Quickstart

1. Create an account

Go to pexafy.com and register a free account. No credit card required.

2. Get your API Key

Open pexafy.com/dashboard/api-keys/create — the New Key form.
Give it a name and submit. The key is shown once, right after creation, with a live example you can run on the spot.

The key works on your first call. No application review, no waiting period, and no mandatory download-tracking call to fire on every download. For comparison, as published by them: Unsplash caps unapproved applications at 50 requests/hour until it reviews your app; Pexels allows 200/hour. The Pexafy free plan starts at 1,200/hour.

Keep your API key secret. Do not expose it in client-side code or public repositories.

3. Make your first request

Pass your API key in the x-api-key header:

curl "https://api.pexafy.com/api/v1/search/photos?q=a+serene+mountain+landscape+at+sunset" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Pexafy search is semantic — it understands the meaning of a scene, so full descriptive sentences (a serene mountain landscape at sunset) return better matches than bare keywords (mountain sunset). Describe the scene, light and mood you have in mind.

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "photo_id": "019e1b61-89b8-7a1c-bd6d-e95e1fef4124",
      "source_photo_id": "7092223",
      "image_url": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_1280.jpg",
      "urls": {
        "thumb": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_150.jpg",
        "small": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_640.jpg",
        "regular": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_1280.jpg",
        "large": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_1280.jpg",
        "full": "https://cdn.example.com/photo/sunset-7092223_1280.jpg"
      },
      "width": 4080,
      "height": 2667,
      "blur_hash": "LlMsm2s9RjkC0jWUWUazI9oes:ay",
      "orientation": "landscape",
      "color_name": "silver pink",
      "color_hex": "#B9A5A4",
      "photographer_username": "janedoe",
      "photographer_full_name": "Jane Doe",
      "photographer_url": "https://example.com/users/janedoe",
      "source": "Pixabay",
      "license_type": "free",
      "source_image_url": "https://example.com/photos/sunset-over-mountains-7092223/",
      "source_description": null,
      "description": "A serene mountain landscape at sunset with a clear sky.",
      "alt_description": "Mountains bathed in warm orange and pink light at sunset.",
      "uploaded_on": "2026-05-12",
      "relevance_score": 0.8,
      "attribution": {
        "html": "<span class=\"attribution\">Photo by <a href=\"https://example.com/users/janedoe\">janedoe</a> on Pixabay</span>",
        "plain": "Photo by janedoe on Pixabay (https://example.com/photos/...)"
      }
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "b3f1c2e4-...",
    "took_ms": 71.4
  },
  "pagination": {
    "next_cursor": "eyJycyI6Ij...",
    "per_page": 20,
    "has_more": true
  },
  "error": null
}

Every response follows this shape: your results are in data, request metadata is in meta, list endpoints add a pagination object, and error is null on success (and an object { code, message } on failure). The full field list for each endpoint is documented in the API Reference.

Next steps

Learn how to page through results with cursors
Browse the Search, Photos, Facets, Collections and Usage sections to discover every endpoint
Visit the Dashboard to monitor your usage
See Pricing to choose the right plan

Getting Started

AI Assistants (MCP)

Search

Photos

Facets

Collections

Usage

1. Create an account

2. Get your API Key

3. Make your first request

Next steps

​1. Create an account

​2. Get your API Key

​3. Make your first request

​Next steps

1. Create an account

2. Get your API Key

3. Make your first request

Next steps