Unsplash

A server-side Javascript wrapper for working with the Unsplash API.

Before using the Unsplash API, you need to register as a developer and read the API Guidelines.

Quick start

Quick links to methods you're likely to care about:

• Get a list of new photos 🎉
• Get a random photo 🎑
• Trigger a photo download 📡
• Search for a photo by keyword 🕵️‍♂️

Note: Every application must abide by the API Guidelines. Specifically, remember to hotlink images, attribute photographers, and trigger a download when appropriate.

Documentation

• Installation
• Dependencies
• Usage
• Instance Methods
• Helpers
• Shoutouts
• License

Installation

$ npm i --save unsplash-js

Dependencies

This library depends on fetch to make requests to the Unsplash API. For environments that don't support fetch, you'll need to provide a polyfill.

Usage

If you're using unsplash-js publicly in the browser, you'll need to proxy your requests through your server to sign the requests with the Access Key and/or Secret Key to abide by the API Guideline to keep keys confidential.

Creating an instance

To create an instance, simply provide an Object with your access key and secret.

// ES Modules syntax
import Unsplash from 'unsplash-js';

// require syntax
const Unsplash = require('unsplash-js').default;

const unsplash = new Unsplash({
  applicationId: "{APP_ACCESS_KEY}",
  secret: "{APP_SECRET}"
});

If you already have a bearer token, you can also provide it to the constructor.

const unsplash = new Unsplash({
  applicationId: "{APP_ACCESS_KEY}",
  secret: "{APP_SECRET}",
  callbackUrl: "{CALLBACK_URL}",
  bearerToken: "{USER_BEARER_TOKEN}"
});

You can also provide headers that will be set on every request by providing them to the constructor.

const unsplash = new Unsplash({
  applicationId: "{APP_ACCESS_KEY}",
  secret: "{APP_SECRET}",
  headers: {
    "X-Custom-Header": "foo"
  }
});

Credentials can be obtained from Unsplash Developers.

React Native

For use with React Native, import from unsplash-js/native instead.

import Unsplash from 'unsplash-js/native';

---

Authorization workflow

Generate an authentication url with the scopes your app requires.

const authenticationUrl = unsplash.auth.getAuthenticationUrl([
  "public",
  "read_user",
  "write_user",
  "read_photos",
  "write_photos"
]);

Now that you have an authentication url, you'll want to redirect the user to it.

location.assign(authenticationUrl);

After the user authorizes your app she'll be redirected to your callback url with a code querystring present. Request an access token using that code.

// The OAuth code will be passed to your callback url as a querystring

unsplash.auth.userAuthentication(query.code)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    unsplash.auth.setBearerToken(json.access_token);
  });

For more information on the authroization workflow, consult the Unsplash Documentation.

---

Error handling

unsplash.users.profile("naoufal")
  .catch(err => {
    // Your flawless error handling code
  });

---

Sidenote

All the instance methods below make use of the toJson helper method described below

---

Instance Methods

• Authorization
• Current User
• Users
• Photos
• Collections
• Search
• Stats

auth.getAuthenticationUrl(scopes)

Build an OAuth url with requested scopes.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Default
scopes	Array	Optional	["public"]

Example

const authenticationUrl = unsplash.auth.getAuthenticationUrl([
  "public",
  "read_user",
  "write_user",
  "read_photos",
  "write_photos"
]);

---

auth.userAuthentication(code)

Retrieve a user's access token.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
code	string	Required

Example

unsplash.auth.userAuthentication("{OAUTH_CODE}")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

auth.setBearerToken(accessToken)

Set a bearer token on the instance.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
accessToken	string	Required

Example

unsplash.auth.setBearerToken("{BEARER_TOKEN}");

---

currentUser.profile()

Get the user’s profile.

Arguments

N/A

Example

unsplash.currentUser.profile()
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

currentUser.updateProfile(options)

Update the current user’s profile.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes
options	Object	Required	Object with the following optional keys: username, firstName, lastName, email, url, location, bio, instagramUsername

Example

unsplash.currentUser.updateProfile({
  username: "drizzy",
  firstName: "Aubrey",
  lastName: "Graham",
  email: "[email protected]",
  url: "http://octobersveryown.com",
  location: "Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
  bio: "Views from the 6",
  instagramUsername: "champagnepapi"
})
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

users.profile(username)

Retrieve public details on a given user.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
username	string	Required

Example

unsplash.users.profile("naoufal")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

users.statistics(username, resolution, quantity)

Retrieve statistics for a given user.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes	Default
username	string	Required
resolution	string	Optional	Currently only days	days
quantity	string	Optional		30

Example

unsplash.users.statistics("naoufal", "days", 30)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

users.photos(username, page, perPage, orderBy, stats)

Get a list of photos uploaded by a user.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes	Default
username	string	Required
page	number	Optional		1
perPage	number	Optional		10
orderBy	string	Optional	latest, popular or oldest	latest
stats	boolean	Optional		false

Example

unsplash.users.photos("naoufal", 1, 10, "popular", false)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

users.likes(username, page, perPage, orderBy)

Get a list of photos liked by a user.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes
username	string	Required
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional
orderBy	string	Optional	latest, popular or oldest

Example

unsplash.users.likes("naoufal", 2, 15, "popular")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

users.collections(username, page, perPage, orderBy)

Get a list of collections created by the user.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes
username	string	Required
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional
orderBy	string	Optional	published or updated

Example

unsplash.users.collections("naoufal", 2, 15, "updated")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.listPhotos(page, perPage, orderBy)

Get a single page from the list of all photos.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional
orderBy	string	Optional

Example

unsplash.photos.listPhotos(2, 15, "latest")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.getPhoto(id, width, height, rectangle)

Retrieve a single photo.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	string	Required
width	number	Optional
height	number	Optional
rectangle	Array	Optional

Example

unsplash.photos.getPhoto("mtNweauBsMQ", 1920, 1080, [0, 0, 1920, 1080])
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.getPhotoStats(id)

Retrieve a single photo's stats.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	string	Required

Example

unsplash.photos.getPhotoStats("mtNweauBsMQ")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.getRandomPhoto({ width, height, query, username, featured })

Retrieve a single random photo, given optional filters.

