In this guide, you’ll learn how to make your first request to the Peekalink API. By the end, you’ll be able to send a link to Peekalink and receive a detailed, enriched preview in return.

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Prerequisites

  • API Key: Sign up and visit the Dashboard to get your API key.
  • HTTP Client: Any tool you prefer (cURL, Postman, or your favorite language’s HTTP library).

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1. Get Your API Key

Head over to the Dashboard and copy your API key. You’ll use this key to authenticate your requests.

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2. Make Your First Request

Below is a simple example using curl. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key, and LINK_TO_PREVIEW with the URL you want to preview. 
curl -X POST "https://api.peekalink.io/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"link": "LINK_TO_PREVIEW"}'
For example: 
curl -X POST "https://api.peekalink.io/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"link": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"}'

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3. Check the Response

A successful request returns a JSON object with rich metadata. Here’s an example of what you might see when previewing a YouTube video: 
{
    "id": 586,
    "ok": true,
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJQP7kiw5Fk",
    "domain": "youtube.com",
    "type": "YOUTUBE_VIDEO",
    "status": 200,
    "updatedAt": "2024-12-15T18:53:04.785Z",
    "size": 2006570,
    "redirected": false,
    "title": "Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee",
    "description": "“Despacito” disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https://UMLE.lnk.to/DOoUzFp “Imposible” disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https...",
    "icon": {
        "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/qsxqq2sx49x34ua8ckndaqy9/1381/favicon_32x32.png",
        "width": 32,
        "height": 32,
        "backgroundColor": "#FFFFFF"
    },
    "image": {
        "thumbnail": {
            "width": 320,
            "height": 180,
            "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_thumbnail.jpeg"
        },
        "medium": {
            "width": 640,
            "height": 360,
            "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_medium.jpeg"
        },
        "large": {
            "width": 1280,
            "height": 720,
            "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_large.jpeg"
        },
        "original": {
            "width": 1280,
            "height": 720,
            "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_original.jpeg"
        }
    },
    "youtubeVideo": {
        "id": 3,
        "videoId": "kJQP7kiw5Fk",
        "publishedAt": "2022-04-09T22:01:59.443Z",
        "title": "Luis Fonsi - Despacito ft. Daddy Yankee",
        "description": "“Despacito” disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https://UMLE.lnk.to/DOoUzFp \n“Imposible” disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https://UMLE.lnk.to/IMPOSIBLEFp\n“Calypso” disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https://UMLE.lnk.to/CLYPSFp\nEchame La Culpa disponible ya en todas las plataformas digitales: https://UMLE.lnk.to/ELCFp\n\n\nBest of Luis Fonsi / Lo mejor Luis Fonsi: https://goo.gl/KLWPSa \nSubscribe here: https://goo.gl/nkhcGc\nSigue a Luis Fonsi: \nOfficial Site: http://www.luisfonsi.com/ \nFacebook:   / luisfonsi   \nTwitter:   / luisfonsi   \nInstagram:   / luisfonsi  \n\n#LuisFonsi #Despacito #Imposible #Calypso #EchamelaCulpa #NadaEsImposible #NothingisImpossible #LF\n\n\nMusic video by Luis Fonsi performing Despacito. (C) 2017 Universal Music Latino",
        "duration": 282,
        "viewsCount": 8610457367,
        "likesCount": 54222103,
        "dislikesCount": 6007104,
        "thumbnail": {
            "thumbnail": {
                "width": 320,
                "height": 180,
                "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_thumbnail.jpeg"
            },
            "medium": {
                "width": 640,
                "height": 360,
                "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_medium.jpeg"
            },
            "large": {
                "width": 1280,
                "height": 720,
                "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_large.jpeg"
            },
            "original": {
                "width": 1280,
                "height": 720,
                "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/zyi35nc35rwxfn1cc1jpfz0z/1382/maxresdefault_original.jpeg"
            }
