?

The free plan is for testing and development only. For production use of Cities Lookup, upgrade to a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Mega) which includes commercial use rights, no attribution requirements, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. All paid plans are production-ready.

Can I use Cities Lookup from a browser?
Yes! The Cities Lookup API supports CORS with wildcard configuration, so you can call it directly from browser-based JavaScript without needing a proxy server. See the CORS section above for details.
What happens if I exceed my Cities Lookup credit limit?

When you reach your monthly credit limit, Cities Lookup API requests will return an error until you upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle. You'll receive notifications at 80% and 95% usage to give you time to upgrade if needed.

What's Next?

Continue your journey with these recommended resources

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