Documentation

Getting Started

fallback.pics is a lightning-fast placeholder image service that requires zero setup. Simply use our URLs directly in your HTML, and we'll generate images on-demand.

<img src=https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300 alt="Placeholder">
Basic placeholder example

Basic Usage

The simplest way to use fallback.pics is to specify dimensions in the URL path.

Rectangle

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/600x400 Rectangle example

Square

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/200 Square example

Dimensions

Size Range: 10x10 pixels to 4000x4000 pixels

Minimum Size

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/10x10 Minimum size

Large Size

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/1200x600 Large size

Image Formats

Support for all modern image formats. Simply add the extension to your URL.

SVG

Vector, scalable

.svg

PNG

Lossless

.png

JPEG

Compressed

.jpg

WebP

Modern

.webp

AVIF

Next-gen

.avif

GIF

Legacy

.gif
https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300.webp

Colors

Customize background and text colors using hex codes or CSS color names.

Path-based Colors

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300/3B82F6/FFFFFF Path colors

Query Parameters

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?bg=FF0000&fg=FFFFFF Query colors

CSS Color Names

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?bg=navy&fg=gold CSS colors

Transparent Background

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?bg=transparent
Transparent background

Available CSS Colors

red
blue
green
yellow
purple
orange
pink
brown
gray
black
white
navy
teal
lime
gold
silver
indigo
violet

Text Customization

Custom Text

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?text=Product+Image Custom text

Multi-line Text

Use \n for line breaks

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?text=Line+1\nLine+2\nLine+3 Multi-line text

Font Size

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/400x300?text=Large&fontSize=48 Large font

Font Selection

Choose from 11 professional font families.

System UI

?font=system System UI

Sans Serif

?font=sans Sans Serif

Serif

?font=serif Serif

Monospace

?font=mono Monospace

Inter

?font=inter Inter

Roboto

?font=roboto Roboto

Lato

?font=lato Lato

Montserrat

?font=montserrat Montserrat

Open Sans

?font=opensans Open Sans

Raleway

?font=raleway Raleway

Poppins

?font=poppins Poppins

Presets

Pre-configured layouts for common use cases.

Avatar

Perfect for user profiles

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/avatar/100 Avatar
https://fallback.pics/api/v1/avatar/100?text=JD Avatar with initials

Banner

Wide format for headers

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/banner/1200x400 Banner

Blur Effect

Blurred placeholder effect

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/blur/400x300 Blur effect

Skeleton Loader

Loading state placeholder

https://fallback.pics/api/v1/skeleton/400x300 Skeleton loader

AI-Powered Generation

Generate contextually relevant placeholders based on industry and mood.

E-commerce

?context=e-commerce&mood=minimal E-commerce AI

Technology

?context=tech&mood=futuristic Tech AI

Healthcare

?context=healthcare&mood=calm Healthcare AI

Fashion

?context=fashion&mood=elegant Fashion AI

Available Contexts

  • • e-commerce
  • • tech
  • • healthcare
  • • education
  • • finance
  • • travel
  • • food
  • • fashion

Available Moods

  • • vibrant
  • • minimal
  • • professional
  • • playful
  • • elegant
  • • bold
  • • calm
  • • futuristic

Animated Placeholders

CSS-only animations for loading states. Supports reduced motion for accessibility.

skeleton

Shimmer effect

animated/skeleton/300x200 skeleton

pulse

Pulsing opacity

animated/pulse/300x200 pulse

wave

Wave animation

animated/wave/300x200 wave

shimmer

Light sweep

animated/shimmer/300x200 shimmer

gradient

Rotating gradient

animated/gradient/300x200 gradient

dots

Loading dots

animated/dots/300x200 dots

Accessibility: Add ?reducedMotion=true to disable animations for users who prefer reduced motion.

Data Visualization Placeholders

Professional chart mockups for dashboards and analytics interfaces.

Bar Chart

chart/bar/600x400 Bar Chart

Pie Chart

chart/pie/600x400 Pie Chart

Line Chart

chart/line/600x400 Line Chart

Area Chart

chart/area/600x400 Area Chart

Donut Chart

chart/donut/600x400 Donut Chart

Scatter Plot

chart/scatter/600x400 Scatter Plot

Radar Chart

chart/radar/600x400 Radar Chart

Heatmap

chart/heatmap/600x400 Heatmap

Retina Support

Generate high-resolution images for retina displays.

Standard (1x)

200x200 1x

Retina (2x)

200x200?retina=2 2x

Renders at 400x400, displays at 200x200

Super Retina (3x)

200x200?retina=3 3x

Renders at 600x600, displays at 200x200