globalhelplines.org

Quickstart

Your first call, in about a minute.

No key required to start. Every example below is a live request against the production API — copy one and run it.

Base URL
https://globalhelplines.org
Required params
country · topic
Page size
10 (fixed)

1. Without a key

anonymous tier

No signup, no header. You're identified by IP and limited to roughly 10 requests per day. Enough to evaluate the shape of the data and wire a prototype.

curl — no auth
curl "https://globalhelplines.org/v1/helplines?country=GB&topic=suicide"
Response — 200
{
  "meta": {
    "dataset_version": "2026-08-07+gd7fb1d6",
    "disclaimer": "Crisis-helpline data changes without notice. …"
  },
  "query": { "country": "GB", "topic": "suicide", "contact_method": null,
             "keyword": null, "page": 1 },
  "page": 1,
  "page_size": 10,
  "total": 14,
  "results": [ /* full service records, verbatim */ ]
}

2. With a key

dev · nonprofit · commercial

Send the key as a bearer token, or as x-api-key — either works. A presented key that is unknown or revoked returns 401; it never silently falls back to the anonymous tier.

curl — bearer token
curl "https://globalhelplines.org/v1/helplines?country=US&topic=suicide®ion=CA" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HELPLINES_KEY"

# equivalent, header form
curl "https://globalhelplines.org/v1/helplines?country=US&topic=suicide®ion=CA" \
  -H "x-api-key: $HELPLINES_KEY"
JavaScript
const res = await fetch(
  "https://globalhelplines.org/v1/helplines?country=BR&topic=domestic_violence",
  { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.HELPLINES_KEY}` } }
);
const { results } = await res.json();
for (const s of results) {
  console.log(s.name, s.contact.phone, "— source:", s.source_url, "grade:", s.grades.accuracy);
}

Responses on /v1/* carry X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Window so you can see where you stand. Keys are issued by the operator — hello@globalhelplines.org. Nonprofits: include your registry URL and registration number.

3. Or skip HTTP entirely

If you're building on an agent, add the remote MCP server instead and let the model call it as a tool.

MCP endpoint
https://globalhelplines.org/mcp

Full MCP documentation →

Next

API reference
Every endpoint, parameter, error code and response shape.
MCP server
Tool schemas, client configs, quota behaviour on tool calls.
Get a key
Tiers, limits, and how nonprofit verification works.