Images API
Warning
Deprecation Notice
The Marketing version 202304 (Marketing April 2023) and below has been sunset and the unversioned APIs are going to be sunset soon. We recommend that you migrate to the versioned APIs as well as migrate to the new Content and Community Management APIs to avoid disruptions. See the Migration page for more details.
If you haven’t yet migrated and have questions, submit a request on the LinkedIn Developer Support Portal.
Image API makes it easier for you to manage image assets and create image ads.
Note
The Images API replaces the Assets API. See Migration Guide for more details.
Schema
Note
All APIs require the request headers LinkedIn-Version: {Version in YYYYMM format}
and X-Restli-Protocol-Version: 2.0.0. Refer to the Protocol Versions page to learn more about Rest.li Protocol 2.0.0.
| Field Name | Type | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| aspectRatioHeight | float | The aspect ratio height of the media. For a 16:9 media, this will be 9. There might be decimal values for high density displays for a greater degree of precision. aspectRatioHeight and aspectRatioWidth would either both be present or both be null. Empty if the media asset isn't available, failed processing, etc. | No |
| aspectRatioWidth | float | The aspect ratio width of the media. For a 16:9 media, this will be 16. There might be decimal values for high density displays for a greater degree of precision. aspectRatioHeight and aspectRatioWidth would either both be present or both be null. Empty if the media asset isn't available, failed processing, etc. | No |
| downloadUrl | URL | Public URL to download/view the media asset. Is empty if the media asset isn't available, failed processing, etc. | No |
| downloadUrlExpiresAt | Time | Milliseconds since the epoch (1970-01-01 00:00 UTC) when the identifier expires. If not present, it might never expire but there's no guarantee. Unless the use case has a security+legal exception, all URLs have an expiration time. If they don't, they can still expire because URLs are signed, and the sign keys might be rotated. If a non expiring URL was signed with a key that gets invalidated, it essentially expires. | No |
| id | Imageurn | Unique URN for an Image. Synthetic key that should not be allowed during the creation of an Image. The field is read only and derived to be populated internally. | Yes |
| mediaLibraryMetadata | MediaLibraryMetadata | Metadata for assets stored in the media library. Metadata is tied to a specific account which must be specified in queries / requests. | No |
| mediaLibraryMetadata.associatedAccount | URN | The associated account that owns the media library (e.g. urn:li:sponsoredAccount:123). The media library specific metadata fields will be filled with the data from this account's library. | Yes |
| mediaLibraryMetadata.assetName | String | The name of the asset in the associatedAccount's library. | Yes |
| mediaLibraryMetadata.mediaLibraryStatus | MediaLibraryStatus | Status of the asset's entry in the media library. Defaults to "ACTIVE" on creation. |
No |
| owner | URN | The URN of the entity that owns this asset. It can be a person(urn:li:person:123), organization(urn:li:organization:123) or sponsoredAccount(urn:li:sponsoredAccount:123) URN | Yes |
| status | MediaStatus | PROCESSING Asset is processing to generate missing artifacts. PROCESSING_FAILED - Processing failed due to client error such as file size too large, unsupported file format, internal error (e.g., performance issue, database error, network failure), or other issue. AVAILABLE - All of the recipe's required artifacts are ready. The asset is available to be served. WAITING_UPLOAD Waiting for client to upload source file or uploading process to be completed. | No |
| altText | String | The alternate text of this thumbnail. Used for screen reader accessibility. Maximum length is 4086 characters, recommended length is less than 120 characters. | No |
| initializeUploadRequest.mediaLibraryMetadata | MediaLibraryMetadata | Metadata for assets stored in the media library. Metadata is tied to a specific account which must be specified in queries / requests. When this field is present, the uploaded asset will also be registered in the account's media library. | No |
| initializeUploadRequest.owner | URN | URN of the entity that owns this asset. Can be a person(urn:li:person:123), or organization(urn:li:organization:123) URN | Yes |
The Images API supports the following image pixel count and formats:
- Images with less than 36152320 pixels
- JPG, GIF, and PNG formats
- GIF format supports up to 250 frames
Permissions
The following permission checks are performed when uploading an image:
- For images with company URN owners, the caller must have ADMIN or DSC permissions for the company page.
