Video Thumbnail
Extract a representative thumbnail frame from a remote video.
POST
1 credit
/v1/convert/video-thumbnail
curl -X POST "https://convert.toolkitapi.io/v1/convert/video-thumbnail" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{"url": "https://toolkitapi.io/clip.mp4", "format": "jpeg"}'
import httpx
resp = httpx.post(
"https://convert.toolkitapi.io/v1/convert/video-thumbnail",
json={"url": "https://toolkitapi.io/clip.mp4", "format": "jpeg"},
)
print(resp.json())
const resp = await fetch("https://convert.toolkitapi.io/v1/convert/video-thumbnail", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({"url": "https://toolkitapi.io/clip.mp4", "format": "jpeg"}),
});
const data = await resp.json();
console.log(data);
# See curl example
Response
200 OK
{
"format": "jpeg",
"file_url": "https://convert.toolkitapi.io/v1/convert/download/thumb-abc123.jpg"
}
Try It Live
Live Demo
Response
Description
Extract a representative thumbnail frame from a remote video.
How to Use
1
1. POST a JSON body with `url` pointing to the source video.
2
2. Optionally set `format` to `png` or `jpeg` (default: `jpeg`).
3
3. Fetch the resulting image from `file_url`.
About This Tool
Extracts a single representative frame from a remote video and returns it as a PNG or JPEG image. Useful for generating poster images, list thumbnails, and social preview cards without running ffmpeg yourself.
The extraction point is chosen automatically (a few seconds in, to skip black frames at the start). The result is uploaded to object storage and returned as a short-lived presigned URL.
Why Use This Tool
- Poster frames — Show a thumbnail before a video plays in your player
- Social previews — Generate Open Graph preview images for video pages
- Upload UIs — Preview user-submitted videos immediately after upload
- Archive indexing — Build visual indexes over large video libraries
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I choose which frame to extract?
Not currently — the service picks an early non-black frame automatically. Custom timestamps require the advanced media job API.
What's the image resolution?
The frame is returned at the video's native resolution.
Are audio-only files supported?
No — video thumbnail requires a file with a video stream.
Start using Video Thumbnail now
Get your free API key and make your first request in under a minute.