Files

Upload, list, and retrieve files on IPFS.

Upload File

POST /upload/new

Upload any file to IPFS. The file is pinned and a permanent CID is returned.

Request body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
content	string | object	Yes	JSON object/array, or base64-encoded file data (images, PDFs, HTML, or any file type).
description	string	No	Short description of the uploaded content.
metadata	object	No	Custom key-value pairs to attach to the file. Max 10 keys. Keys must be alphanumeric or underscore, 1-64 characters. Values must be strings, max 256 characters each. Total metadata size must not exceed 4 KB.

Example request

curl -X POST https://api.ipfs.ninja/upload/new \
  -H "X-Api-Key: bws_your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": { "name": "example", "value": 42 },
    "description": "Test upload",
    "metadata": {
      "project": "my-app",
      "environment": "production"
    }
  }'

Uploading an image (base64)

const fs = require("fs");
const image = fs.readFileSync("photo.png").toString("base64");

const response = await fetch("https://api.ipfs.ninja/upload/new", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-Api-Key": "bws_your_api_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    content: image,
    description: "Profile photo"
  })
});

Response 200 OK

{
  "cid": "QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
  "sizeMB": 0.042,
  "uris": {
    "ipfs": "ipfs://QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
    "url": "https://ipfs.ninja/ipfs/QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN"
  }
}

List Files

GET /upload/list

Retrieve a list of your uploaded IPFS files within a time range.

Query parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
from	number	Yes	Start of time range, Unix timestamp in milliseconds.
to	number	Yes	End of time range, Unix timestamp in milliseconds.

Example request

curl "https://api.ipfs.ninja/upload/list?from=1704067200000&to=1735689600000" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: bws_your_api_key_here"

Response 200 OK

[
  {
    "cid": "QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
    "fileName": "Test upload",
    "fileType": "json",
    "sizeMB": 0.001,
    "createdAt": 1711036800000,
    "metadata": {
      "project": "my-app",
      "environment": "production"
    },
    "uris": {
      "ipfs": "ipfs://QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
      "url": "https://ipfs.ninja/ipfs/QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN"
    }
  }
]

Get File

GET /file/:cid

Retrieve metadata for a specific uploaded file by its CID.

Path parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
cid	string	Yes	The IPFS content identifier of the file.

Example request

curl https://api.ipfs.ninja/file/QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN \
  -H "X-Api-Key: bws_your_api_key_here"

Response 200 OK

{
  "cid": "QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
  "fileName": "Test upload",
  "fileType": "json",
  "sizeMB": 0.001,
  "createdAt": 1711036800000,
  "uris": {
    "ipfs": "ipfs://QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN",
    "url": "https://ipfs.ninja/ipfs/QmXmCX9S6ANVjYJh3rJmXjqgYtYv7WZLUDL2XCwdPrvUwN"
  }
}