Get started with the Library API
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The Library API lets you to interact with photos, videos, and albums within your
users' Google Photos libraries, but with an important focus: you can only access
and manage content that was created by your application.
Before you start
Key use cases of the Library API
The Library API is ideal for scenarios where your app needs to:
- Upload and store media: Securely import photos and videos (generated by
your app) into your users' Google Photos libraries.
- Organize content: Create and manage albums to help users organize their
app-related media.
- Enhance photos and albums: Add context to media items and albums through
enrichments like titles, descriptions, or location information.
- Access app-created data: Retrieve and interact with the photos, videos,
and albums that your app has previously created.
Typical Library API workflow
While the Library API offers various functionalities, a common workflow might
involve these steps:
Upload media: Use the uploads endpoint
to securely upload photo or video bytes to Google Photos. This step
generates an
uploadToken.
Create media items: Use the mediaItems.batchCreate
method, providing
the uploadToken, to create media items in the user's library.
Create albums (optional): Use the albums.create method
to create albums within the user's library to organize the media items.
Manage albums:
Access app-created media:
- Retrieve details about specific media items using
mediaItems.get or
mediaItems.batchGet.
- Search for media items created by your app using
mediaItems.search.
- List media items within a specific app-created album using
mediaItems.search with the album ID.
Next steps
- Review the reference docs: Explore the detailed Library API reference
documentation to learn about all
the available methods and parameters.
- Try out the samples: Check out our sample to see
the Library API in action and get inspiration for your integration.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Library API allows your application to interact with photos, videos, and albums in users' Google Photos libraries, but only for content created by your application.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eKey use cases include uploading/storing media, organizing content into albums, enhancing media with details, and accessing previously created app data.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA typical workflow involves uploading media, creating media items, optionally creating and managing albums, and accessing the app-created media.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBefore starting, ensure the Library API aligns with your needs by reviewing the overview and configuring your app for API access.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The Library API enables interaction with Google Photos, specifically for app-created content. Key actions include uploading media using an `uploadToken`, creating media items in the user's library, and optionally organizing them into albums. You can also manage albums by adding or removing media, adding enrichments, and retrieving album information. The API allows retrieval and searching of app-created media items. The first step before starting to use this API is to configure your application and ensure the Library API is suitable for your use case.\n"],null,["# Get started with the Library API\n\nThe Library API lets you to interact with photos, videos, and albums within your\nusers' Google Photos libraries, but with an important focus: you can only access\nand manage content that was created by your application.\n\nBefore you start\n----------------\n\n- **Check out the overview:** [Compare the Picker API and the Library API](/photos/overview/about) to make sure the Library API is the right fit for your use case.\n- **Configure Your app:** Enable the API and set up authentication. See [Configure your app](/photos/overview/configure-your-app) for detailed steps.\n\nKey use cases of the Library API\n--------------------------------\n\nThe Library API is ideal for scenarios where your app needs to:\n\n- **Upload and store media:** Securely import photos and videos (generated by your app) into your users' Google Photos libraries.\n- **Organize content:** Create and manage albums to help users organize their app-related media.\n- **Enhance photos and albums:** Add context to media items and albums through enrichments like titles, descriptions, or location information.\n- **Access app-created data:** Retrieve and interact with the photos, videos, and albums that your app has previously created.\n\nTypical Library API workflow\n----------------------------\n\nWhile the Library API offers various functionalities, a common workflow might\ninvolve these steps:\n\n1. **Upload media:** Use the [uploads endpoint](/photos/library/guides/upload-media)\n to securely upload photo or video bytes to Google Photos. This step\n generates an\n [`uploadToken`](/photos/library/reference/rest/v1/mediaItems/batchCreate#SimpleMediaItem.FIELDS.upload_token).\n\n2. **Create media items:** Use the [`mediaItems.batchCreate`\n method](/photos/library/guides/upload-media#creating-media-item), providing\n the `uploadToken`, to create media items in the user's library.\n\n3. **Create albums (optional):** Use the [`albums.create` method](/photos/library/guides/manage-albums#creating-new-album)\n to create albums within the user's library to organize the media items.\n\n4. **Manage albums:**\n\n - Add media items (created by your app) to albums using [`albums.batchAddMediaItems`.](/photos/library/guides/manage-albums#adding-items-to-album)\n - Remove media items from albums using [`albums.batchRemoveMediaItems`](/photos/library/guides/manage-albums#removing-items-from-album).\n - Add enrichments to albums (like titles or locations) using [`albums.addEnrichment`.](/photos/library/guides/add-enrichments#intro-adding-enrichments-album)\n - Retrieve information about specific albums using [`albums.get`](/photos/library/guides/list#listing-albums).\n - List albums created by your app using [`albums.list`](/photos/library/guides/list#listing-albums).\n5. **Access app-created media:**\n\n - Retrieve details about specific media items using `mediaItems.get` or `mediaItems.batchGet`.\n - Search for media items created by your app using `mediaItems.search`.\n - List media items within a specific app-created album using `mediaItems.search` with the album ID.\n\nNext steps\n----------\n\n- Review the reference docs: Explore the detailed [Library API reference\n documentation](/photos/library/reference/rest) to learn about all the available methods and parameters.\n- Try out the samples: Check out our [sample](/photos/library/samples) to see the Library API in action and get inspiration for your integration."]]