When using this function, It is recommended to double check the types of the parameters, in particular for the parameters of type Array.

Arguments

Argument 1: An Object containing the follow keys:

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
width	number	Optional
height	number	Optional
query	string	Optional
username	string	Optional
featured	boolean	Optional
collections	Array	Optional
count	string	Optional

Example

unsplash.photos.getRandomPhoto({ username: "naoufal" })
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.likePhoto(id)

Like a photo on behalf of the logged-in user. This requires the write_likes scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	string	Required

Example

unsplash.photos.likePhoto("mtNweauBsMQ")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.unlikePhoto(id)

Remove a user’s like of a photo.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	string	Required

Example

unsplash.photos.unlikePhoto("mtNweauBsMQ")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

photos.downloadPhoto(photo)

Trigger a download of a photo as per the download tracking requirement of API Guidelines.

Note: this accepts a photo JSON object, not a URL string or photo ID. See the example below for how to pair it with other calls to trigger it.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
photo	json	Required

Example

unsplash.photos.getPhoto("mtNweauBsMQ")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    unsplash.photos.downloadPhoto(json);
  });

// or if working with an array of photos
unsplash.search.photos("dogs", 1)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    unsplash.photos.downloadPhoto(json["results"][0]);
  });

---

collections.listCollections(page, perPage, orderBy)

Get a single page from the list of all collections.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional
orderBy	string	Optional	latest, popular or oldest

Example

unsplash.collections.listCollections(1, 10, "popular")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.listFeaturedCollections(page, perPage)

Get a single page from the list of featured collections.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional

Example

unsplash.collections.listFeaturedCollections(1, 10)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.getCollection(id)

Retrieve a single collection. To view a user’s private collections, the read_collections scope is required.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	number	Required

Example

unsplash.collections.getCollection(123456)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.getCollectionPhotos(id, orderBy)

Retrieve a collection’s photos.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Notes
id	number	Required
page	number	Optional
perPage	number	Optional
orderBy	string	Optional	latest, popular or oldest

Example

unsplash.collections.getCollectionPhotos(123456, 1, 10, "popular")
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.createCollection(title, description, private)

Create a new collection. This requires the write_collections scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
title	string	Required
description	string	Optional
private	boolean	Optional

Example

unsplash.collections.createCollection("Birds", "Wild birds from 'round the world", true)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.updateCollection(id, title, description, private)

Update an existing collection belonging to the logged-in user. This requires the write_collections scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	number	Required
title	string	Optional
description	string	Optional
private	boolean	Optional

Example

unsplash.collections.updateCollection(12345, "Wild Birds", "Wild birds from around the world", false)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.deleteCollection(id)

Delete a collection belonging to the logged-in user. This requires the write_collections scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
id	number	Required

Example

unsplash.collections.deleteCollection(88)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.addPhotoToCollection(collectionId, photoId)

Add a photo to one of the logged-in user’s collections. Requires the write_collections scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
collectionId	number	Required
photoId	string	Required

Example

unsplash.collections.addPhotoToCollection(88, 'abc1234')
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.removePhotoFromCollection(collectionId, photoId)

Remove a photo from one of the logged-in user’s collections. Requires the write_collections scope.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
collectionId	number	Required
photoId	string	Required

Example

unsplash.collections.removePhotoFromCollection(88, 'abc1234')
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

collections.listRelatedCollections(collectionId)

Lists collections related to the provided one.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
collectionId	number	Required

Example

unsplash.collections.listRelatedCollections(88)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

search.photos(keyword, page, per_page)

Get a list of photos matching the keyword.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Default
keyword	string	Required
page	number	Optional
per_page	number	Optional	10

Example

unsplash.search.photos("dogs", 1)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

search.users(keyword, page, per_page)

Get a list of users matching the keyword.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Default
keyword	string	Required
page	number	Optional
per_page	number	Optional	10

Example

unsplash.search.users("steve", 1)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

search.collections(keyword, page, per_page)

Get a list of collections matching the keyword.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required	Default
keyword	string	Required
page	number	Optional
per_page	number	Optional	10

Example

unsplash.search.collections("dogs", 1)
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

stats.total()

Get a list of download counts for all of Unsplash.

Arguments

N/A

Example

unsplash.stats.total()
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

Helpers

toJson(res)

Arguments

Argument	Type	Opt/Required
res	Object	Required

Example

import Unsplash, { toJson } from "unsplash-js";

const unsplash = new Unsplash({
  applicationId: "{YOUR_ACCESS_KEY}",
  secret: "{YOUR_SECRET_KEY}"
});

unsplash.stats.total()
  .then(toJson)
  .then(json => {
    // Your code
  });

---

Shoutouts

• Shoutout to all the contributors for lending a helping hand.
• Shoutout to BrowserStack for letting us use their service to run automated browser tests.

License

Copyright (c) 2019, Unsplash

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.