Openverse

name: Openverse
description: 'Openverse is a search engine providing programmatic access to the world''s largest openly-licensed media catalog,
  covering 800M+ images and audio tracks from cultural institutions, museums, and creative commons sources including Flickr,
  Wikimedia Commons, iNaturalist, Europeana, Freesound, Jamendo, and more. Built by WordPress/Automattic under Creative Commons
  licensing principles.

  '
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: false
  label: Freemium · Self-serve signup
  confidence: high
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://openverse.org/openverse-logo.svg
tags:
- Images
- Audio
- Creative Commons
- Open Media
- Search
- Open Data
- Cultural Heritage
- Museums
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/openverse/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
apis:
- aid: openverse:openverse-audio-api
  name: Openverse audio API
  description: These are endpoints pertaining to audio files.
  humanURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1/
  baseURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1
  tags:
  - audio
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/openverse-audio-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/api/reference/authentication_and_throttling.html
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://api.openverse.org/v1/terms_of_use/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/WordPress/openverse
  - type: NPMPackage
    url: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@openverse/api-client
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/plans.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/finops.yml
- aid: openverse:openverse-auth-api
  name: Openverse auth API
  description: 'Openverse provides free and open access to the Openverse API to

    anonymous and registered users. [Refer to the API documentation

    site for information on how to register](https://api.openverse.org/v1/#tag/auth).


    All Openverse API users are subject to rate limits and restrictions

    on how much of Openverse''s dataset can be accessed through the API.

    [Individuals should contact Openverse to request expanded access to

    the API](https://github.com/WordPress/openverse#keep-in-touch).

    Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to

    evaluation in light of [Openverse''s Terms of Service](https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html).

    Escalated access may be revoked at any time.


    To authenticate yourself, you must sign up for an API key using

    the `register` endpoint and then get an access token using the

    `token` endpoint. Read on to know about these endpoints.


    In subsequent requests, include your access token as a bearer

    token in the `Authorization` header.


    ```

    Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

    ```


    ### Rate limits


    Openverse endpoints are rate limited. Anonymous requests should be

    sufficient for most users. Indeed, https://openverse.org itself

    operates using anonymous requests from the browser.


    Registered users are automatically granted slightly higher limits.

    Further increases to rate limits are available upon request (see above).


    Every Openverse API response that was subject to rate-limits includes

    headers outlining the permitted and available usage. Exceeding the limit

    will result in ''429: Too Many Requests'' responses.


    ### Pagination


    Openverse''s dataset is valuable, and the

    [Terms of Service](https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)

    disallow scraping under all circumstances. As such, pagination

    for anonymous users is limited, accommodating only the typical

    usage on https://openverse.org. Pagination is limited in terms

    of the size of individual pages and the total number of works

    visible for a query (pagination depth).


    Authenticated users are subject to the same limit of total works

    available for a query, but may request larger individual pages.


    Increases to pagination limits on page size and total depth are

    available upon request (see above).'
  humanURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1/
  baseURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1
  tags:
  - auth
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/openverse-auth-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/api/reference/authentication_and_throttling.html
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://api.openverse.org/v1/terms_of_use/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/WordPress/openverse
  - type: NPMPackage
    url: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@openverse/api-client
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/plans.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/finops.yml
- aid: openverse:openverse-images-api
  name: Openverse images API
  description: These are endpoints pertaining to images.
  humanURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1/
  baseURL: https://api.openverse.org/v1
  tags:
  - images
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/openverse-images-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/
  - type: Authentication
    url: https://docs.openverse.org/api/reference/authentication_and_throttling.html
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://api.openverse.org/v1/terms_of_use/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/WordPress/openverse
  - type: NPMPackage
    url: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@openverse/api-client
  - type: Plans
    url: plans/plans.yml
  - type: RateLimits
    url: rate-limits/rate-limits.yml
  - type: FinOps
    url: finops/finops.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com
created: '2026-06-13'
modified: '2026-06-13'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/openverse-agentic-access.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/openverse-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/openverse-authentication.yml
- url: https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/feed/
  type: Blog