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Public Directories and Group Discovery

Unless otherwise stated, endpoints are relative to https://api.groupme.com/v3/ and must include the token of the user making the call - so, for example, if an endpoint is GET /groups, the request you make should be using the URL https://api.groupme.com/v3/groups?token=aSDFghJkl, where aSDFghJkl is replaced with the user's token.

URLs which include a variable, such as GET /groups/:id, have their variables marked with a colon. So a request to that endpoint would look like https://api.groupme.com/v3/groups/1234567?token=aSDFghJkl, where 1234567 is replaced with the group's ID, and aSDFghJkl is replaced with the user's token.

Finally, all responses are wrapped in a response envelope of the following form:

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{
  "response": {
    "id": "12345",
    "name": "Family"
    ...
  },
  "meta": {
    "code": 200,
    "errors": []
  }
}

If the request succeeds, meta.errors will be null, and if the request fails, response will be null.

Preview Public Group

This call allows a client to check if a public or campus group requires a "join question" in order to apply for membership.

HTTP Request
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GET /groups/:group_id/preview
HTTP Response
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Status: 200 OK
{
  "id": "101646388",
  "theme_name": "wfh",
  "like_icon": {
    "type": "emoji",
    "pack_id": 1,
    "pack_index": 63
  },
  "updated_at": 1747666946,
  "requires_approval": true,
  "show_join_question": true,
  "join_question": {
    "type": "join_reason/questions/text",
    "text": "Why do you want to join our group?"
  },
  "children_count": 14
}

Join Public Group

Allows you to join (or request to join) a public group without a share token.

Breaking Change: Device Verification

This endpoint now requires platform-level device verification (e.g., Apple App Attest or Google Play Integrity). Requests must include valid attestation headers (X-verify-token), or they will be rejected.

This change was introduced by GroupMe to mitigate automated abuse. Unfortunately, it also blocks all third-party clients, including many valuable community projects. As such, this endpoint is no longer accessible to third-party applications and is retained here for historical reference only.

HTTP Request
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POST /groups/:group_id/join
{
  "answer": {
    "response": "Hi! This is why I'd like to join your group..."
  }
}

Parameters

  • response

    String - The answer you'd like to give in response to the group's join question (if one is used, otherwise you can omit this parameter)

HTTP Response
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Status: 201 Created
{
  "id": "1234567890",
  "name": "Family",
  "type": "private",
  "description": "Coolest Family Ever",
  "image_url": "https://i.groupme.com/123456789",
  "creator_user_id": "1234567890",
  "created_at": 1302623328,
  "updated_at": 1302623328,
  "members": [
    {
      "user_id": "1234567890",
      "nickname": "Jane",
      "muted": false,
      "image_url": "https://i.groupme.com/123456789"
    }
  ],
  "share_url": "https://groupme.com/join_group/1234567890/SHARE_TOKEN",
  "messages": {
    "count": 100,
    "last_message_id": "1234567890",
    "last_message_created_at": 1302623328,
    "preview": {
      "nickname": "Jane",
      "text": "Hello world",
      "image_url": "https://i.groupme.com/123456789",
      "attachments": [
        {
          "type": "image",
          "url": "https://i.groupme.com/123456789"
        },
        {
          "type": "location",
          "lat": "40.738206",
          "lng": "-73.993285",
          "name": "GroupMe HQ"
        },
        {
          "type": "emoji",
          "placeholder": "",
          "charmap": [
            [1, 42],
            [2, 34]
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Search Public Groups

Returns a list of public groups based on search terms or lattitude/longitude coordinates. If a location is supplied, groups will be orderd roughly by distance from that point.

Returned groups will be split into 4 different lists, depending on where they were found. * directories if you're a member of a university campus directory and matching results were found in your school domain * popular if they were found among the general list of public groups * trending if they were found on the curated list of groups published by GroupMe, * nearby if they were found in the automatically curated list of groups close to you.

Important

This request is relative to https://api.groupme.com/v1/, not https://api.groupme.com/v3/.

HTTP Request
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GET https://api.groupme.com/v1/search

Parameters

  • per_page

    Integer - Defines how many groups to return in the response. This value maxes out at 10,000 and defaults to 20 if omitted.

  • from

    Integer - The offset index to begin returning results from in the paginated list of groups. For example, from=0 returns results starting at the beginning, from=20 skips the first 20 groups. Defaults to 0 if omitted.

  • query

    String - A set of search terms to filter groups in the response.

  • lattitude

    Decimal - The lattitude coordinate for a point used to sort groups by their distance.

  • longitude

    Decimal - The longitude coordinate for a point used to sort groups by their distance.

