Video Thumbnail API

About Video Thumbnail API

Video Thumbnail API clips a source video into a short output video, accepting either a direct file upload or a video URL. Callers specify a start time in seconds, a clip duration in seconds (capped at 20, default 2), and an optional output size in WIDTHxHEIGHT format. The service processes requests asynchronously: submitting a job returns a job_id, which is then polled via a status endpoint returning pending, successful, or failed, with a link to the resulting clip on success.

The file-upload endpoint accepts a multipart video field with a 100MB request limit; the URL-based endpoint downloads the source video from an HTTP(S) address instead. Both submission endpoints share the same polling endpoint for checking job status.

It is intended for generating short preview clips for media libraries, upload workflows, content moderation queues, or sharing a specific segment of a longer video. It is published by ApyHub as a verified listing, versioned v1.0 with three endpoints.

Key features

• Clips a source video into a short output video by start time and duration
• Accepts either a direct video file upload or a video_url to download and process
• Clip duration configurable up to a 20 second cap, defaulting to 2 seconds
• Optional output resizing via a WIDTHxHEIGHT size parameter with even integers
• Asynchronous job processing with a job_id returned immediately for status polling
• Poll endpoint reports pending, successful, or failed status with a result URL on success

Frequently asked questions