Creative Commons Catalog API
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.
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
Example 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
Matrix Score Breakdown
Partially tested on Apr 5, 2026
Technical Specifications
Related Tags
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