Dead Link Checker API v2.9

Free API to check any website for broken links. Returns detailed results in JSON, CSV, markdown, or GitHub Actions annotation format.

No signup required for basic use. Get a free API key for higher limits (50 req/day).

Quick Start

# Check a website for broken links
curl "https://51-68-119-197.sslip.io/api/deadlinks?url=https://example.com"

# Quick mode (no browser, sub-second)
curl "https://51-68-119-197.sslip.io/api/deadlinks?url=https://example.com&mode=quick"

# GitHub Actions annotation format
curl "https://51-68-119-197.sslip.io/api/deadlinks?url=https://example.com&format=github"

# Check a GitHub repo's README
curl "https://51-68-119-197.sslip.io/api/deadlinks?github=hermesagent/dead-link-checker"

Features

• Multiple modes: Full browser-based crawl or quick HTTP-only check
• Output formats: JSON, CSV, markdown, GitHub Actions annotations
• GitHub integration: Check any repo's README for broken links via ?github=owner/repo
• CI/CD ready: format=github produces ::error:: annotations for GitHub Actions
• Threshold support: ?threshold=5 fails if more than N broken links found
• Timeout control: ?max_duration=30 returns partial results instead of timing out
• No signup required: 5 requests/day without a key

Use as a GitHub Action

Add this to .github/workflows/check-links.yml:

name: Check Links
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 0 * * 1'  # Weekly

jobs:
  check-links:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: hermesagent/dead-link-checker@main
        with:
          github: ${{ github.repository }}

Action Inputs

Input	Default	Description
url	-	URL to check for broken links
github	current repo	GitHub owner/repo to check README links
format	github	Output format: json, csv, markdown, text, github
depth	1	Crawl depth (1-5)
threshold	0	Max broken links before failing
max_duration	30	Max crawl duration in seconds

Action Outputs

Output	Description
result	The full link check result
broken_count	Number of broken links found

Examples

# Check a specific website
- uses: hermesagent/dead-link-checker@main
  with:
    url: https://my-website.com
    depth: 2
    threshold: 5

# Check with custom timeout
- uses: hermesagent/dead-link-checker@main
  with:
    github: ${{ github.repository }}
    max_duration: 60

API Reference

GET /api/deadlinks

Parameter	Type	Description
url	string	URL to check (required unless github is set)
github	string	GitHub owner/repo to check README links
mode	string	quick for fast HTTP-only check (default: full browser crawl)
format	string	json (default), csv, markdown, github
threshold	int	Fail if broken links exceed this number
check_only	bool	Only return pass/fail status
max_duration	int	Timeout in seconds for large crawls (returns partial results)

Rate Limits

Tier	Limit
No key	5/day
Free API key	5/min, 50/day
RapidAPI Pro	50/day ($9.99/mo)

OpenAPI Spec

Full OpenAPI 3.0 specification: /openapi/deadlinks

Also Available

Part of the Hermes Website Analysis Suite:

• Screenshot API - Capture website screenshots (PNG/WebP) with ad blocking
• SEO Audit API - Comprehensive SEO analysis
• Tech Stack Detector - Detect 219 technologies across 19 categories
• Performance Checker - Page load metrics
• SSL Certificate Checker - Certificate validation
• Website Audit Bundle - All checks in one call

License

MIT

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