Pexels API
api.pexels.com · Media
Free stock photos and videos — search millions of curated images and videos from Pexels contributors. Includes video search and curation endpoints. Completely free with API key.
Authentication
API Key authentication
Free API key at pexels.com/api. Pass as Authorization: YOUR_KEY header.
Sample Requests
GET
Search photos
Search Pexels for sunset photos.
https://api.pexels.com/v1/search?query=sunset&per_page=3
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Authorization | YOUR_API_KEY |
curl -X GET "https://api.pexels.com/v1/search?query=sunset&per_page=3" \ -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"
import requests
params = {
"query": "sunset",
"per_page": "3"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.pexels.com/v1/search",
params=params,
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.pexels.com/v1/search');
url.searchParams.set('query', 'sunset');
url.searchParams.set('per_page', '3');
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.pexels.com/v1/search")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("query", "sunset")
q.Set("per_page", "3")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "YOUR_API_KEY")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.pexels.com/v1/search")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"query" => "sunset",
"per_page" => "3"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.pexels.com/v1/search?" . http_build_query([
"query" => "sunset",
"per_page" => "3"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get curated photos
Get daily curated photos from Pexels.
https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated?per_page=5
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Authorization | YOUR_API_KEY |
curl -X GET "https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated?per_page=5" \ -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"
import requests
params = {
"per_page": "5"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated",
params=params,
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated');
url.searchParams.set('per_page', '5');
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'YOUR_API_KEY'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("per_page", "5")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "YOUR_API_KEY")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"per_page" => "5"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.pexels.com/v1/curated?" . http_build_query([
"per_page" => "5"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Get a free API key at pexels.com/api
- Set Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY header (no "Bearer" prefix)
- Search: GET /v1/search?query=coffee&per_page=5
- Videos: GET https://api.pexels.com/videos/search?query=rain&per_page=5
- No attribution required — but credit is appreciated
What can you build with Pexels API?
Pexels API is a Media API. Developers commonly use media APIs for:
- storing and delivering images, video, and audio
- building digital asset management and media libraries
- transcoding and optimising media for the web
- adding video streaming and playback to your app
- automating content tagging and metadata extraction
API Key authentication. You'll receive a key after signing up. Send it with every request — in a header or query parameter. Keep it out of client-side code and never commit it to version control. Pexels API is free to use up to a usage limit, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide