canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/google-tenor/tenor

# Google Tenor GIF API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Tenor GIF API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The Tenor GIF API v2 provides 7 endpoints for searching, discovering, and sharing GIFs and stickers from Google's Tenor library, including search, featured, categories, autocomplete, search suggestions, trending terms, and share registration. The API key is sent as a 'key' query parameter and the base URL is tenor.googleapis.com/v2, making it suitable for chat apps, in-product GIF pickers, and AI agents that want to express tone with media.

## For AI agents

Search and discover GIFs and stickers from Tenor, get suggestions and trending terms, and register shares - through 7 endpoints under tenor.googleapis.com/v2.

## Scope

Does not handle GIF upload, image-to-GIF conversion, or video transcoding - use for searching, browsing, suggesting, and registering shares of existing Tenor GIFs and stickers only.

## Capabilities

- Search Tenor for GIFs and stickers matching a query
- Fetch the featured GIF set Tenor surfaces by default
- List categories of GIFs to power a browse UI
- Autocomplete a partial query for in-product GIF pickers
- Get search suggestions to broaden a user's intent
- Read trending search terms for cultural moment surfacing
- Register that a specific GIF was shared so it ranks better in search

## Use cases

### In-App GIF Picker

Chat and collaboration apps embed Tenor's GIF library by calling /search for the user's query, /autocomplete as they type, and /featured when the picker first opens. The result is a familiar picker experience without hosting media or moderating the GIF corpus.

Example prompt: On a GIF picker open, call /featured and render the result; on each keystroke, call /autocomplete with the current query string.

### AI Chatbot Tone with GIFs

AI chatbots that want to add tone and personality to replies use Tenor to fetch a relevant GIF. /search returns ranked results for a phrase like 'thinking face' or 'celebration', and /registershare lifts the GIF in future searches by signalling that it was actually used.

Example prompt: After a positive sentiment response, search Tenor for 'high five', pick the top result, and register a share event.

### Cultural Moment Dashboards

Marketing teams pull /trending_terms and /categories to spot rising cultural moments and align campaign creative. Combined with /search the data set lets a team move from a trending term to a candidate set of GIFs in one workflow.

Example prompt: Pull /trending_terms every 6 hours and post the top 5 terms with a sample GIF from /search for each into a marketing channel.

### Agent Media Enrichment via Jentic

An AI agent that already produces text replies adds GIFs as a media-enrichment step through Jentic. The agent finds the Tenor /search operation by intent, loads the schema, and executes - Jentic supplies the API key as the 'key' query parameter so the agent only manages the user-facing text query.

Example prompt: When the user reacts positively, search Tenor for 'cheers' and return the top GIF URL alongside the text reply.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/search` | Search GIFs |
| GET | `/featured` | Get featured GIFs |
| GET | `/categories` | List GIF categories |
| GET | `/autocomplete` | Autocomplete a query |
| GET | `/search_suggestions` | Get search suggestions |
| GET | `/trending_terms` | Get trending search terms |
| GET | `/registershare` | Register a GIF share |

## Key resources

- **Search** — Search Tenor for GIFs and stickers
- **Featured** — Default featured GIF set
- **Categories** — Browse-friendly GIF categories
- **Autocomplete** — Autocomplete partial queries
- **Search Suggestions** — Suggested searches for a query
- **Trending Terms** — Currently trending search terms
- **Register Share** — Record that a GIF was shared

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring Tenor by hand means appending your API key as the 'key' query parameter on every call to tenor.googleapis.com and mapping the search, featured, and suggestion endpoints yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the Tenor GIF API from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Tenor works through top-level search and browse endpoints rather than a resource id in the URL path, so scope the agent to the operations it needs, such as searching GIFs or fetching autocomplete suggestions. You choose the operations it may call, so ones like registering a share are not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** Your Tenor API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and appended as the 'key' query parameter at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'search for a gif' or 'get trending gif terms', and Jentic returns the matching Tenor operation with its parameter schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without reading the reference.

## Related APIs

- **Giphy** — Largest competing GIF library with similar search and trending endpoints.
- **Pexels** — Free photo and video library that complements GIFs with static and full-motion media.
- **Slack** — Common destination for the GIFs an agent fetches via Tenor.

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for Tenor GIF API?

Tenor does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call Tenor GIF API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### What authentication does the Tenor GIF API use?

Tenor uses an apiKey scheme passed as the 'key' query parameter on each request. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted in the vault and appended at execution time, so the raw key never enters the agent's context or appears in logs.

### Can I autocomplete GIF queries with Tenor?

Yes. GET /autocomplete returns suggested completions for a partial query, which is what GIF pickers call on each keystroke. Pair with GET /search_suggestions to broaden the result set when the user pauses typing.

### What are the rate limits for the Tenor GIF API?

Tenor applies per-API-key rate limits documented at developers.google.com/tenor. The OpenAPI spec does not encode exact numbers, so check the Tenor developer console before fanning out picker requests across many concurrent users.

### How do I search GIFs through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'tenor gif search', load the schema for GET /search, and execute with your query and any locale parameters. Jentic injects the 'key' query parameter at execution so the agent only handles the text query.

### Does registershare actually upload a new GIF?

No. GET /registershare records that an existing Tenor GIF was shared so it ranks higher in future search results. To upload original media, use Google's separate creator tools - the public Tenor v2 API does not support GIF upload.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Tenor GIF API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Tenor operations and credentials the agent may use. The Tenor GIF API works through top-level search and browse endpoints rather than a resource id in the path, so you can scope the agent to only the operations it needs, such as GET /search, GET /autocomplete, or GET /trending_terms, while leaving out GET /registershare unless you add it. Your Tenor API key is held by your own instance and attached as the 'key' query parameter at execution, so the agent never sees it.
