Skip to content

microlinkhq/unavatar

BranchesTags

Folders and files

NameName
Last commit message
Last commit date

Latest commit

 

History

1,029 Commits
.github
.github
 
 
bin
bin
 
 
docs
docs
 
 
src
src
 
 
test/unit
test/unit
 
 
.editorconfig
.editorconfig
 
 
.gitattributes
.gitattributes
 
 
.gitignore
.gitignore
 
 
.npmrc
.npmrc
 
 
CHANGELOG.md
CHANGELOG.md
 
 
LICENSE.md
LICENSE.md
 
 
README.md
README.md
 
 
package.json
package.json
 
 

Repository files navigation

logo

Welcome to unavatar.io, the ultimate avatar service that offers everything you need to easily retrieve user avatars:

  • Versatile: A wide range of platforms and services including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X/Twitter, Gravatar, etc., meaning you can rule all of them just querying against unavatar.

  • Speed: Designed to be fast and efficient with a 97% cache hit rate, serving 24.3 TB of data across 522M requests.

  • Optimize: All the images are not only compressed on-the-fly to reduce their size and save bandwith, but also optimized to maintain a high-quality ratio. They are ready for immediate use, enhancing the overall optimization of your website or application.

  • Integration: The service seamlessly incorporates into your current applications or websites with ease. We offer straightforward documentation and comprehensive support to ensure a quick and effortless onboarding experience.

It's proudly powered by microlink.io, the headless browser API that handles all the heavy lifting behind the scenes to ensure your avatars are always ready.

Quick start

The service is exposed in unavatar.io via provider endpoints:

Use the /:provider/:key format for all lookups. You can read more about available providers in providers.

Query parameters

TTL

Type: number or string
Default: '24h'
Range: from '1h' to '28d'

It determines the maximum quantity of time an avatar is considered fresh.

e.g., unavatar.io/github/kikobeats?ttl=1h

When you look up for a user avatar for the very first time, the service will determine it and cache it respecting TTL value.

The same resource will continue to be used until reach TTL expiration. After that, the resource will be computed, and cache as fresh, starting the cycle.

Fallback

Type: string or boolean

When it can't be possible to get a user avatar, a fallback image is returned instead, and it can be personalized to fit better with your website or application style.

You can get one from boringavatars.com:

e.g., unavatar.io/github/37t?fallback=https://source.boringavatars.com/marble/120/1337_user?colors=264653r,2a9d8f,e9c46a,f4a261,e76f51

or avatar.vercel.sh:

e.g., unavatar.io/github/37t?fallback=https://avatar.vercel.sh/37t?size=400

or a static image:

e.g., unavatar.io/github/37t?fallback=https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/66378906?v=4

or even a base64 encoded image. This allows you to return a transparent, base64 encoded 1x1 pixel GIF, which can be useful when you want to use your own background colour or image as a fallback.

e.g., unavatar.io/github/37t?fallback=data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

You can pass fallback=false to explicitly disable this behavior. In this case, a 404 Not Found HTTP status code will returned when is not possible to get the user avatar.

JSON

The service returns media content by default.

This is in this way to make easier consume the service from HTML markup.

In case you want to get a JSON payload as response, just pass json=true:

e.g., unavatar.io/github/kikobeats?json

Pricing

The service is FREE for everyone, no registration required, with a daily rate limit of 50 requests per IP address.

For preventing abusive usage, the service has associated a daily rate limit based on requests IP address.

You can verify for your rate limit state checking the following headers in the response:

  • x-rate-limit-limit: The maximum number of requests that the consumer is permitted to make per minute.
  • x-rate-limit-remaining: The number of requests remaining in the current rate limit window.
  • x-rate-limit-reset: The time at which the current rate limit window resets in UTC epoch seconds.

For higher usage, the plan is a usage-based plan billed monthly that removes rate limits and unlocks custom TTL.

Every request has a cost in tokens ($0.001 per token) based on the proxy tier needed to resolve the avatar:

Proxy tier Tokens Cost
Origin 1 $0.001
Datacenter +2 $0.003
Residential +4 $0.007

The proxy tier used is returned in the x-proxy-tier response header, and the total cost in the x-unavatar-cost header.

$ curl -I -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" https://unavatar.io/instagram/kikobeats

x-pricing-tier: pro
x-proxy-tier: origin
x-unavatar-cost: 1

To upgrade, visit unavatar.io/checkout. After completing the payment, you'll receive an API key.

Providers

Apple Music

Get artwork for any Apple Music artist, album, or song. Search by name or look up directly by numeric Apple Music ID.

e.g., unavatar.io/apple-music/daft%20punk

The endpoint supports explicit type as part of the input.

If explicit type is not provided, it searches artist and song (in that order).

Available URI format inputs:

Bluesky

Get any Bluesky user's profile picture by their handle. Domain-style handles are supported.

Available inputs:

DeviantArt

Get any DeviantArt user's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

Dribbble

Get any Dribbble designer's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

DuckDuckGo

Get the favicon or logo for any domain via DuckDuckGo's icon service. Useful as a fallback when a domain doesn't expose its favicon directly.

Available inputs:

GitHub

Get any GitHub user or organization's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

GitLab

Get any GitLab user or group's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

LinkedIn

Get any LinkedIn user's profile picture by their public profile slug.

Available inputs:

Google

Get the favicon or logo for any domain using Google's favicon service.

