Create asset upload job

Create an asynchronous job to upload an asset.

Starts a new job to upload an asset to a user's content library.

The request format for this endpoint is an application/octet-stream body of bytes. Attach information about the upload using an Asset-Upload-Metadata header.

You can check the status and get the results of asset upload jobs created with this API using the Get asset upload job API.

POST https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/asset-uploads

This operation is rate limited to 30 requests per minute for each user of your integration.

This endpoint requires a valid access token that acts on behalf of a user. The token must have the following scopes (permissions):

  • asset:write

For more information, see Scopes.

#Authorizationstring
Required

Provides credentials to authenticate the request, in the form of a Bearer token.

For example: Authorization: Bearer {token}

#Content-Typestring
Required

Indicates the media type of the information sent in the request. This must be set to application/octet-stream.

For example: Content-Type: application/octet-stream

#Asset-Upload-MetadataAssetUploadMetadata
Required

Metadata for the asset being uploaded.

Properties of Asset-Upload-Metadata
#name_base64string
Required

The asset's name, encoded in Base64.

The maximum length of an asset name in Canva (unencoded) is 50 characters.

Base64 encoding allows names containing emojis and other special characters to be sent using HTTP headers. For example, "My Awesome Upload 🚀" Base64 encoded is TXkgQXdlc29tZSBVcGxvYWQg8J+agA==.

Binary of the asset to upload.

Examples for using the /v1/asset-uploads endpoint:

curl --request POST 'https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/asset-uploads' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer {token}' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/octet-stream' \
--header 'Asset-Upload-Metadata: { "name_base64": "TXkgQXdlc29tZSBVcGxvYWQg8J+agA==" }' \
--data-binary '@/path/to/file'
sh

If successful, the endpoint returns a 200 response with a JSON body with the following parameters:

#jobAssetUploadJob

The status of the asset upload job.

Properties of job
#idstring

The ID of the asset upload job.

#statusstring

Status of the asset upload job. This can be one of the following:

  • failed
  • in_progress
  • success
#errorAssetUploadError
Optional

If the upload fails, this object provides details about the error.

Properties of error
#codestring

A short string indicating why the upload failed. This field can be used to handle errors programmatically. This can be one of the following:

  • file_too_big
  • import_failed
#messagestring

A human-readable description of what went wrong.

#assetAsset
Optional

The asset object, which contains metadata about the asset.

Properties of asset
#typestring

Type of an asset. Currently, this only supports image assets. Support for video assets is coming in the future.

#idstring

The ID of the asset.

#namestring

The name of the asset.

#tagsstring[]

The user-facing tags attached to the asset. Users can add these tags to their uploaded assets, and they can search their uploaded assets in the Canva UI by searching for these tags. For information on how users use tags, see the Canva Help Center page on asset tags.

#created_atinteger

When the asset was added to Canva, as a Unix timestamp (in seconds since the Unix Epoch).

#updated_atinteger

When the asset was last updated in Canva, as a Unix timestamp (in seconds since the Unix Epoch).

#thumbnailThumbnail
Optional

A thumbnail image representing the object.

Properties of thumbnail
#widthinteger

The width of the thumbnail image in pixels.

#heightinteger

The height of the thumbnail image in pixels.

#urlstring

A URL for retrieving the thumbnail image. This URL expires after 15 minutes. This URL includes a query string that's required for retrieving the thumbnail.

#import_statusImportStatus
Deprecated

The import status of the asset.

Properties of import_status
#statestring

State of the import job for an uploaded asset. This can be one of the following:

  • failed
  • in_progress
  • success
#errorImportError
Deprecated

If the import fails, this object provides details about the error.

Properties of error
#messagestring

A human-readable description of what went wrong.

#codestring

A short string indicating why the upload failed. This field can be used to handle errors programmatically. This can be one of the following:

  • file_too_big
  • import_failed
{
"job": {
"id": "e08861ae-3b29-45db-8dc1-1fe0bf7f1cc8",
"status": "in_progress"
}
}
json
{
"job": {
"id": "e08861ae-3b29-45db-8dc1-1fe0bf7f1cc8",
"status": "success",
"asset": {
"id": "Msd59349ff",
"name": "My Awesome Upload",
"tags": [
"image",
"holiday",
"best day ever"
],
"created_at": 1377396000,
"updated_at": 1692928800,
"thumbnail": {
"width": 595,
"height": 335,
"url": "https://document-export.canva.com/Vczz9/zF9vzVtdADc/2/thumbnail/0001.png?<query-string>"
}
}
}
}
json
{
"job": {
"id": "e08861ae-3b29-45db-8dc1-1fe0bf7f1cc8",
"status": "failed",
"error": {
"code": "file_too_big",
"message": "Failed to import because the file is too big"
}
}
}
json

To get started, generate an access token or provide your own below