canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/gettyimages.com/gettyimages

# Getty Images API

The Getty Images API exposes 71 endpoints across the Getty creative and editorial library, including image and video search, AI image generation, refinement, extension, background removal, and affiliate flows. Authentication uses an API-Key header alongside OAuth 2.0 client credentials, supporting both server-to-server licensing workflows and end-user delegated access. The API also includes beta endpoints for AI file registration so customers can train and license generated content under the Getty rights framework.

## For AI agents

Search the Getty creative and editorial libraries, generate AI images, and run refinements such as background removal or extension across 71 endpoints with API-key plus OAuth authentication.

## Scope

Does not handle audio licensing, font libraries, or non-Getty third-party media - use for Getty Images and Getty-licensed AI image generation only.

## Capabilities

- Search creative and editorial photography by keyword, contributor, and date
- Generate new AI images from text prompts under Getty's rights-cleared model
- Refine, extend, or remove backgrounds on previously generated AI images
- Register external files as AI training assets through the beta file-registration flow
- Search videos and license video assets through affiliate workflows
- Retrieve specific image variations for layout testing without re-generating from scratch

## Use cases

### Editorial Newsroom Image Search

News and media teams use Getty's editorial endpoints to find rights-cleared photographs of breaking events, sports, and entertainment within minutes of capture. The search endpoints accept keywords, date ranges, and contributor filters and return licensable assets with the metadata needed for caption and credit lines, removing the manual download workflow from the editor's path.

Example prompt: Search editorial images for 'olympics 2026 opening ceremony' filtered to the last 24 hours and return the top 5 by relevance.

### AI Image Generation with Rights Clearance

Marketing and design teams use POST `/v3/ai/image-generations` to create custom imagery under the Getty NoFly rights model - content trained on licensed sources with indemnification. Generated images can be refined, extended, or have their backgrounds removed through dedicated endpoints, so the agent flows from prompt to print-ready asset without leaving Getty.

Example prompt: Generate an image with prompt 'minimalist office workspace, soft daylight', then call the background-removal endpoint on the chosen output.

### E-Commerce Creative Asset Sourcing

E-commerce teams source product-adjacent lifestyle imagery from Getty's creative library and pair it with their own product shots. The video search endpoints support comparable workflows for landing pages and ad creative. Affiliate endpoints allow cross-sell partners to share licensed media without re-licensing the asset.

Example prompt: Search creative images matching 'autumn sweater lifestyle' and return the 10 highest-resolution results.

### AI Agent Visual Content Workflows

An AI agent generating a marketing brief can call Getty to search for hero imagery, generate AI alternatives if no match exists, and refine the chosen output - all from a single integration. Through Jentic the agent uses natural-language search to find each operation and the Getty API key plus OAuth tokens stay in the encrypted vault.

Example prompt: Generate an AI image for prompt 'team celebrating product launch', then create one variation and remove the background from the variation.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/v3/affiliates/search/images` | Search images via affiliate flow |
| GET | `/v3/affiliates/search/videos` | Search videos via affiliate flow |
| POST | `/v3/ai/image-generations` | Generate a new AI image from a prompt |
| GET | `/v3/ai/image-generations/{generationRequestId}` | Retrieve the status and outputs of a generation request |
| POST | `/v3/ai/image-generations/{generationRequestId}/images/{index}/variations` | Create variations from a generated image |
| POST | `/v3/ai/image-generations/refine` | Refine a generated image |
| POST | `/v3/ai/image-generations/extend` | Extend the canvas of a generated image |
| POST | `/v3/ai/image-generations/background-removal` | Remove background from a generated image |

## Key resources

- **Search** — Search creative and editorial images and videos with filters
- **AI Image Generations** — Create, refine, extend, and remove backgrounds on generated images
- **AI Variations** — Generate variations from an existing AI image output
- **Affiliate Search** — Search images and videos via affiliate-licensed pathways
- **AI File Registrations** — Beta - register external files for AI training and rights tracking

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the Getty Images API by hand means sending an API-key header alongside an OAuth 2.0 token you exchange at authentication.gettyimages.com, and refreshing that token yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the Getty Images API from the API Directory, store the API key and OAuth client credentials once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Getty puts the generation request id in the URL path (`/v3/ai/image-generations/{generationRequestId}/...`), so a rule can pin your agent to one generation for variations, refine, and extend. You choose the operations it may call, so starting new generations or background removal is not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** Your Getty API key and OAuth client credentials are stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, with the short-lived access token minted for the call. They never enter the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'search for an editorial image' or 'generate a licensed AI image', and Jentic returns the matching Getty operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Shutterstock** — Shutterstock is a comparable stock-media catalogue with its own AI generation and search APIs
- **OpenAI Images** — OpenAI's image generation API competes with Getty's AI generation surface; Getty adds rights clearance
- **Cloudinary Upload API** — Cloudinary stores and transforms the Getty assets after licensing for use in product UIs

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Getty Images API use?

Getty supports two schemes: an API-Key header for server-side identification and OAuth 2.0 for delegated user access. Through Jentic both the API key and OAuth client credentials are stored encrypted; the agent receives a scoped access token at execution time and the raw secrets never enter its context.

### Can I generate AI images with the Getty Images API?

Yes. POST `/v3/ai/image-generations` creates a generation request from a text prompt and returns a generationRequestId that GET `/v3/ai/image-generations/{generationRequestId}` polls until the outputs are ready. Refinement, extension, and background-removal operate on the same request id.

### What are the rate limits for the Getty Images API?

Limits depend on the licensing tier - affiliate and enterprise contracts get higher quotas than developer accounts. The API returns 429 with retry-after headers when limits are hit; production integrations should implement exponential backoff.

### How do I run an editorial image search through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'getty editorial image search'. Jentic returns the matching search operation with its parameter schema; load it with your keyword and date filters and execute. The response includes asset urls and licensing metadata.

### Can I remove the background from a generated AI image?

Yes. POST `/v3/ai/image-generations/background-removal` accepts the generation request id and image index and returns a new asset with the background removed under the same Getty rights model.

### Is the Getty Images API free?

No. Getty operates a licensing model - usage is metered and billed per asset or under a contract. Affiliate, developer, and enterprise tiers exist; pricing is negotiated with Getty's commercial team.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Getty Images API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Getty operations and credentials the agent may use, so you can grant only search or variation calls while withholding others. Getty puts the generation request id in the URL path (`/v3/ai/image-generations/{generationRequestId}/...`), so a rule can pin the agent to a single generation for variations, refine, and extend. Starting a new generation with POST `/v3/ai/image-generations` or calling background-removal stays off limits unless you explicitly add those operations.