HTTP Response
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Status: 200 OK
{
  "directories": [
    {
      "id": "91086340",
      "name": "Group Memes",
      "description": "Memes",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/236x236.jpeg.93edc4af32944ad18f863be07d3a8069",
      "directory_id": "1928",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 5000,
      "members_count": 16,
      "locations": [
        {
          "point": {
            "lat": 40.23512,
            "lon": -111.66219
          },
          "name": "Provo, Utah, United States",
          "full_address": "Provo, Utah, Utah, United States",
          "locality": "Provo",
          "country_region": "United States",
          "country_subdivision": "Utah",
          "country_code": "US"
        }
      ],
      "children_count": 0
    }
    ...
  ],
  "popular": [
    {
      "id": "101804807",
      "name": "Clean Memes",
      "description": "Clean memes is a clean gc and the people are (partially insane) great!",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/960x960.jpeg.2c7a7d23ddde418ba6b7c164bd195e3a",
      "directory_id": "",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 5000,
      "members_count": 4261,
        "locations": [
          {
            "point": {
              "lat": 40.713047,
              "lon": -74.00723
            },
            "name": "New York, New York, United States",
            "full_address": "New York, New York, United States",
            "locality": "New York",
            "country_region": "United States",
            "country_subdivision": "New York",
            "country_code": "US"
          },
        ],
        "children_count": 18,
        "trending_allowed": true
      },
      ...
  ],
  "nearby": [ ... ],
  "trending": [ ... ],
  "location_name": "Salt Lake City, Utah United States"
}

Returns a paginated list of the top 50 public groups, curated by GroupMe.

Important

This request is relative to https://api.groupme.com/v1/, not https://api.groupme.com/v3/.

HTTP Request
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GET https://api.groupme.com/v1/search/trending

Parameters

  • per_page

    Integer - Defines how many groups to return in the response. This value maxes out at 10,000 and defaults to 20 if omitted.

  • from

    Integer - The offset index to begin returning results from in the paginated list of groups. For example, from=0 returns results starting at the beginning, from=20 skips the first 20 groups. Defaults to 0 if omitted.

HTTP Response
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Status: 200 OK
{
  "trending": [
    {
      "id": "98296943",
      "name": "Chilling",
      "description": "a place to chill 😁 make sure you read the rules!",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/626x626.jpeg.2be242e18c3e418c90d280e064100163",
      "directory_id": "",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 5000,
      "members_count": 4832,
      "locations": [
        {
          "point": {
            "lat": 38.892062,
            "lon": -77.019912
          },
          "name": "United States",
          "full_address": "United States",
          "country_region": "United States",
          "country_code": "US"
        }
      ],
      "children_count": 10,
      "trending_allowed": true
    },
    {
      "id": "92309453",
      "name": "Memes",
      "description": "Β―\\_(ツ)_/Β―",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/917x923.jpeg.1cb8105bb7df41fbbea2a5c5bc78fd34",
      "directory_id": "",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 10000,
      "members_count": 8789,
      "locations": [
        {
          "point": {
            "lat": 32.71576,
            "lon": -117.163817
           },
          "name": "San Diego, California, United States",
          "full_address": "San Diego, San Diego, California, United States",
          "locality": "San Diego",
          "country_region": "United States",
          "country_subdivision": "California",
          "country_code": "US"
        }
      ],
      "children_count": 8,
      "trending_allowed": true
    }
  ]
}

Returns a paginated list of all public groups, ordered by member count (largest first).

Important

This request is relative to https://api.groupme.com/v1/, not https://api.groupme.com/v3/.

HTTP Request
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GET https://api.groupme.com/v1/search/popular

Parameters

  • per_page

    Integer - Defines how many groups to return in the response. This value maxes out at 10,000 and defaults to 20 if omitted.

  • from

    Integer - The offset index to begin returning results from in the paginated list of groups. For example, from=0 returns results starting at the beginning, from=20 skips the first 20 groups. Defaults to 0 if omitted.

HTTP Response
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Status: 200 OK
{
  "popular": [
    {
      "id": "92309453",
      "name": "Memes",
      "description": "Β―\\_(ツ)_/Β―",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/917x923.jpeg.1cb8105bb7df41fbbea2a5c5bc78fd34",
      "directory_id": "",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 10000,
      "members_count": 8794,
      "locations": [
        {
          "point": {
            "lat": 32.71576,
            "lon": -117.163817
          },
          "name": "San Diego, California, United States",
          "full_address": "San Diego, San Diego, California, United States",
          "locality": "San Diego",
          "country_region": "United States",
          "country_subdivision": "California",
          "country_code": "US"
        },
      ],
      "children_count": 8,
      "trending_allowed": true
    },
    {
      "id": "16020539",
      "name": "ᏌαŽͺᏞᏴαŽͺNY ᏟᎻαŽͺ᎒ 🎯πŸ”₯πŸΆπŸ“’",
      "description": "",
      "avatar_url": "https://i.groupme.com/1000x1000.jpeg.bf826152799f401f90045b64da690bb4",
      "directory_id": "",
      "group_type": "closed",
      "max_members": 8000,
      "members_count": 7608,
      "locations": [
        {
          "point": {
            "lat": 42.66709,
            "lon": -73.77516
          },
          "name": "Albany, New York, United States",
          "full_address": "Albany, Albany, New York, United States",
          "locality": "Albany",
          "country_region": "United States",
          "country_subdivision": "New York",
          "country_code": "US"
        }
      ],
      "children_count": 0
    }
    ...
  ]
}