Troubleshooting
If requests fail, run zero doctor check-connector --env-name CLOUDINARY_TOKEN or zero doctor check-connector --url https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/your-cloud-name/image/upload --method POST
How to Use
Method 1: Unsigned Upload (Simpler)
First, create an unsigned upload preset in Cloudinary Console: Settings > Upload > Upload presets > Add upload preset > Signing Mode: Unsigned
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/image/upload" -F "file=@/path/to/image.png" -F "upload_preset=your_preset_name"Method 2: Signed Upload
Generate signature and upload:
# Generate timestamp
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
# Generate signature (alphabetical order of params)
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
# Upload
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/image/upload" -F "file=@/path/to/image.png" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Upload from URL
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/image/upload" -F "file=https://example.com/image.png" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Upload Video
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/video/upload" -F "file=@/path/to/video.mp4" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Upload Video with Custom Public ID
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
PUBLIC_ID="my-videos/clip1"
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID×tamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/video/upload" -F "file=@/path/to/video.mp4" -F "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Upload Video from URL
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
PUBLIC_ID="my-videos/clip1"
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID×tamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/video/upload" -F "file=https://example.com/video.mp4" -F "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"With Custom Public ID
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
PUBLIC_ID="my-folder/my-image"
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID×tamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/image/upload" -F "file=@/path/to/image.png" -F "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Response
{
"public_id": "sample",
"secure_url": "https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/v1234567890/sample.png",
"url": "http://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/v1234567890/sample.png",
"format": "png",
"width": 800,
"height": 600
}Key field: secure_url - Use this in Markdown: 
URL Transformations
Cloudinary URLs support on-the-fly transformations:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/image/upload/{transformations}/{public_id}.{format}Examples:
# Resize to 300x200
.../image/upload/w_300,h_200/sample.png
# Auto format and quality
.../image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/sample.png
# Crop to square
.../image/upload/w_200,h_200,c_fill/sample.png
# Combine transformations
.../image/upload/w_400,h_300,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto/sample.pngVideo Concatenation (Splice)
Concatenate videos using URL transformations with l_video: (overlay) and fl_splice flag.
Basic Concatenation
Append clip2 to the end of clip1:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/video/upload/l_video:clip2,fl_splice/fl_layer_apply/clip1.mp4Concatenate Multiple Videos
Append clip2 and clip3 to clip1:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/video/upload/l_video:clip2,fl_splice/fl_layer_apply/l_video:clip3,fl_splice/fl_layer_apply/clip1.mp4With Uniform Size
Resize all videos to same dimensions:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/video/upload/w_640,h_360,c_fill/l_video:clip2,fl_splice,w_640,h_360,c_fill/fl_layer_apply/clip1.mp4With Fade Transition
Add fade out (-1000ms) on first video and fade in (1000ms) on second:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/video/upload/w_640,h_360,c_fill,e_fade:-1000/l_video:clip2,fl_splice,e_fade:1000,w_640,h_360,c_fill/fl_layer_apply/clip1.mp4Add Image as Intro (3 seconds)
Prepend an image as intro:
https://res.cloudinary.com/{cloud_name}/video/upload/l_intro_image,fl_splice,du_3/so_0,fl_layer_apply/clip1.mp4Limitations
- URL length limit (~2000 chars) restricts number of videos
- First request triggers server-side processing (slow)
- For many videos (10+), consider using ffmpeg or dedicated video APIs
Delete Media
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
PUBLIC_ID="<your-public-id>"
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID×tamp=$TIMESTAMP$CLOUDINARY_API_SECRET" | sha1sum | cut -d" " -f1)
# Delete image
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/image/destroy" -F "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"
# Delete video
curl -X POST "https://api.cloudinary.com/v1_1/<your-cloud-name>/video/destroy" -F "public_id=$PUBLIC_ID" -F "api_key=$CLOUDINARY_TOKEN" -F "timestamp=$TIMESTAMP" -F "signature=$SIGNATURE"Free Tier Limits
- 25 credits/month
- ~25,000 transformations or ~25GB storage/bandwidth
- Sufficient for personal projects
Guidelines
- Use unsigned presets for simpler uploads when security isn't critical
- Signature order: Parameters must be alphabetically sorted when generating signature
- Auto optimization: Add
f_auto,q_autoto URLs for automatic format/quality - Folders: Use
public_id="folder/subfolder/name"to organize media - Video concatenation: Keep URLs short; for 10+ videos use external tools
API Reference
- Image Upload: https://cloudinary.com/documentation/image_upload_api_reference
- Video Upload: https://cloudinary.com/documentation/video_upload_api_reference
- Video Concatenation: https://cloudinary.com/documentation/video_trimming_and_concatenating
- Console: https://console.cloudinary.com/
- Transformation Reference: https://cloudinary.com/documentation/transformation_reference