Guide

File analysis

Read and edit metadata, and analyze image content.

The API can inspect and modify the data about a file in addition to converting it. Use the metadata category to read, write, or strip a file's metadata. Every request authenticates with the lowercase x-oc-api-key header.

Read metadata

Convert into the metadata category with target json to receive the source file's metadata serialized as a JSON document. Nothing about the original file is changed — the output is a JSON file describing it. 

{
  "input": [
    {
      "type": "remote",
      "source": "https://example-files.online-convert.com/raster%20image/jpg/example.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "conversion": [
    {
      "category": "metadata",
      "target": "json"
    }
  ]
}
curl -X POST https://api.api2convert.com/v2/jobs \
  -H "x-oc-api-key: <your-api-key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data @job.json

Edit metadata

To write metadata into the file, use category metadata with target metadata and provide the fields in the conversion's metadata field — a sibling of options, not inside it. The file is returned in its original format with the updated values applied. 

{
  "input": [
    {
      "type": "remote",
      "source": "https://example-files.online-convert.com/raster%20image/jpg/example.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "conversion": [
    {
      "category": "metadata",
      "target": "metadata",
      "metadata": {
        "Copyright": "© 2026 Example"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Remove metadata

To clear specific fields, set them to an empty string in the conversion's metadata — useful for stripping author, copyright, GPS or other embedded values before sharing a file. 

{
  "input": [
    {
      "type": "remote",
      "source": "https://example-files.online-convert.com/raster%20image/jpg/example.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "conversion": [
    {
      "category": "metadata",
      "target": "metadata",
      "metadata": {
        "Copyright": "",
        "Artist": ""
      }
    }
  ]
}
To strip all metadata (EXIF, GPS, …) from an image in one step, use the compress operation with strip_metadata: true — see Compress files.

Analyze image content

Beyond reading the data about a file, the API can analyze what an image actually depicts. Convert with category operation and target analyze-image to receive a JSON report describing the image. Switch the analyses you need on or off with boolean options: nsfw flags Not-Safe-For-Work content, age estimates the age of any people depicted, and prompt adds a textual description of the image content. nsfw and age are enabled by default; prompt is off by default. 

{
  "input": [
    {
      "type": "remote",
      "source": "https://example-files.online-convert.com/raster%20image/jpg/example.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "conversion": [
    {
      "category": "operation",
      "target": "analyze-image",
      "options": {
        "nsfw": true,
        "age": true,
        "prompt": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

For the full list of supported source formats see the format explorer, and for how jobs, inputs, and results fit together review the getting started guide.

Live options

The options below are read live from the conversion engine — the metadata json (read) and metadata (edit/delete) targets, and the analyze-image operation:

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