API Docs

API Reference

Base URL: https://api.officialobituary.com. Responses are JSON unless noted, and dates use YYYY-MM-DD.

Authentication and limits

• Public obituary publish/search endpoints: no API key required.
• Publish rate limit: 3 requests/hour per IP.
• Partner ingest endpoints under /api/submit: Bearer API key required.
• Some moderation/admin routes require admin authorization.

Data Access Boundary

Browse routes are intentionally separated from live/admin workflows. Classified API responses include X-OfficialObituary-Data-Boundary and X-OfficialObituary-Data-Contract.

• public-browse: browse pages and browse metadata, such as /api/obituaries, /api/obituaries/stats/states, /api/funeral-homes, /api/funeral-homes/stats, /api/funeral-homes/:state, and /api/funeral-homes/:state/:city.
• live-dynamic: canonical detail and write flows, such as obituary publish/edit, funeral-home profile detail, pricing helpers, reviews, and claim workflows.
• admin-live: internal operator routes, including outreach pipeline and memorial funnel health endpoints.

POST /api/obituaries/publish

Create and publish a public obituary page.

Field	Required	Type	Notes
full_name	Yes	string	Person's name.
birth_date	Yes	string	YYYY-MM-DD.
death_date	Yes	string	YYYY-MM-DD.
life_story	Yes*	string	Primary narrative, min 50 chars.
death_city	No	string	City of passing.
death_state	No	string	State code/name.
service_date	No	string	YYYY-MM-DD.
service_location	No	string	Service location text.
photo_url	No	string	Absolute URL.
survivors	No	string[] or string	Optional survivors list.
tone	No	string	professional, warm, religious.
obituary_text	Legacy	string	Legacy fallback if life_story is absent.

* life_story or legacy obituary_text must be provided.

{
  "success": true,
  "id": "sN3q5Jt8k1",
  "obituary_id": "sN3q5Jt8k1",
  "slug": "jordan-lee-1948-2026",
  "url": "https://officialobituary.com/obituaries/jordan-lee-1948-2026"
}

GET /api/obituaries

List/search published obituaries with pagination.

Query	Type	Description
q	string	Free-text query.
city	string	City filter.
state	string	State filter.
last_name	string	Name filter helper.
limit	number	Default 20, max 100.
offset	number	Default 0.
sort	string	death_date or created_at.
order	string	asc or desc.

{
  "data": [{ "id": "...", "slug": "...", "full_name": "..." }],
  "meta": {
    "total": 125,
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0,
    "has_more": true
  }
}

GET /api/search

Full-text search endpoint with richer snippets and totals.

Query	Type	Description
q	string	Required search string.
city	string	Optional city filter.
state	string	Optional state filter.
funeral_home	string	Optional funeral home ID.
date_from	string	Start death date.
date_to	string	End death date.
limit	number	Default 20, max 100.
offset	number	Default 0.

{
  "results": [{ "id": "...", "slug": "...", "fullName": "...", "snippet": "..." }],
  "total": 42,
  "query": "smith",
  "took": 11,
  "meta": {
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0,
    "hasMore": true
  }
}

GET /api/search/autocomplete

Fast name suggestions.

GET /api/search/autocomplete?q=smi&limit=5
{
  "results": [{ "id": "...", "slug": "...", "fullName": "..." }]
}

Other obituary discovery endpoints

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/obituaries/:id	None	Single obituary object or 404/410 error.
GET	/api/obituaries/recent	None	{ data: Obituary[] }.
GET	/api/obituaries/stats/states	None	{ total, states: [{ state, count, cities[] }] }.

Platform metadata and specs

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/health	None	{ status, timestamp, uptime }.
GET	/openapi.json	None	OpenAPI JSON document.
GET	/.well-known/openapi.yaml	None	OpenAPI YAML document.
GET	/.well-known/ai-plugin.json	None	AI plugin manifest JSON.
GET	/sitemap.xml	None	XML sitemap index.
GET	/sitemap-pages.xml	None	XML static-page sitemap.
GET	/sitemap-obits-:page.xml	None	XML obituary sitemap page.

Additional public API groups

AI writer

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
POST	/api/ai/generate	None	{ obituary, wordCount, cost, generatedAt } or 429/5xx error.

Guestbook

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/guestbook/:obituary_id	None	{ data: GuestbookEntry[] } (approved entries).
POST	/api/guestbook	None	{ data: GuestbookEntry }, possible 429 for rate limiting.

Memories

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/memories/obituary/:id	None	{ data: Memory[] } (approved only).
POST	/api/memories	None	{ data: Memory, status } or validation/rate-limit errors.
POST	/api/memories/upload-photo	None	{ uploadUrl, key }.

Funeral homes

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/funeral-homes	None	{ data, meta } list/search.
GET	/api/funeral-homes/stats	None	{ snapshotType, snapshotVersion, generatedAt, total, stateCount, topCitiesPerStateLimit, states[] }.
GET	/api/funeral-homes/:state	None	{ state, data, cities, meta }.
GET	/api/funeral-homes/:state/:city	None	{ state, city, data, meta }.
GET	/api/funeral-homes/:state/:city/:slug	None	Profile object with reviews, photos, priceItems.
POST	/api/funeral-homes/:id/reviews	None	{ success, id } or 429/404.

Trees and memorial certificates

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/trees/config	None	{ publishableKey }.
GET	/api/trees/pricing	None	{ tiers[] }.
GET	/api/trees/projects	None	{ projects[] }.
POST	/api/trees/payment-intent	None	{ clientSecret, purchaseId, amount, treeCount }.
POST	/api/trees/webhook	Stripe	{ received: true } or signature error.
GET	/api/trees/purchase/:id	None	{ purchase } (sensitive fields removed).
GET	/api/trees/certificate/:id	None	PNG download by default; ?format=svg or ?format=dataurl also supported.
GET	/api/trees/obituary/:obituaryId	None	{ purchases, total }.

Flowers and affiliates

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
GET	/api/flowers/products	None	{ success, products[], count }.
GET	/api/flowers/clicks/:obituaryId	None	{ success, clicks[], count }.
GET	/api/flowers/stats	None	{ success, stats }.
GET	/api/affiliates/products	None	{ products[] }.
GET	/api/affiliates/click	None	HTTP 302 redirect to affiliate URL.
POST	/api/affiliates/webhook/conversion	Webhook secret	{ success: true } or 401.

Tracking, monitoring, and ingest

Method	Path	Auth	Response shape
POST	/api/track	None	{ ok: true }.
POST	/api/track/batch	None	{ ok: true, logged }.
GET	/api/track/stats	Admin bearer token	Analytics object with events/funnel/pages.
GET	/api/monitoring/status	None	Health object with memory and sentry flags.
GET	/api/monitoring/test-error	None (dev-only behavior)	Throws test error outside production restrictions.
POST	/api/submit	Bearer API key	{ success, id, slug, url }.
POST	/api/submit/batch	Bearer API key	{ total, succeeded, failed, results[] }.
GET	/api/submit/status/:id	Bearer API key	{ id, slug, status, url, views }.

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