- For images with SponsoredContentAccount URN owners, all GET's and UPDATE's are permitted.
- For images with member URN owners, the caller must match the image owner.
The permissions required for rest/images access are: rw_ads, w_member_social, w_organization_social, and w_power_creators. However, w_member_social permission are write-only and tokens with only w_member_social permissions would be unable to perform a GET call for rest/images.
Note
This only applies to versioned gateway calls. w_member_social permissions are sufficient to make legacy GET calls to rest/images.
Invalid permissions results in the following API response:
{
"message": "Accessing this image resource is forbidden. Please check your permissions for this resource",
"status": 403
}
Managing Image asset
Uploading an Image
Initialize Image Upload
Use the initializeUpload action to register the upload. When you initialize, you declare the upcoming upload. Use the upload URL to upload the image.
Note
SYNCHRONOUS_UPLOAD is not supported in Images API.
Sample Request
POST https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?action=initializeUpload
{
"initializeUploadRequest": {
"owner": "urn:li:organization:5583111"
}
}
Sample Response
{
"value": {
"uploadUrlExpiresAt": 1650567510704,
"uploadUrl": "https://www.linkedin.com/dms-uploads/C4E10AQFoyyAjHPMQuQ/uploaded-image/0?ca=vector_ads&cn=uploads&sync=0&v=beta&ut=08zHQjMjAOLqc1",
"image": "urn:li:image:C4E10AQFoyyAjHPMQuQ"
}
}
Sample Request
Image with MediaLibraryMetadata for media library registration
Note
mediaLibraryMetadata.mediaLibraryStatus defaults to ACTIVE on creation.
POST 'https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?action=initializeUpload'
{ "initializeUploadRequest": {
"owner": "urn:li:organization:2414183",
"mediaLibraryMetadata": {
"associatedAccount": "urn:li:sponsoredAccount:123456789",
"assetName": "My media library asset"
}
}
}
Sample Response
A successful response returns a 200 OK status code with the uploadUrl to upload the image.
{
"value": {
"uploadUrlExpiresAt": 1650567510704,
"uploadUrl": "https://www.linkedin.com/dms-uploads/C4E10AQFoyyAjHPMQuQ/uploaded-image/0?ca=vector_ads&cn=uploads&sync=0&v=beta&ut=08zHQjMjAOLqc1",
"image": "urn:li:image:C4E10AQFoyyAjHPMQuQ"
}
}
Upload the Image
Using the uploadUrl returned from the previous step, upload the image. For more information, see Upload the Image.
Note
Images uploaded with the Images API can now be reused across different image and image ad formats. For example, an image can be used in a single image ad, a carousel ad and a spotlight ad and does not require separate image uploads.
