Lorem Picsum

Overview

Lorem Picsum serves random placeholder photos from Unsplash — a URL returns a real image at any size, with a small JSON info API. Keyless and free (verified live), it’s the standard “random image” service for placeholders, backgrounds, and UI mockups.

Quick Start

A random image at a specific size:

curl "https://picsum.photos/400/300" -o image.jpg

A specific image by ID:

curl "https://picsum.photos/id/237/400/300" -o dog.jpg

Image metadata (verified live):

curl "https://picsum.photos/id/237/info"

{
  "id": "237",
  "author": "André Spieker",
  "width": 3500,
  "height": 2095,
  "url": "https://unsplash.com/photos/8wTPqxlnKM4",
  "download_url": "https://picsum.photos/id/237/3500/2095"
}

List of images (paged):

curl "https://picsum.photos/v2/list?page=1&limit=5"

Grayscale / blur:

curl "https://picsum.photos/400/300?grayscale"
curl "https://picsum.photos/400/300?blur=2"

Authentication

None — keyless.

Rate Limits & Notes

• Free; no documented hard limit — be polite.
• URL patterns: /400 (square), /400/300 (size), /id/{id}/400/300 (specific photo), ?grayscale, ?blur=N.
• Images redirect to Unsplash’s CDN (fast, hotlink-friendly).
• The /v2/list endpoint lists photo IDs/authors (paged); /id/{id}/info gives one image’s metadata.

FAQ

Is Lorem Picsum free? Yes — free and keyless.

How do I get a specific image? /id/{id}/{width}/{height} — browse /v2/list for IDs.

Can I use it in production mockups? Yes — it’s built for placeholders and hotlinking.