# Openverse — card for AI agents

Search engine and API for openly licensed and public-domain images and audio.

Category: Open and public-domain media · maker WordPress (Openverse project) · checked 2026-10-23

## Price
- Price: Free
- Free tier: Free.

## License
Per item (CC licenses and public domain) — https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html

- commercial: **conditions** (Commercial use with conditions)
  > You are responsible for independently verifying whether you have the right to use the content and data and what terms and conditions apply to your use.
  (https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)
- attribution: **varies** (Credit depends on the item)
  > including by providing proper attribution to CC-licensed works
  (https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)
- in app: **conditions** (Ship inside your app with conditions)
  > You must respect and comply with the terms and conditions applicable to the content and metadata accessible through Openverse, including by providing proper attribution to CC-licensed works
  (https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)
- youtube: **conditions** (Monetized YouTube with conditions)
  > You are responsible for independently verifying whether you have the right to use the content and data and what terms and conditions apply to your use.
  (https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)
- bots: **banned**
  > You must not scrape the content in the Openverse catalog;
  (https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html)

## Rules to follow
- Filter with license_type=commercial,modification to exclude NC and ND works.
- Verify each item's license yourself; Openverse does not verify licensing status.
- Credit creators as each item's CC license requires.
- Do not scrape the catalog or use multiple machines to evade rate limits.

## How an agent gets files
- Openverse API at https://api.openverse.org/v1/ (images and audio search). Anonymous calls work; authenticating with a registered OAuth client gives the standard rate limit, 'enhanced' is granted selectively. (sign-in: none)
- Not allowed: Verify each item's license yourself; Openverse does not check licensing status
- Not allowed: Do not scrape the catalog
- Not allowed: Do not use multiple machines to get around rate limits
- Not allowed: Openverse reserves the right to charge fees for commercial uses

Note on bots: the terms ban bots, scrapers and bulk downloading from the site. Do not script downloads from it; ask the user to download the files (or use the official API, if there is one) and add them to the project.

## How to connect
- Public API
- API docs: https://api.openverse.org/v1/
- API limits: Anonymous < registered (OAuth client_credentials) < 'Enhanced' (selectively granted); no numbers published; /v1/rate_limit/ shows usage.
- Website: https://openverse.org

## Notes
ShareAlike (BY-SA) items may force the derived work onto the same license. Search returns only the top results (~10,000) and is not meant for bulk download. No video media type.

## Lines to paste into your prompt or AGENTS.md

```
- Openverse (Open and public-domain media). Search engine and API for openly licensed and public-domain images and audio. Price: free; commercial use with conditions; credit depends on the item; ship inside your app with conditions; no bots or bulk downloading (get files by hand or through the official API, if there is one).
  Connect: API docs https://api.openverse.org/v1/. Limits: Anonymous < registered (OAuth client_credentials) < 'Enhanced' (selectively granted); no numbers published; /v1/rate_limit/ shows usage.
  Get files: Openverse API at https://api.openverse.org/v1/ (images and audio search). Anonymous calls work; authenticating with a registered OAuth client gives the standard rate limit, 'enhanced' is granted selectively.
  Not allowed: Verify each item's license yourself; Openverse does not check licensing status
  Not allowed: Do not scrape the catalog
  Not allowed: Do not use multiple machines to get around rate limits
  Not allowed: Openverse reserves the right to charge fees for commercial uses
  Rule: Filter with license_type=commercial,modification to exclude NC and ND works.
  Rule: Verify each item's license yourself; Openverse does not verify licensing status.
  Rule: Credit creators as each item's CC license requires.
  Rule: Do not scrape the catalog or use multiple machines to evade rate limits.
  License: https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html (checked 2026-10-23; details: https://agentgid.com/assets/openverse/)
```

Not verified: Numeric rate limits.

## Links
- AgentGid page: https://agentgid.com/assets/openverse/
- Is it free for commercial use? https://agentgid.com/assets/openverse/commercial-use/
- Source: https://api.openverse.org/v1/schema/
- Source: https://docs.openverse.org/api/reference/authentication_and_throttling.html
- Source: https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html

---
AgentGid's catalog is curated: every entry was checked against the maker's official pages (registry, repository, license and pricing pages) on the date shown; a license value shows the quote it stands on wherever AgentGid has one. Usage numbers come from AgentGid's own scan of public repositories set up for AI coding agents. Claims by makers are reported, not tested by AgentGid.