--- title: 'TwicPics API' menuTitle: 'API' description: 'Learn to write requests to the TwicPics media transformation API.' category: 'essentials' position: 5 --- # TwicPics API TwicPics is powered by a **URL-based API** that can transform and manipulate your visual assets. When using [TwicPics Components](/docs/essentials/components) or [TwicPics Native](/docs/essentials/native), the API request is generated using your browser context. But in some cases, you might want to write the API requests yourself. TwicPics API offers a broad array of [transformations](/docs/reference/transformations#list-of-transformations) to manipulate your media in any way you desire. There are two kinds of transformations: ones that actually modify the image (or video) and others that change the context of further transformations down the manipulation chain. ## Syntax All transformations follow the same structure: `=` where: - `` is the name of the transformation - `` is an expression specifying the parameters for the transformation For instance: - `resize=400` will resize the image to 400 pixels in width while conserving the source image aspect ratio - `resize=640x480` will resize the image to exactly 640 pixels in width per 480 pixels in height, potentially altering its aspect ratio ## Fundamentals We refer to a list of one or several transformations as **a manipulation**. Transformations can be chained together using the character `/`. There is no limit to the number of transformations you can chain, save for the limit in size of a URL as enforced by your browser. No matter how complex the manipulation, TwicPics will optimize it for speed and accuracy on the fly. ### Focus point Transformations behave differently depending on which point in the image is the main focus. TwicPics will do its best to keep this _focus point_ as central as possible within the transformed image. By default, the _focus point_ is in the middle of the image, but you can change its coordinates using the [focus](/docs/reference/transformations#focus) transformation. ### Chaining transformations When adding a transformation to the chain, the parameters given are interpreted as if previous transformations had already been performed (ie. as if the source image was the result of the previous transformations). For instance: - `resize=340/resize=50p` will result in an image that is 170 pixel-wide - `resize=50p/focus=20x10` will put the _focus point_ at coordinates `40x20` of the source image Since TwicPics will optimize the manipulation, be aware that a transformation may shadow what came before it. For instance, `resize=50p/resize=340` will result in an image that is 340 pixel-wide: TwicPics will simply ignore the first _resize_. ## URL format To perform an API call to TwicPics, you need to provide: - the image or video to manipulate - the [list of transformations](/docs/reference/transformations#fundamentals) to be applied The URL for an API request has the following format: ```curl https:///?twic=v1/ ``` Where: - `https:///` is the image path - `?twic=v1/` is a list of one or more [transformations](/docs/reference/transformations#list-of-transformations) Transformations are always applied in order. See Chaining transformations. For instance, `https:///myImage.png?twic=v1/resize=450` will resize `http://mydomain.com/myimage.png` to a width of 450 pixels while preserving its aspect ratio. If you wish to pass query parameters to the server delivering the source image, just add it to the query string before or after the manipulation using the usual query string separator `&`. Going back to the previous example, you could use one of these two options: ```curl https:///myImage.png?twic=v1/resize=450¶m=value https:///myImage.png?param=value&twic=v1/resize=450 ```