Conversion API

Programmatic image conversion for Pro subscribers. Convert between AVIF, JPG, PNG, and WebP with a single HTTP request.

The iLoveAVIF API gives you server-side image conversion via a simple REST endpoint. Send a file, get a converted file back. Requires a Pro subscription ($4.99/mo) and an API key from your dashboard.

Quick Start

curl -X POST https://iloveavif.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@photo.jpg" \
  -F "format=avif" \
  -F "quality=75" \
  --output photo.avif

Authentication

All API requests require an API key sent via the X-API-Key header. Keys use the format ilav_ followed by 40 hex characters (45 characters total).

Create and manage API keys in your dashboard. You can have up to 5 active keys. Keys are shown once at creation — only the SHA-256 hash is stored on our servers.

Endpoint: POST /api/v1/convert

Send a multipart/form-data request with the image file and conversion parameters. The response is the converted image as raw binary data.

Request Fields

Response Headers

Supported Formats

Response

Success (200)

The response body is the raw converted image binary. Use the Content-Type header to determine the output format and X-Savings to check compression efficiency.

Error (JSON)

All errors return JSON with an error field:

{
  "error": "Daily rate limit exceeded",
  "limit": 1000,
  "used": 1000,
  "resets": "2026-02-26T00:00:00Z"
}

Error Codes

Rate Limits

Pro subscribers can make up to 1,000 API requests per day (UTC). The limit is enforced atomically — concurrent requests cannot exceed the limit. When the limit is reached, the API returns a 429 response with limit, used, and resets fields.

CORS

The conversion endpoint includes CORS headers for browser-based integrations:

Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Access-Control-Allow-Methods: POST, OPTIONS
Access-Control-Allow-Headers: X-API-Key, Content-Type
Access-Control-Max-Age: 86400

An OPTIONS preflight handler returns these headers with a 204 response. This means you can call the API directly from browser JavaScript.

Code Examples

curl

curl -X POST https://iloveavif.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "X-API-Key: ilav_YOUR_KEY_HERE" \
  -F "file=@input.jpg" \
  -F "format=avif" \
  -F "quality=60" \
  --output output.avif

JavaScript (fetch)

const form = new FormData();
form.append("file", fileInput.files[0]);
form.append("format", "webp");
form.append("quality", "80");

const res = await fetch("https://iloveavif.com/api/v1/convert", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "X-API-Key": "ilav_YOUR_KEY_HERE" },
  body: form,
});

const blob = await res.blob();
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://iloveavif.com/api/v1/convert",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "ilav_YOUR_KEY_HERE"},
    files={"file": open("input.png", "rb")},
    data={"format": "avif", "quality": "75"},
)

with open("output.avif", "wb") as f:
    f.write(res.content)

print(f"Savings: {res.headers['X-Savings']}")

Limitations

• Animated images — Animated GIF/WebP/AVIF files are converted as a static image (first frame only).
• Metadata stripping — EXIF data, ICC color profiles, and other metadata are removed during conversion. Output images are clean sRGB.
• CMYK JPEGs — CMYK images are automatically converted to RGB, but color accuracy may vary.
• Max file size — 10MB per request.
• Max dimensions — 10 megapixels (width × height).