Meme Generator API Documentation

Overview
API Endpoint
Authentication
Request Format
Parameters
Response Format
Code Examples
Error Codes
Rate Limits
Background Templates

Overview

The Meme Generator API allows you to programmatically generate meme images with custom text, backgrounds, and styling. Perfect for automating meme creation, social media bots, or integrating meme generation into your applications.

Key Features:

No authentication required - completely public API
Up to 5 text layers per meme
Three background types: solid colors, gradients, or template images
Advanced text styling: fonts, colors, shadows, outlines
Automatic text wrapping
Returns PNG images directly

API Endpoint

POST https://websitetool.org/api/meme-generator/generate

Authentication

No authentication is required. The API is completely public and free to use.

Note: Rate limiting is in place to prevent abuse. See Rate Limits for details.

Request Format

Send a POST request with a JSON body containing your meme parameters.

Headers

Content-Type: application/json

Request Body Structure

{
  "width": 800,
  "height": 600,
  "bgType": "solid",
  "bgColor": "#3b82f6",
  "layers": [
    {
      "text": "Your meme text here",
      "x": 400,
      "y": 300,
      "fontFamily": "Impact",
      "fontSize": 48,
      "color": "#ffffff",
      "align": "center",
      "shadow": true,
      "stroke": true
    }
  ]
}

Parameters

Canvas Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
width	integer	Required	Canvas width in pixels (100-4000)
height	integer	Required	Canvas height in pixels (100-4000)
bgType	string	Required	Background type: `"solid"`, `"gradient"`, or `"image"`
layers	array	Required	Array of text layer objects (1-5 layers)

Background Parameters (Solid)

When bgType is "solid":

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
bgColor	string	Optional	Hex color code (e.g., `"#3b82f6"`). Default: `"#3b82f6"`

Background Parameters (Gradient)

When bgType is "gradient":

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
gradientStart	string	Optional	Starting hex color (e.g., `"#3b82f6"`). Default: `"#3b82f6"`
gradientEnd	string	Optional	Ending hex color (e.g., `"#8b5cf6"`). Default: `"#8b5cf6"`
gradientAngle	integer	Optional	Gradient angle in degrees (0-360). Default: `45`

Background Parameters (Image)

When bgType is "image":

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
bgImage	string	Optional	Background template filename (e.g., `"drake.png"`). See available templates

Text Layer Parameters

Each object in the layers array can have the following properties:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
text	string	Required	The text to display (max 5000 characters)
x	integer	Optional	X coordinate position. Default: center of canvas
y	integer	Optional	Y coordinate position. Default: center of canvas
fontFamily	string	Optional	Font family. Options: `"Arial"`, `"Impact"`, `"Times New Roman"`, `"Courier New"`, `"Verdana"`, `"Comic Sans MS"`. Default: `"Impact"`
fontSize	integer	Optional	Font size in pixels (1-500). Default: `48`
color	string	Optional	Text color as hex (e.g., `"#ffffff"`). Default: `"#ffffff"`
bold	boolean	Optional	Use bold font variant. Default: `false`
italic	boolean	Optional	Use italic font variant. Default: `false`
align	string	Optional	Text alignment: `"left"`, `"center"`, or `"right"`. Default: `"center"`
shadow	boolean	Optional	Enable text shadow. Default: `false`
shadowBlur	integer	Optional	Shadow blur amount (0-30). Default: `5`
shadowColor	string	Optional	Shadow color as hex. Default: `"#000000"`
stroke	boolean	Optional	Enable text outline/stroke. Default: `false`
strokeWidth	integer	Optional	Stroke width in pixels (1-20). Default: `2`
strokeColor	string	Optional	Stroke color as hex. Default: `"#000000"`

Response Format

Success Response

200 OK

Returns the generated meme as a PNG image binary.

Content-Type: image/png
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="meme.png"

[PNG binary data]

Error Responses

400 Bad Request - Invalid parameters

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Invalid parameter: Width must be between 100 and 4000, got 5000"
}

404 Not Found - Background template not found

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Background template not found: nonexistent.png"
}

500 Internal Server Error - Server error during generation

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error generating meme: [error details]"
}

Code Examples

JavaScript (Fetch API)

async function generateMeme() {
  const response = await fetch('https://websitetool.org/api/meme-generator/generate', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      width: 800,
      height: 600,
      bgType: 'gradient',
      gradientStart: '#3b82f6',
      gradientEnd: '#8b5cf6',
      gradientAngle: 45,
      layers: [
        {
          text: 'When you successfully',
          x: 400,
          y: 200,
          fontFamily: 'Impact',
          fontSize: 48,
          color: '#ffffff',
          align: 'center',
          shadow: true,
          shadowBlur: 5,
          shadowColor: '#000000',
          stroke: true,
          strokeWidth: 2,
          strokeColor: '#000000'
        },
        {
          text: 'Call an API',
          x: 400,
          y: 400,
          fontFamily: 'Impact',
          fontSize: 48,
          color: '#ffffff',
          align: 'center',
          shadow: true,
          shadowBlur: 5,
          shadowColor: '#000000',
          stroke: true,
          strokeWidth: 2,
          strokeColor: '#000000'
        }
      ]
    })
  });

  if (response.ok) {
    const blob = await response.blob();
    const img = document.getElementById('meme-image');
    img.src = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  } else {
    const error = await response.json();
    console.error('Error:', error.error);
  }
}

generateMeme();

