Overview
Freesound is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed audio samples and field recordings. You can search for sounds by text, tag, or acoustic properties and download them for use in your projects. It is a great starting point for developers building apps that need ambient sounds, music loops, or sound effects.
Beginner Tip
Start with the /search/text/ endpoint to find sounds by keyword—no OAuth needed for basic search with an API key. Always check the license field in the response before using a sound in your project.
Available Data
The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.
Example Response
Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.
{
"name": "Bohemian Rhapsody",
"artist": "Queen",
"album": "A Night at the Opera",
"duration_ms": 354000,
"popularity": 92,
"preview_url": "https://p.scdn.co/mp3-preview/..."
} Field Reference
count Total number of sounds matching the search query. results Array of sound objects matching the query. results[].id Unique identifier for the sound, used to fetch details or download. results[].name Human-readable name of the sound file. results[].license Creative Commons license URL that governs how the sound can be used. results[].previews URLs for low-quality (mp3) and high-quality (ogg) preview audio streams. Implementation Example
Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.
const url = "https://freesound.org/apiv2/search/text/?query=rain&token=YOUR_API_KEY";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data); What Can You Build?
Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.
Common Errors & Troubleshooting
Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.
Metadata Score Breakdown
Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested
Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested
Technical Specifications
Related Tags
Alternatives to Freesound
Technical alternatives for different use cases.
Free music streaming and discovery platform API
Discovering independent music and artists
Sound effects and audio samples for production
Independent music platform with direct artist support
Supporting independent artists directly
CC-licensed samples and sound effects
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