Host And Serve Images

---
name: host-and-serve-images
description: "Upload images to img402.dev and get a public URL. Free tier: 1MB max, 7-day retention, no auth. Use when the agent needs a hosted image URL — for sharing in messages, embedding in documents, posting to social platforms, or any context that requires a public link to an image file."
category: "AI & Agents"
author: community
version: "1.0.0"
icon: bot
---

# Image Hosting — img402

Upload an image to img402.dev and get a public URL. No account, no API key, no config.

## Quick reference

```bash
# Upload (multipart)
curl -s -X POST https://img402.dev/api/free -F image=@/path/to/image.png

# Response
# {"url":"https://i.img402.dev/aBcDeFgHiJ.png","id":"aBcDeFgHiJ","contentType":"image/png","sizeBytes":182400,"expiresAt":"2026-02-17T..."}
```

## Workflow

1. **Get image**: Use an existing file, or generate/download one.
2. **Check size**: Must be under 1MB. If larger, resize:
   ```bash
   sips -Z 1600 /path/to/image.png    # macOS — scale longest edge to 1200px
   convert /path/to/image.png -resize 1600x1600 /path/to/image.png  # ImageMagick
   ```
3. **Upload**:
   ```bash
   curl -s -X POST https://img402.dev/api/free -F image=@/path/to/image.png
   ```
4. **Use the URL**: The `url` field in the response is a public CDN link. Embed it wherever needed.

## Constraints

- **Max size**: 1MB
- **Retention**: 7 days
- **Formats**: PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP
- **Rate limit**: 1,000 free uploads/day (global)
- **No auth required**

## Paid tier

For images that need to persist longer (1 year, 5MB max), use the paid endpoint at $0.01 USDC via x402:

```bash
# Step 1: Get an upload token (requires x402 payment)
POST https://img402.dev/api/upload/token
# → {"token": "a1b2c3...", "expiresAt": "..."}

# Step 2: Upload with the token
curl -s -X POST https://img402.dev/api/upload \
  -H "X-Upload-Token: a1b2c3..." \
  -F image=@/path/to/image.png
```

See https://img402.dev/blog/paying-x402-apis for details on x402 payment.