Pixabay API

Search and retrieve royalty-free images and videos from Pixabay's library of over 4 million assets.

Configuration

The API key is stored in ~/.config/pixabay/api_key. To set up:

mkdir -p ~/.config/pixabay
echo "YOUR_API_KEY" > ~/.config/pixabay/api_key

Read the key with:

PIXABAY_KEY=$(cat ~/.config/pixabay/api_key)

Quick Start

Search Images

PIXABAY_KEY=$(cat ~/.config/pixabay/api_key)
curl -s "https://pixabay.com/api/?key=${PIXABAY_KEY}&q=yellow+flowers&image_type=photo" | jq

Search Videos

PIXABAY_KEY=$(cat ~/.config/pixabay/api_key)
curl -s "https://pixabay.com/api/videos/?key=${PIXABAY_KEY}&q=nature" | jq

Image Search Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
key	str	Required. API key
q	str	URL-encoded search term (max 100 chars). Example: yellow+flower
lang	str	Language code: cs, da, de, en, es, fr, id, it, hu, nl, no, pl, pt, ro, sk, fi, sv, tr, vi, th, bg, ru, el, ja, ko, zh. Default: en
id	str	Retrieve specific image by ID
image_type	str	all, photo, illustration, vector. Default: all
orientation	str	all, horizontal, vertical. Default: all
category	str	backgrounds, fashion, nature, science, education, feelings, health, people, religion, places, animals, industry, computer, food, sports, transportation, travel, buildings, business, music
min_width	int	Minimum width. Default: 0
min_height	int	Minimum height. Default: 0
colors	str	Comma-separated: grayscale, transparent, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, lilac, pink, white, gray, black, brown
editors_choice	bool	Editor's Choice only. Default: false
safesearch	bool	Safe content only. Default: false
order	str	popular or latest. Default: popular
page	int	Page number. Default: 1
per_page	int	Results per page (3-200). Default: 20

Video Search Parameters

Same as images, except:

• Endpoint: https://pixabay.com/api/videos/
• Use video_type instead of image_type: all, film, animation

Response Structure

Image Response

{
  "total": 4692,
  "totalHits": 500,
  "hits": [
    {
      "id": 195893,
      "pageURL": "https://pixabay.com/en/blossom-bloom-flower-195893/",
      "type": "photo",
      "tags": "blossom, bloom, flower",
      "previewURL": "https://cdn.pixabay.com/.../flower-195893_150.jpg",
      "webformatURL": "https://pixabay.com/get/...640.jpg",
      "largeImageURL": "https://pixabay.com/get/..._1280.jpg",
      "imageWidth": 4000,
      "imageHeight": 2250,
      "views": 7671,
      "downloads": 6439,
      "likes": 5,
      "user": "Josch13",
      "userImageURL": "https://cdn.pixabay.com/user/.../250x250.jpg"
    }
  ]
}

Video Response

{
  "total": 42,
  "totalHits": 42,
  "hits": [
    {
      "id": 125,
      "pageURL": "https://pixabay.com/videos/id-125/",
      "type": "film",
      "tags": "flowers, yellow, blossom",
      "duration": 12,
      "videos": {
        "large": { "url": "..._large.mp4", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 },
        "medium": { "url": "..._medium.mp4", "width": 1280, "height": 720 },
        "small": { "url": "..._small.mp4", "width": 960, "height": 540 },
        "tiny": { "url": "..._tiny.mp4", "width": 640, "height": 360 }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Image URL Sizes

Replace _640 in webformatURL to get other sizes:

• _180 - 180px height
• _340 - 340px height
• _960 - max 960x720px

Rate Limits

• 100 requests per 60 seconds
• Results must be cached for 24 hours
• Check headers: X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset

Usage Requirements

When displaying search results, credit Pixabay as the source. Hotlinking images is not allowed - download to local storage for use. Videos may be embedded directly.

Common Workflows

Download Best Image for a Query

PIXABAY_KEY=$(cat ~/.config/pixabay/api_key)
# Search and get the first result's large image URL
URL=$(curl -s "https://pixabay.com/api/?key=${PIXABAY_KEY}&q=mountain+sunset&image_type=photo&per_page=3" | jq -r '.hits[0].largeImageURL')
# Download it
curl -o mountain_sunset.jpg "$URL"

Browse Categories

To explore available content, search with category filter:

curl -s "https://pixabay.com/api/?key=${PIXABAY_KEY}&category=nature&editors_choice=true&per_page=5" | jq '.hits[] | {id, tags, previewURL}'