        },
        "user": {
            "id": 5,
            "username": "UCxoq-PAQeAdk_zyg8YS0JqA",
            "name": "Luis Fonsi",
            "description": "Hola amigos! Soy Luis Fonsi y este es mi canal de YouTube en donde compartiré con ustedes algunas de mis presentaciones en vivo, backstages, anécdotas, entre otras cosas. Suscríbanse para recibir todas las novedades!\n\nSaludos!\n\nAdministrador del Canal: Farolatino y @torrecilla90",
            "subscribersCount": 32000000,
            "videosCount": 368,
            "verified": false,
            "visibility": "PUBLIC",
            "isFamilySafe": true,
            "avatar": {
                "thumbnail": {
                    "width": 240,
                    "height": 240,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/av5g930spd7hh75jgy2nzhb1/1112/c-TEErg6GIyeUaD_BM5Xm9P1PI7lHV1XvnmGyK-Cc_fEwDUT-p3TfIsy64xtg392U2dAP11IfQ=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj_thumbnail.jpeg"
                },
                "medium": {
                    "width": 480,
                    "height": 480,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/av5g930spd7hh75jgy2nzhb1/1112/c-TEErg6GIyeUaD_BM5Xm9P1PI7lHV1XvnmGyK-Cc_fEwDUT-p3TfIsy64xtg392U2dAP11IfQ=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj_medium.jpeg"
                },
                "large": {
                    "width": 900,
                    "height": 900,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/av5g930spd7hh75jgy2nzhb1/1112/c-TEErg6GIyeUaD_BM5Xm9P1PI7lHV1XvnmGyK-Cc_fEwDUT-p3TfIsy64xtg392U2dAP11IfQ=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj_large.jpeg"
                },
                "original": {
                    "width": 900,
                    "height": 900,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/av5g930spd7hh75jgy2nzhb1/1112/c-TEErg6GIyeUaD_BM5Xm9P1PI7lHV1XvnmGyK-Cc_fEwDUT-p3TfIsy64xtg392U2dAP11IfQ=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj_original.jpeg"
                }
            },
            "banner": {
                "thumbnail": {
                    "width": 320,
                    "height": 53,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/vj950vndfobz8np2fbmdbi4f/1114/IdfO8PMyTHDkqCHUa_bJZJ3BjYZ9tFgkClcNLUWw8X57EqVTlOVXRRUTIPmjOpYFWowM0_uyU8c=w1707-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj_thumbnail.jpeg"
                },
                "medium": {
                    "width": 640,
                    "height": 106,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/vj950vndfobz8np2fbmdbi4f/1114/IdfO8PMyTHDkqCHUa_bJZJ3BjYZ9tFgkClcNLUWw8X57EqVTlOVXRRUTIPmjOpYFWowM0_uyU8c=w1707-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj_medium.jpeg"
                },
                "large": {
                    "width": 1280,
                    "height": 211,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/vj950vndfobz8np2fbmdbi4f/1114/IdfO8PMyTHDkqCHUa_bJZJ3BjYZ9tFgkClcNLUWw8X57EqVTlOVXRRUTIPmjOpYFWowM0_uyU8c=w1707-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj_large.jpeg"
                },
                "original": {
                    "width": 1707,
                    "height": 282,
                    "url": "https://cdn.peekalink.io/vj950vndfobz8np2fbmdbi4f/1114/IdfO8PMyTHDkqCHUa_bJZJ3BjYZ9tFgkClcNLUWw8X57EqVTlOVXRRUTIPmjOpYFWowM0_uyU8c=w1707-fcrop64=1,00005a57ffffa5a8-k-c0xffffffff-no-nd-rj_original.jpeg"
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "requestId": "cm4pysx3x0001daadms6qew7d"
}
All successful responses will return a JSON object with the following pattern:
  • title: The title extracted from the link.
  • description: A descriptive summary, if available.
  • image: Optimized image previews hosted on Peekalink’s CDN.
  • Platform-specific data: For YouTube Videos, you’ll see a youtubeVideo object with details like viewCount, likeCount, and duration.

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4. Build Into Your Application

You can now use this metadata to create rich previews in your app. For example:
  • Social Feeds: Show thumbnails, titles, descriptions and platform-specific details for shared links.
  • AI Chatbots: Give your bot immediate context about shared URLs.
  • Content Aggregation: Store and analyze structured link metadata at scale.

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5. Next Steps

  • Explore the API Reference to learn about all supported formats and fields.
  • Check the Supported Link Types and Blog for best practices and advanced integrations.
  • View Pricing to select the plan that matches your usage needs.
You’ve just made your first request to Peekalink and received a rich link preview 🎉. Happy building! 🚀