GET a single image
Sample Response
{
"owner": "urn:li:organization:5583111",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1676584800000,
"downloadUrl": "https://media.licdn-ei.com/dms/image/C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA/image-shrink_1280/0/1675963270302/imagecreatedfirst?e=1676584800&v=beta&t=zuE2bQG5S-pY2R1v-FNJu15Pbs2K_Z02Q4naeM2kh00",
"id": "urn:li:image:C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1679083200000,
"status": "AVAILABLE"
}
Batch get images
GET https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?ids=List(urn%3Ali%3Aimage%3AC4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA,urn%3Ali%3Aimage%3AC4E10AQFgOYeVoHFeBw)
Sample Response
{
"results": {
"urn:li:image:C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA": {
"owner": "urn:li:organization:5583111",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1676584800000,
"downloadUrl": "https://media.licdn-ei.com/dms/image/C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA/image-shrink_1280/0/1675963270302/imagecreatedfirst?e=1676584800&v=beta&t=zuE2bQG5S-pY2R1v-FNJu15Pbs2K_Z02Q4naeM2kh00",
"id": "urn:li:image:C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1679083200000,
"status": "AVAILABLE"
},
"urn:li:image:C4E10AQFgOYeVoHFeBw":
{
"owner": "urn:li:organization:5583111",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1676584800000,
"downloadUrl": "https://media.licdn-ei.com/dms/image/C4E10AQFgOYeVoHFeBw/image-shrink_1280/0/1675963270302/imagecreatedfirst?e=1676584800&v=beta&t=zuE2bQG5S-pY2R1v-FNJu15Pbs2K_Z02Q4naeM2kh00",
"id": "urn:li:image:C4E10AQFgOYeVoHFeBw",
"status": "WAITING_UPLOAD"
}
},
"statuses":
{
"urn:li:image:C4E10AQFn10iWtKexVA": 200,
"urn:li:image:C4E10AQFgOYeVoHFeBw": 200
},
"errors":
{}
}
Partial Update on an Image
Only supports updates on the media library metadata and only for the specified account. As such, the associatedAccount parameter is mandatory. Silently ignores any other patch data.
When updating the mediaLibraryMetadata.mediaLibraryStatus field, an asset can go from ACTIVE to ARCHIVED only if it is not currently in processing (i.e. is done processing or processing failed). An asset can only go from ARCHIVED to ACTIVE if it succeeded processing. Updating the mediaLibraryMetadata.mediaLibraryStatus field will not update the last modified time of the asset.
POST https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images/urn%3Ali%3Aimage%3AC5510AQEB1AGuxQ1NEA?associatedAccount=urn%3Ali%3AsponsoredAccount%3A123456789
{
"patch":{
"mediaLibraryMetadata":{
"$set":{
"assetName":"updated name",
"mediaLibraryStatus":"ARCHIVED"
}
}
}
}
Sample Response
A successful response returns a 204 status code.
Find by associated account
Get the Images associated with the specified account, by descending order of last modified time.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Possible Values |
|---|---|---|
| q | Yes | Must be associatedAccount |
| mediaLibraryStatus | No | Optional filter on the media library status. When omitted, all images will be returned. |
| start | No | The index at which the returned elements should begin. Defaults to 0. |
| count | No | The number of elements to return, up to 1000. Defaults to 10. |
Sample Request
GET https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?start=0&count=1&associatedAccount=urn%3Ali%3AsponsoredAccount%3A123456789&mediaLibraryStatus=(value:ACTIVE)&q=associatedAccount \
Sample Response
{
"elements": [
{
"owner": "urn:li:company:5791012",
"downloadUrlExpiresAt": 1676584800000,
"downloadUrl": "https://media.licdn-ei.com/dms/image/C5510AQGbefUcYjBtaA/image-shrink_1280/0/1675963270302/imagecreatedfirst?e=1676584800&v=beta&t=zuE2bQG5S-pY2R1v-FNJu15Pbs2K_Z02Q4naeM2kh00",
"id": "urn:li:image:C5510AQGbefUcYjBtaA",
"mediaLibraryMetadata": {
"associatedAccount": "urn:li:sponsoredAccount:521498108",
"mediaLibraryStatus": "ACTIVE",
"assetName": "image created first"
},
"status": "AVAILABLE"
}
],
"paging": {
"count": 1,
"start": 0,
"links": [
{
"rel": "next",
"type": "application/json",
"href": "https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?associatedAccount=urn%3Ali%3AsponsoredAccount%3A521498108&q=associatedAccount&start=1&count=1"
}
]
}
}
Permissions
The following permission checks are performed when retrieving or uploading an image
- For images with company URN owners, the caller needs to have have ADMIN or DSC permissions for the company page.
- For images with SponsoredContentAccount URN owners, all the GET and UPDATE methods are permitted.
- For images with member URN owners, the caller needs to match the image owner.
