Frequently asked questions

How do I get an API Key?

You must have a Blipfoto account to create API Keys. When logged in, go to Your Applications and enter the required information to generate your Key.

How many Keys can I have, and how long do they last?

Each Blipfoto account can create up to 5 API Keys. When you generate a Key, it lasts for 1 month; upon expiry you can update the Key. When your application is ready for use, you can request for the expiry restriction to be lifted.

You can view, edit and revoke your API Keys in the Your Applications section.

What are the usage limits?

API Keys are initially restricted to 10 IP addresses. When your application is ready, this restriction is lifted.

In addition, there is a limit on the number of requests the API will respond to from a single API Key / IP address combination. Each Key / IP combination may make a maximum of 5 requests in a 2 second time window.

While there is currently no usage restriction for any specific API Key, extremely high usage will be prevented.

What transport protocols does the API use?

The API loosely follows the REST architectural style. Atom, SOAP and more complicated protocols are not supported.

What response formats are allowed?

The API can return responses as XML, JSON, JSON-P or serialized PHP objects.

What character encoding should I use?

Currently, Blipfoto only supports characters from the iso-8859-1 character set. However, because iso-8859-1 is a subset of UTF-8, and we intend to support UTF-8 characters in future, the API assumes UTF-8 character encoding for all requests and responses.