Creative Commons Catalog API

⭐ Beginner's Pick Open Source Projects / OAuth Advanced HTTPS CORS
Varies by plan (check documentation)

Overview

The Creative Commons Catalog API (powered by Openverse) lets you search millions of openly licensed images, audio tracks, and other media that are free to use and share. While it uses OAuth for write operations, you can perform read-only searches with just a client credentials token obtained from the public registration endpoint. It is the easiest way to add copyright-safe media search to any application.

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Beginner Tip

Get a free API token in one step by posting to https://api.openverse.org/v1/auth_tokens/register/ with your application name and email—no manual approval needed, and the token arrives in the response body immediately.

Available Data

Creative Commons Catalog data via REST API
JSON-formatted response data
Requires OAuth authentication

Example Response

JSON Response
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Creative Commons Catalog",
    "description": "Search among openly licensed and public domain works",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

result_count Total number of media items matching the search query across all pages.
results Array of media objects for the current page of search results.
results[].title Title or filename of the media item as provided by the source.
results[].url Direct URL to the original full-resolution media file.
results[].license Creative Commons license type, e.g., cc0, by, by-sa, by-nc.
results[].creator Name of the original creator or author of the media item.

Implementation Example

const url = "https://api.creativecommons.engineering/";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
  headers: {
  "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
  }
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized Missing or expired access token in the Authorization header.
Register for a token at /v1/auth_tokens/register/, then exchange credentials at /v1/auth_tokens/token/ and include the result as Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN.
Empty results for a search query Filters like license or source are too restrictive for the given search term.
Remove optional filters one by one to broaden the search—try just the q parameter first to confirm results exist.
429 Too Many Requests Exceeding the rate limit for unauthenticated or low-tier authenticated requests.
Authenticate with a registered token to get a higher rate limit, and implement exponential backoff when a 429 is received.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 10/20
🔒 Security 15/15
🛠 Developer XP 8/20
✓ Reliability 10/15

Partially tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth OAuth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS YES
Difficulty Advanced
Verified: 2026-04-07

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