Invalid permissions results in the following API response:
{
"message": "Accessing this image resource is forbidden. Please check your permissions for this resource",
"status": 403
}
Managing Image content
Create Image content
POST https://api.linkedin.com/rest/posts
{
"author": "urn:li:organization:5515715",
"commentary": "test strings!",
"visibility": "PUBLIC",
"distribution": {
"feedDistribution": "MAIN_FEED",
"targetEntities": [],
"thirdPartyDistributionChannels": []
},
"content": {
"media": {
"altText": "testing for alt tags",
"id": "urn:li:image:C5610AQFj6TdYowm17w"
}
},
"lifecycleState": "PUBLISHED",
"isReshareDisabledByAuthor": false
}
Sample Response
A successful response returns a 201 Created HTTP status code and the ID in the x-linkedin-id response header.
Get Image content
You can retrieve image content associated with a Post performing GET call to the Posts API on a post that was created with image content. Example post ID: urn:li:share:6876614985750310912
Sample Response
{
"lifecycleState": "PUBLISHED",
"publishedBy": "urn:li:member:231303601",
"lastModifiedAt": 1639512853791,
"visibility": "PUBLIC",
"publishedAt": 1639512774391,
"author": "urn:li:company:5515715",
"lastModifiedBy": "urn:li:csUser:2",
"distribution": {
"feedDistribution": "MAIN_FEED",
"thirdPartyDistributionChannels": []
},
"content": {
"media": {
"taggedEntities": [],
"id": "urn:li:image:C5F22AQEYStbwuCM12w"
}
},
"lifecycleStateInfo": {
"isEditedByAuthor": false
},
"isReshareDisabledByAuthor": false,
"createdAt": 1639512774185,
"createdBy": "urn:li:member:231303601",
"id": "urn:li:share:6876614985750310912",
"commentary": "test strings"
}
Batch Get Image Content
You can fetch multiple posts with image content by providing multiple post IDs.
Sample Response
{
"results": {
"urn:li:share:6927408039457087488": {
"isReshareDisabledByAuthor": false,
"createdAt": 1651622781932,
"lifecycleState": "PUBLISHED",
"lastModifiedAt": 1651622781932,
"visibility": "PUBLIC",
"publishedAt": 1651622781932,
"author": "urn:li:organization:5515715",
"id": "urn:li:share:6927408039457087488",
"distribution": {
"feedDistribution": "MAIN_FEED",
"thirdPartyDistributionChannels": []
},
"content": {
"media": {
"id": "urn:li:image:C5F22AQFIMShx0jJbQw"
}
},
"commentary": "test strings",
"lifecycleStateInfo": {
"isEditedByAuthor": false
}
},
"urn:li:share:6927408326569783296": {
"isReshareDisabledByAuthor": false,
"createdAt": 1651622850346,
"lifecycleState": "PUBLISHED",
"lastModifiedAt": 1651622850346,
"visibility": "PUBLIC",
"publishedAt": 1651622850346,
"author": "urn:li:organization:5515715",
"id": "urn:li:share:6927408326569783296",
"distribution": {
"feedDistribution": "MAIN_FEED",
"thirdPartyDistributionChannels": []
},
"content": {
"media": {
"id": "urn:li:image:C5F22AQFIMShx0jJbQw"
}
},
"commentary": "test strings1",
"lifecycleStateInfo": {
"isEditedByAuthor": false
}
}
},
"statuses": {
"urn:li:share:6927408039457087488": 200,
"urn:li:share:6927408326569783296": 200
},
"errors": {}
}
Error Messages
| Code HTTP | Status Code | Error Message Template |
|---|---|---|
| INVALID_IMAGE_ID | 400 | This Image ID is invalid |
| INVALID_URN_ID | 400 | This Urn ID is invalid |
| INVALID_URN_TYPE | 400 | {field} value {value} must be a {urnType} URN |
| NOT_FOUND | 400 | Could not find entity |
| UPDATING_ASSET_FAILED | 400 | Failed to update asset {urn} for the intended usecase. Please recreate the asset and try again. |
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