Available inputs:

Gravatar

Get any user's avatar by their email address via Gravatar. The most widely used global avatar service — if your users have a Gravatar set up, this is the fastest way to retrieve it.

Available inputs:

Instagram

Get any Instagram user's profile picture by their username. No authentication or API tokens needed — just pass the username.

Available inputs:

Microlink

Extract the logo or representative image from any URL. The page is rendered and the best available image is selected — useful for getting brand logos from any website.

Available inputs:

Mastodon

Get any Mastodon user's profile picture from any instance using the public account lookup API. Pass the handle as user@server so the account resolves on the correct home instance.

Available inputs:

OnlyFans

Get any OnlyFans creator's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

OpenStreetMap

Get any OpenStreetMap contributor's profile picture. Accepts either a numeric user ID or a username.

Available inputs:

Patreon

Get any Patreon creator's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

Reddit

Get any Reddit user's avatar by their username.

Available inputs:

SoundCloud

Get any SoundCloud artist's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

Spotify

Get artwork for any Spotify entity — users, artists, albums, playlists, shows, episodes, or tracks. Look up by username or Spotify ID.

e.g., unavatar.io/spotify/kikobeats

The endpoint supports explicit type as part of the input.

If explicit type is not provided, it defaults to user.

Available URI format inputs:

Substack

Get any Substack author's profile picture by their publication username.

Available inputs:

Telegram

Get any Telegram user's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

TikTok

Get any TikTok user's profile picture by their username. No authentication or API tokens needed — just pass the username.

Available inputs:

Twitch

Get any Twitch streamer's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

Vimeo

Get any Vimeo user's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

WhatsApp

Get the profile picture for a WhatsApp phone number, channel, chat, or group.

The input supports a URI format type:id. When no type is provided, it defaults to phone.

Available URI format inputs:

X/Twitter

Get any X (formerly Twitter) user's profile picture by their username.

Available inputs:

YouTube

Get any YouTube channel's thumbnail by their handle, legacy username, or channel ID.

e.g., unavatar.io/youtube/casey

The endpoint supports specific input formats.

If the input starts with UC and has 24 characters, it is treated as a channel ID. Otherwise, it is treated as a handle.

Available inputs:

Response Format

A response is returning the user avatar by default.

However, you can get a json as response payload.

When an endpoint returns JSON, the shape is predictable so you can parse it reliably in your app:

Field Type Present in Description
status string all JSON responses One of: success, fail, error.
message string all JSON responses Human-readable summary for display/logging.
data object success Response payload for successful requests.
code string fail, error Stable machine-readable error code.
more string (URL) most fail/error responses Documentation URL with troubleshooting details.
report string some error responses Support contact channel (for example mailto:).

Response Headers

These headers help you understand pricing, limits, and request diagnostics.

Header Purpose
x-pricing-tier free or pro — the plan used for this request
x-timestamp Server timestamp when request was received
x-unavatar-cost Token cost of the request (avatar routes only)
x-proxy-tier Proxy tier used: origin, datacenter, or residential
x-rate-limit-limit Maximum requests allowed per window (free tier only)
x-rate-limit-remaining Remaining requests in current window (free tier only)
x-rate-limit-reset UTC epoch seconds when window resets (free tier only)
retry-after Seconds until rate limit resets (only on 429 responses)

Response Errors

Expected errors are known operational cases returned with stable codes.

  • Client-side issues return status: "fail" (HTTP 4xx).
  • Service-side issues return status: "error" (HTTP 5xx).
  • Unknown failures return EINTERNAL (HTTP 500).
  • Use the code for programmatic handling in clients.
  • Use the message to show user-facing feedback.
  • more links to documentation for common fixes.
  • report (when present) indicates how to contact support for server errors.
HTTP Code Typical trigger
400 ESESSIONID Missing session_id in /checkout/success
400 ESESSION Checkout session not paid or not found
400 ESIGNATURE Missing stripe-signature header
400 EWEBHOOK Invalid/failed Stripe webhook processing
400 EAPIKEYVALUE Missing apiKey query parameter
400 EAPIKEYLABEL Missing label query parameter
401 EEMAIL Invalid or missing authenticated email
401 EUSERUNAUTHORIZED Missing/invalid auth for protected routes
401 EAPIKEY Invalid x-api-key
403 ETTL Custom ttl requested without pro plan
403 EPRO Provider restricted to pro plan
404 ENOTFOUND Route not found
404 EAPIKEYNOTFOUND API key not found
409 EAPIKEYEXISTS Custom API key already exists
409 EAPIKEYLABELEXISTS API key label already exists
409 EAPIKEYMIN Attempt to remove last remaining key
429 ERATE Free-tier daily rate limit exceeded
500 ECHECKOUT Stripe checkout session creation failed
500 EAPIKEYFAILED API key retrieval after checkout failed
500 EINTERNAL Unexpected internal server failure

Contact

If you have any suggestion or bug to report, please contact to ust mailing to hello@unavatar.io.

About

Get unified user avatar from social networks, including Instagram, SoundCloud, Telegram, Twitter, YouTube & more.

unavatar.io

Topics

avatar microservice avatar-service avatar-placeholder

Resources

Readme

License

MIT license
Activity
Custom properties

Stars

1.4k stars

Watchers

7 watching

Forks

79 forks
Report repository

Releases 293

v3.7.64 Latest
Mar 20, 2026
+ 292 releases

Packages

 
 
 

Contributors

Languages