Pinata API

Pinata IPFS API for file storage, groups, gateways, signatures, x402 payments, and file vectorization.

Access the Pinata IPFS storage API. Upload files, manage groups, create gateways, add signatures, set up x402 payments, and perform AI-powered vector search.

Repo: https://github.com/PinataCloud/pinata-api-skill

Authentication

All requests require the header:

text

Authorization: Bearer $PINATA_JWT

Environment Variables:

• PINATA_JWT (required) - Your Pinata API JWT token. Get one at app.pinata.cloud/developers/api-keys
• PINATA_GATEWAY_URL (required) - Your Pinata gateway domain (e.g., your-gateway.mypinata.cloud). Find yours at app.pinata.cloud/gateway
• PINATA_GATEWAY_KEY (optional) - Gateway key for accessing public IPFS content not tied to your Pinata account. See Gateway Access Controls

Test Authentication

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/data/testAuthentication

Base URLs

• API: https://api.pinata.cloud
• Uploads: https://uploads.pinata.cloud

Common Parameters

• {network} - IPFS network: public (default) or private
• Pagination uses limit and pageToken query parameters

Files

Search Files

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}

Query parameters (all optional): name, cid, mimeType, limit, pageToken

Get File by ID

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/{id}

Update File Metadata

text

PUT https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/{id}
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "name": "new-name",
  "keyvalues": {"key": "value"}
}

Both fields are optional.

Delete File

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/{id}

Upload File

text

POST https://uploads.pinata.cloud/v3/files
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

Form fields:

• file (required) - The file to upload
• network (optional) - public or private
• group_id (optional) - Group to add the file to
• keyvalues (optional) - JSON string of key-value metadata

Groups

List Groups

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}

Query parameters (all optional): name, limit, pageToken

Create Group

text

POST https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "name": "my-group"
}

Get Group

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}/{id}

Update Group

text

PUT https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}/{id}
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "name": "updated-name"
}

Delete Group

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}/{id}

Add File to Group

text

PUT https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}/{groupId}/ids/{fileId}

Remove File from Group

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/groups/{network}/{groupId}/ids/{fileId}

Gateway & Downloads

Create Private Download Link

text

POST https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/private/download_link
Content-Type: application/json

Creates a temporary signed URL for accessing private files.

Body:

json

{
  "url": "https://{PINATA_GATEWAY_URL}/files/{cid}",
  "expires": 600,
  "date": 1700000000,
  "method": "GET"
}

• url (required) - Full gateway URL using your PINATA_GATEWAY_URL and the file's CID
• expires (optional) - Seconds until expiry (default: 600)
• date (required) - Current Unix timestamp in seconds
• method (required) - HTTP method, typically GET

Create Signed Upload URL

text

POST https://uploads.pinata.cloud/v3/files/sign
Content-Type: application/json

Creates a pre-signed URL for client-side uploads (no JWT needed on the client).

Body:

json

{
  "date": 1700000000,
  "expires": 3600
}

Optional fields: max_file_size (bytes), allow_mime_types (array), group_id, filename, keyvalues

Signatures

EIP-712 signatures for verifying content authenticity.

Add Signature

text

POST https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/signature/{cid}
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "signature": "0x...",
  "address": "0x..."
}

Get Signature

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/signature/{cid}

Delete Signature

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/{network}/signature/{cid}

Pin By CID

Pin existing IPFS content by its CID (public network only).

Pin a CID

text

POST https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/public/pin_by_cid
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "cid": "bafybeig..."
}

Optional fields: name, group_id, keyvalues, host_nodes (array of multiaddrs)

Query Pin Requests

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/public/pin_by_cid

Query parameters (all optional): order (ASC/DESC), status, cid, limit, pageToken

Cancel Pin Request

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/files/public/pin_by_cid/{id}

x402 Payment Instructions

Create payment instructions for monetizing IPFS content using the x402 protocol with USDC on Base.

USDC Contract Addresses:

• Base mainnet: 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913
• Base Sepolia (testnet): 0x036CbD53842c5426634e7929541eC2318f3dCF7e

Important: The amount field uses the smallest USDC unit (6 decimals). For example, $1.50 = "1500000".

Create Payment Instruction

text

POST https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "name": "My Payment",
  "description": "Pay to access this content",
  "payment_requirements": [
    {
      "asset": "0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913",
      "pay_to": "0xWALLET_ADDRESS",
      "network": "base",
      "amount": "1500000"
    }
  ]
}

• name (required) - Display name
• description (optional) - Description
• payment_requirements (required) - Array with asset (USDC contract address), pay_to (wallet address), network (base or base-sepolia), amount (smallest unit as string)

List Payment Instructions

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions

Query parameters (all optional): limit, pageToken, cid, name, id

Get Payment Instruction

text

GET https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions/{id}

Delete Payment Instruction

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions/{id}

Associate CID with Payment

text

PUT https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions/{id}/cids/{cid}

Remove CID from Payment

text

DELETE https://api.pinata.cloud/v3/x402/payment_instructions/{id}/cids/{cid}

Vectorize (AI Search)

Generate vector embeddings for files and perform semantic search across groups.

Vectorize a File

text

POST https://uploads.pinata.cloud/v3/vectorize/files/{file_id}

Delete File Vectors

text

DELETE https://uploads.pinata.cloud/v3/vectorize/files/{file_id}

Query Vectors (Semantic Search)

text

POST https://uploads.pinata.cloud/v3/vectorize/groups/{group_id}/query
Content-Type: application/json

Body:

json

{
  "text": "search query here"
}

Notes

• All JSON endpoints require Content-Type: application/json
• File uploads use multipart/form-data — do not set Content-Type manually
• Pagination: use pageToken from the previous response to get the next page
• Network defaults to public if not specified
• Gateway URLs follow the pattern https://{PINATA_GATEWAY_URL}/files/{cid}

Resources

• Pinata Documentation
• API Keys
• Gateway Setup
• x402 Protocol
• Source (GitHub)