Instagraham

API Documentation

Random Endpoint

GET /api/

Returns a random passage from one of Paul Graham's great essays.

GET /api/

 {
  "url":"http://paulgraham.com/notnot.html",
  "essay":"Why to Not Not Start a Startup",
  "quote":"Really this just codifies what we do already. We put little
  weight on the idea. We ask mainly out of politeness. The kind of
  question on the application form that we really care about is the one
  where we ask what cool things you've made. If what you've made is
  version one of a promising startup, so much the better, but the main
  thing we care about is whether you're good at making things. Being lead
  developer of a popular open source project counts almost as
  much.",
  "short":"notnot",
  "slug":"B5otNAKC"
} 

Response Parameters:

• url is the link to the full article.
• essay is the title of the essay this quote is derived from.
• quote is the passage from the essay.
• short is the short identifer used by P.G. in the URL to refer to the essay
• slug is an identifer corresponding to this quote. The slug is generated non-deterministically.

Quotation Endpoint

GET /api/:slug

Returns the passage corresponding to the slug from one of Paul Graham's great essays.

GET /api/oatgLDgw

 {
  "essay":"How to Present to Investors",
  "url":"http://paulgraham.com/investors.html",
  "quote":"Don't worry if your company is just a few months old and
  doesn't have an office yet, or your founders are technical people with
  no business experience. Google was like that once, and they turned out
  ok. Smart investors can see past such superficial flaws. They're not
  looking for finished, smooth presentations. They're looking for raw
  talent. All you need to convince them of is that you're smart and that
  you're onto something good. If you try too hard to conceal your
  rawnessby trying to seem corporate, or pretending to know about stuff
  you don'tyou may just conceal your talent.",
  "short":"investors",
  "slug":"oatgLDgw"
} 

Response Parameters:

• url is the link to the full article.
• essay is the title of the essay this quote is derived from.
• quote is the passage from the essay.
• short is the short identifer used by P.G. in the URL to refer to the essay
• slug is an identifer corresponding to this quote. The slug is generated non-deterministically.