Use Case

Developers & API Users

Picture Optimizer's REST API exposes the full processing pipeline to any application. Upload images via HTTP POST. Receive compressed, metadata-tagged output. Integrate into CI/CD pipelines, headless CMS workflows, or custom applications.

Start Free — 25 Credits View Pricing

API endpoints

API key

Authentication

JSON + SSE

Response format

Based on plan

Rate limit

Common Problems This Solves

Building image compression into a custom CMS requires low-level codec libraries

AI vision APIs charge per-call with no bundled compression pipeline

Integrating separate tools for compression, conversion, and metadata is complex

Monitoring credit usage across multiple projects requires per-key tracking

Self-hosting image processing infrastructure costs more than API credits

API Architecture

The REST API follows a session-based workflow:

1. **Create a session** — POST /v1/sessions with your images. 2. **Analyze** — POST /v1/analyze to run AI vision on the session's images. Responses stream via Server-Sent Events. 3. **Review metadata** — GET the analysis results. Edit if needed. 4. **Export** — POST /v1/export with your format, quality, and resize settings. 5. **Download** — GET the processed files.

Each step is independently callable. Run analysis only. Run export only. Skip steps you don't need.

Authentication and Credits

Authenticate with an API key in the X-API-Key header. Each plan includes a set number of API keys — Free gets 1, Agency gets 20.

Every API call that processes an image deducts credits from your account balance. Check your balance via GET /v1/credits/balance. Pre-check costs via POST /v1/credits/check before committing to a batch.

Integration Examples

**CI/CD Pipeline** — Add an image processing step to your build. Before deployment, POST all new images to the API. Replace source files with optimized output. Deploy.

**Headless CMS** — When a content editor uploads an image, your backend POSTs it to Picture Optimizer, receives the optimized version, and stores it in your asset storage.

**Static Site Generator** — During build, scan the /images directory. POST each file to the API. Replace with optimized output. Build the site with compressed, metadata-tagged images.