DEVELOPERS

Make It Say API: change the text in images from code

Send an image and the lines to change; get back a PNG with the new text in the same lettering. Base URL https://makeitsay.com/api/v1. Every request needs Authorization: Bearer mis_YOUR_KEY.

Get a key

Sign in, confirm your email address, and create a key on API keys. The key is shown once. Keep it out of shared code; anyone with it can spend the credits on your account. Revoke it there if it leaks.

POST /edits

Change the text in an image. JSON with image_url or image_base64 and replacements, or multipart with a file field and replacements as a JSON string. Optional hint says where the text is when it appears twice. Returns 202 with the edit. Add an Idempotency-Key header to retry safely: the same key returns the same edit and is not scanned or charged again.

curl https://makeitsay.com/api/v1/edits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAKEITSAY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: menu-001" \
  -d '{ "image_url": "https://example.com/menu.jpg", "replacements": [ { "from": "$12", "to": "$14" }, { "from": "Tuesday", "to": "Wednesday" } ] }'

Response:

{
  "id": "2kFq…",
  "status": "working",
  "credits": 1,
  "changes": [
    { "from": "$12", "to": "$14", "box": [412, 188, 498, 231] },
    { "from": "Tuesday", "to": "Wednesday", "box": [120, 540, 380, 590] }
  ],
  "result_url": null
}

GET /edits/{id}

The edit. status is working, ready or failed (the credit is returned). When ready, result_url is the edited PNG, valid for one hour.

curl https://makeitsay.com/api/v1/edits/2kFq… \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAKEITSAY_API_KEY"

Response:

{
  "id": "2kFq…",
  "status": "ready",
  "result_url": "https://…/results/2kFq….png?X-Amz-Signature=…",
  "result_url_expires_at": "2026-10-24T13:00:00.000Z"
}

POST /scans

Read the text without editing: every line with its box (0 to 1000 from the top left). Free; counts toward the scan limit.

curl https://makeitsay.com/api/v1/scans \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAKEITSAY_API_KEY" \
  -F file=@menu.jpg

Response:

{
  "lines": [{ "text": "Lunch special $12", "box": [80, 180, 500, 235] }],
  "width": 1200,
  "height": 1600
}

GET /credits

Credits available on the account.

curl https://makeitsay.com/api/v1/credits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAKEITSAY_API_KEY"

Response:

{ "credits": 40 }

Errors

Errors are JSON: { "error": "code", "message": "…" }

Status	error	Meaning
401	`unauthorized`	Missing, wrong or revoked key.
402	`insufficient_credits`	No credits left.
400	`text_not_found`	A "from" text is not in the image. The response has missing and lines.
400	`invalid_request, invalid_replacements`	The body is not what the endpoint expects.
400	`image_fetch_failed`	image_url could not be downloaded over https within 10 seconds.
400, 413, 415	`bad_image`	Not a PNG or JPG, or outside the size limits.
422	`document`	An ID or official document; refused, nothing charged.
404	`not_found`	No edit with this id on this account.
429	`rate_limited, quota, too_many`	Over 120 requests a minute for this key, over the scan limit, or three edits already running.
503	`not_open, busy`	The API or scanning is switched off for now.

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Credits and limits

Same credits as the website: 1 credit per image, however many lines you change. Failed edits are not charged.
Images: PNG or JPG, 64 to 4096 pixels a side, up to 8.4 megapixels and 10 MB. Send a file, a public https URL, or base64.
Up to 20 lines per image, each up to 200 characters. "from" is the text as it appears in the image; an empty "to" removes the line.
The image is scanned first. If a "from" text is not in the image, nothing is charged and the response lists the lines that were read.
IDs, passports, licences, certificates, transcripts, receipts, invoices and bank documents are refused.
Scans count toward 30 an hour and 100 a day per account. Three edits can run at once.
The result is a PNG at the size of the original. Its URL works for one hour; get the edit again for a fresh one. The original and the result are kept 30 days, then deleted.
Each key allows 120 requests a minute. Keys are shown once; you can have 5 active keys.