InstantGradient API

The InstantGradient API gives you programmatic access to palette generation, color data, and the community palette library. All endpoints are read-only and return JSON.

Authentication

All requests require an API key passed in the Authorization header:

curl https://instantgradient.com/api/v1/palette/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ig_your_api_key_here"

API keys are available to Pro subscribers. Generate yours in the dashboard.

Base URL

https://instantgradient.com/api/v1

Endpoints

Endpoint	Description	Credits
`GET /v1/palette/generate`	Generate a harmonious palette	1
`GET /v1/palette/:slug`	Look up a published palette	1
`GET /v1/palettes`	Browse community palettes	Per item
`GET /v1/color/:hex`	Look up a color	1
`GET /v1/colors`	Search colors	Per item
`GET /v1/account`	Check key status and credits	0

Attribution

Any application or website that displays data from the InstantGradient API must include visible attribution. Add the following (or something similar) anywhere your users can see it:

Powered by <a href="https://instantgradient.com?utm_source=api&utm_medium=attribution">InstantGradient</a>

The link must be a clickable hyperlink to https://instantgradient.com with the UTM parameters shown above so we can track API-sourced traffic while preserving the natural referrer. See the full requirements in our Terms of Service (Section 12.3).

Hex format

All hex color codes are lowercase 6-character strings without the # prefix. Example: 1e3a5f, not #1E3A5F.

Response format

Every response wraps data in a standard envelope:

{
  "data": "...",
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_abc123def456",
    "api_version": "v1",
    "credits_used": 1,
    "credits_remaining": 494,
    "daily_limit": 500
  }
}

See Rate Limits and Errors for details on the meta and error formats.