Public profile for a user (by RS ref)
GET /users/{ref}
Returns the merged user + user_profile view used to render author headers in the post modal, the /@username profile page, and federation actor representations. Profile-less users render fine with substituted defaults.
Authorizations
Section titled “Authorizations ”Parameters
Section titled “ Parameters ”Path Parameters
Section titled “Path Parameters ”Responses
Section titled “ Responses ”Public profile
Merged user + profile view. display_name is the resolved
display string (profile.display_name → user.fullname →
user.username, first non-empty). avatar_url is null for
users without an uploaded avatar; the frontend renders a
generated initials disc in that case.
object
The raw user.fullname value, for the rare case a caller needs the unresolved string (account settings page). Most UI surfaces should use display_name instead.
Resolved display string ready to render — never empty.
Free-form platform → handle map. Frontend renders known platforms (twitter, instagram, artstation, …) as icon links; unknown keys are ignored.
object
IETF BCP47 language tag (e.g. “en”, “es-AR”). Empty string = “use system / browser default”. Drives the i18n switcher in the user menu.
UI theme preference. Empty string = follow system / OS. Persisted alongside the profile so it follows the user across browsers.
Total live posts authored by this user.
Set on profiles mirroring a remote site’s user. NULL = locally-owned account.
Authentication required, missing, or invalid
object
Human-readable error summary
Example
the request could not be completedExample
{ "error": "authentication required: sign in and retry with a valid session or API token"}Resource not found
object
Human-readable error summary
Example
the request could not be completed