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Type: <string>
It returns the specified data field as response over the target url, mimicking the same headers and body of the original resource.

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480' URL with 'screenshot' & 'embed' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480&screenshot&embed=screenshot.url

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480" \
  -d "screenshot=true" \
  -d "embed=screenshot.url"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480', {
  screenshot: true,
  embed: "screenshot.url"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480",
    "screenshot": "true",
    "embed": "screenshot.url"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480",
  screenshot: "true",
  embed: "screenshot.url"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480",
    "screenshot" => "true",
    "embed" => "screenshot.url"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13713480")
    q.Set("screenshot", "true")
    q.Set("embed", "screenshot.url")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
You can use dot notation to reference a nested data field of the response payload.

Why use embed

The embed parameter transforms Microlink API from a JSON endpoint into a direct asset server. Instead of receiving JSON and parsing it with JavaScript, you get the actual resource (image, PDF, etc.) that can be used directly in:
  • HTML <img> tags
  • CSS background-image properties
  • Markdown image syntax
  • Open Graph meta tags

HTML integration

Embed screenshots directly in your HTML markup:
<img 
  src="https://api.microlink.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.ycombinator.com%2Fitem%3Fid%3D13713480&meta=false&screenshot=&embed=screenshot.url" 
  alt="Hacker News"
>
And it will be rendered as an external image:

CSS integration

Use embedded URLs directly in stylesheets:
.hero-background {
  background-image: url(/images/image-1.png);
  background-size: cover;
}

Markdown integration

Embed in any Markdown document:
![Website Preview](/images/image-1.png)

Common embed fields

FieldDescriptionUse case
screenshot.urlScreenshot image URLSocial cards, previews
pdf.urlGenerated PDF URLDocument downloads
image.urlPrimary image URLLink previews
logo.urlWebsite logo URLBrand displays
video.urlVideo source URLMedia embeds

Combining with other parameters

Embed works well with other parameters for customized output:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://microlink.io' URL with 'screenshot', 'device' & 'embed' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://microlink.io&screenshot&device='iPhone X'&embed=screenshot.url

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://microlink.io" \
  -d "screenshot=true" \
  -d "device=iPhone%20X" \
  -d "embed=screenshot.url"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://microlink.io', {
  screenshot: true,
  device: "iPhone X",
  embed: "screenshot.url"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://microlink.io",
    "screenshot": "true",
    "device": "iPhone X",
    "embed": "screenshot.url"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://microlink.io",
  screenshot: "true",
  device: "iPhone X",
  embed: "screenshot.url"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://microlink.io",
    "screenshot" => "true",
    "device" => "iPhone X",
    "embed" => "screenshot.url"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://microlink.io")
    q.Set("screenshot", "true")
    q.Set("device", "iPhone X")
    q.Set("embed", "screenshot.url")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Generate and embed a mobile screenshot directly.

Open Graph images

A common use case is generating dynamic Open Graph images:
<meta property="og:image" content="https://api.microlink.io/?url=https://your-site.com/blog/post&screenshot=true&meta=false&embed=screenshot.url">

Security considerations

To authenticate requests securely when using embed in client-side code, use
proxy
 and
edge-proxy
 to protect your API credentials.
Read more about that at the authentication section.