> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pictify.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# URL Rendering

> A template as an image URL — variables in the query string, rendered on request

# URL Rendering

The most embeddable way to use a template: a plain `GET` URL that returns the rendered image. Put it in an `<img>` tag, an email, a Notion page, a README — anywhere a URL can go, with the variables riding in the query string.

```
GET https://api.pictify.io/r/{templateUid}.{format}?token=YOUR_API_KEY&name=Maya&score=98
```

```html theme={null}
<img src="https://api.pictify.io/r/tpl_abc123.png?token=YOUR_API_KEY&name=Maya" />
```

Every query parameter except the reserved ones below is passed to the template as a variable — `?name=Maya` fills `{{name}}`.

## Formats and parameters

| Part            | Values                                                                                                                                                                      |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `.{format}`     | `png`, `jpeg`, `jpg`, `webp`                                                                                                                                                |
| `token`         | Your API key. Query auth exists because an `<img>` tag cannot send headers; the `Authorization: Bearer` header also works and is preferred anywhere you control the request |
| `quality`       | `0`–`1`, default `0.9` (jpeg/webp)                                                                                                                                          |
| `layout`        | A layout key, when the template declares alternate layouts                                                                                                                  |
| everything else | Template variables                                                                                                                                                          |

## Behaviour worth knowing

* **Failures return a transparent 1x1 PNG**, not an error page — a broken variable never renders a broken image into your email or README. Check the dashboard if a URL renders blank.
* Responses are cached privately for 5 minutes (`Cache-Control: private, max-age=300`), so a URL hit repeatedly by the same client re-renders at most every 5 minutes.
* Each **unique render** is metered as one image credit.

<Warning>
  A URL containing `token=` is a credential. Use it where the URL stays private (emails to known recipients, internal tools). For public pages, render ahead of time with `POST /templates/:uid/render` and embed the CDN URL it returns — that URL is not a credential and never re-renders.
</Warning>