---
title: Generate Thumbnail from Video API
slug: generate-image-thumbnail
url: https://apyverse.com/apyhub/service/generate-image-thumbnail
provider: ApyHub
categories: [File Conversion, File Manipulation, Image Processing]
tags: [video-thumbnail, thumbnail-generation, video-processing, frame-extraction, png]
auth: api_key
---

# Generate Thumbnail from Video API

Extract a PNG frame from a video file or URL, with optional time and size. Get binary downloads or signed links for previews and media workflows.

## Endpoints

| Method | Path | Description | Atoms |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| POST | `/generate/image-thumbnail/file` | What it does Extracts a PNG frame from an uploaded video file and streams the result back as a bina… | 550 |
| POST | `/generate/image-thumbnail/file/url` | What it does Extracts a PNG frame from an uploaded video and returns a signed URL to the generated… | 550 |
| POST | `/generate/image-thumbnail/url/file` | What it does Downloads a remote video from the provided videourl, extracts a PNG frame, and streams… | 550 |
| POST | `/generate/image-thumbnail/url` | What it does Extracts a PNG thumbnail frame from a remote video URL and returns a signed URL to the… | 550 |

## About

## What it does
Video Thumbnail Generator extracts a PNG frame from a video and returns it as either a binary download or a signed link. Send a local video file or a remote video URL, choose the capture time in seconds, and optionally set the output size as a width-by-height string.

Use it when you need a preview image for a media library, a video upload flow, or an admin dashboard that shows a frame from each clip. The service accepts `.mp4`, `.mkv`, `.avi`, `.mov`, `.flv`, `.3gp`, and `.webm` files on upload, and it can also work from a remote `video_url`.

The input is simple: `video` for file uploads or `video_url` for remote sources, plus optional `time` and `size`. The `/file/download` and `/url/download` endpoints stream the generated thumbnail back as binary PNG data, while `/file/link` and `/url/link` return a `data` field containing a signed URI to the image.

That makes Video Thumbnail Generator a good fit for pipelines that need a deterministic still image from video without storing the original clip in your app.

## Usage

Authenticate with an ApyHub API key in the `apy-token` header.
Full docs and a live playground: https://apyverse.com/apyhub/service/generate-image-thumbnail