Python (Requests)

import requests

url = 'https://websitetool.org/api/meme-generator/generate'

payload = {
    'width': 800,
    'height': 600,
    'bgType': 'solid',
    'bgColor': '#3b82f6',
    'layers': [
        {
            'text': 'Python Meme',
            'x': 400,
            'y': 300,
            'fontFamily': 'Impact',
            'fontSize': 48,
            'color': '#ffffff',
            'align': 'center',
            'shadow': True,
            'shadowBlur': 5,
            'shadowColor': '#000000',
            'stroke': True,
            'strokeWidth': 2,
            'strokeColor': '#000000'
        }
    ]
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('meme.png', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
    print('Meme saved as meme.png')
else:
    print(f'Error: {response.json()["error"]}')

PHP (cURL)

<?php
$url = 'https://websitetool.org/api/meme-generator/generate';

$data = [
    'width' => 800,
    'height' => 600,
    'bgType' => 'solid',
    'bgColor' => '#3b82f6',
    'layers' => [
        [
            'text' => 'PHP Meme',
            'x' => 400,
            'y' => 300,
            'fontFamily' => 'Impact',
            'fontSize' => 48,
            'color' => '#ffffff',
            'align' => 'center',
            'shadow' => true,
            'shadowBlur' => 5,
            'shadowColor' => '#000000',
            'stroke' => true,
            'strokeWidth' => 2,
            'strokeColor' => '#000000'
        ]
    ]
];

$ch = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($data));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ['Content-Type: application/json']);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);

if ($httpCode === 200) {
    file_put_contents('meme.png', $response);
    echo 'Meme saved as meme.png';
} else {
    $error = json_decode($response, true);
    echo 'Error: ' . $error['error'];
}
?>

cURL (Command Line)

curl -X POST https://websitetool.org/api/meme-generator/generate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "width": 800,
    "height": 600,
    "bgType": "solid",
    "bgColor": "#3b82f6",
    "layers": [
      {
        "text": "My Meme Text",
        "x": 400,
        "y": 300,
        "fontFamily": "Impact",
        "fontSize": 48,
        "color": "#ffffff",
        "align": "center",
        "shadow": true,
        "shadowBlur": 5,
        "shadowColor": "#000000",
        "stroke": true,
        "strokeWidth": 2,
        "strokeColor": "#000000"
      }
    ]
  }' \
  --output meme.png

Error Codes

HTTP Code	Error Type	Description
400	Bad Request	Invalid parameters (missing fields, invalid values, etc.)
404	Not Found	Background template image not found
500	Server Error	Internal error during meme generation

Common Validation Errors

Missing required field: [field] - Required parameter not provided
Width must be between 100 and 4000 - Canvas width out of range
Height must be between 100 and 4000 - Canvas height out of range
Must have between 1 and 5 layers - Too many or too few text layers
Layer [n] missing required field: text - Text layer missing text
Layer [n] text exceeds 5000 characters - Text too long
Layer [n] fontSize must be between 1 and 500 - Font size out of range
Layer [n] color must be a valid hex color - Invalid color format
bgType must be solid, gradient, or image - Invalid background type

Rate Limits

The API is rate-limited to prevent abuse:

Rate: 10 requests per second per IP address
Timeout: 30 seconds maximum per request
Max Canvas Size: 4000x4000 pixels

Note: If you need higher rate limits for production use, please contact us.

Background Templates

The following meme template backgrounds are available for use with bgType: "image":

Note: Template images are currently being populated. Available templates will be listed here once added.

Planned Templates

drake.png - Drake Hotline Bling
distracted-boyfriend.png - Distracted Boyfriend
woman-yelling-cat.png - Woman Yelling at Cat
change-my-mind.png - Change My Mind
success-kid.png - Success Kid
disaster-girl.png - Disaster Girl
expanding-brain.png - Expanding Brain
is-this-pigeon.png - Is This a Pigeon
surprised-pikachu.png - Surprised Pikachu
two-buttons.png - Two Buttons
bernie-sanders.png - Bernie Sanders (Mittens)
one-does-not-simply.png - One Does Not Simply

Using Custom Backgrounds

For now, only predefined templates are supported. Custom image uploads are not available via the API to maintain security and performance.

Best Practices

Text Positioning

Use align: "center" and set x to half the canvas width for centered text
For top text: set y to about 15-20% of canvas height
For bottom text: set y to about 80-85% of canvas height
Text automatically wraps if it exceeds canvas width

Text Styling

Classic memes use fontFamily: "Impact" with white text (#ffffff)
Add black stroke for readability: stroke: true, strokeColor: "#000000", strokeWidth: 2-4
Shadows help text stand out: shadow: true, shadowBlur: 4-8
For dark backgrounds, consider using white or bright colors
For light backgrounds, use dark colors with minimal or no stroke

Canvas Sizes

Square (Social Media): 1080x1080
Standard Meme: 800x600 or 1200x900
YouTube Thumbnail: 1920x1080
Twitter Post: 1200x675
Instagram Story: 1080x1920

Performance

Smaller canvas sizes generate faster
Gradients are computationally intensive on large canvases
Keep text under 1000 characters for optimal performance
Template images are cached for better performance

Support & Feedback

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please contact us.

Interactive Meme Generator: Try out the visual meme generator at websitetool.org/meme-generator/ to experiment with different settings before using the API.

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