Pinata API

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:

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

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

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

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

Get File by ID

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

Update File Metadata

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

Body:

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

Both fields are optional.

Delete File

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

Upload File

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

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

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

Create Group

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

Body:

{
  "name": "my-group"
}

Get Group

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

Update Group

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

Body:

{
  "name": "updated-name"
}

Delete Group

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

Add File to Group

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

Remove File from Group

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

Gateway & Downloads

Create Private Download Link

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

Creates a temporary signed URL for accessing private files.

Body:

{
  "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

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:

{
  "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

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

Body:

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

Get Signature

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

Delete Signature

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

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

Body:

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

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

Query Pin Requests

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

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

Create Payment Instruction

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

Body:

{
  "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

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

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

Get Payment Instruction

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

Delete Payment Instruction

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

Associate CID with Payment

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

Remove CID from Payment

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

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

Delete File Vectors

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

Query Vectors (Semantic Search)

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

Body:

{
  "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)