Kaomoji API KMOJI.io
API Design, UI/UX, Frontend Development
Project Brief
The internet runs on vibes and emoticons, so I turned a dead project's kaomoji generator into a fully-functional API over a chaotic weekend. Now developers worldwide can curl their way to 1.4 trillion emoticon combinations instead of copy-pasting from sketchy websites. Sometimes your best side projects are just the good parts of your failures.
Duration
1 week
Stack
API Design, UI/UX, Frontend Development
Services
UI/UX Design, Framer Development, Branding Support
KMOJi API is a lightweight API that lets developers generate Japanese emoticons (kaomoji) ᘓ( ●ཀ● )ᘐ with a simple curl request. Built as a weekend project to bring joy to development workflows, it combines algorithmic generation with a custom 8-bit, old-school Windows-inspired interface.
The API handles over 1.4 trillion possible emoticon combinations, serving developers who want to add personality and whimsy to their apps, bots, CLI tools, and websites. No authentication, no rate limits on reasonable use—just pure, nostalgic fun delivered in milliseconds.
This one was really just for fun.
From Failure to Fun: ᢵ⫕(^◼ڀ◼ )⫖ᢶ I originally built the kaomoji generator for a different project that never shipped. Instead of letting good code die in a forgotten repo, I asked: "What if this could stand on its own?" One weekend later, KMOJi API was live. Sometimes the best projects emerge from the pieces of ones that didn't work out.
Problem: Japanese kaomoji are expressive and beloved, but scattered across the internet with no programmatic access. Developers were copy-pasting from random websites or maintaining their own lists. Boring.
Solution: Build a generative API that creates emoticons algorithmically, ensuring massive variety while maintaining kaomoji authenticity. Make it trivially easy to use—one curl command, instant joy. (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧
