GIFs.so exposes a curated reaction library through REST and MCP. For a first REST request, create an account, verify your email, and create an API key from the account settings. Access is currently free and sponsor-supported.
The key belongs on your server or in a local environment variable. Do not put it in a public frontend bundle or a screenshot of a terminal command.
Make a small search request
This shell example expects GIFS_API_KEY to be set in your local environment:
curl --get 'https://gifs.so/api/rest/gifs' \
--data-urlencode 'query=happy' \
--data-urlencode 'limit=10' \
-H "x-api-key: $GIFS_API_KEY"
Search uses query, an optional category, limit, and offset. The page size is between 1 and 100; the default is 24. Start small while checking your integration.
A successful search returns items, total, nextOffset, and sponsors. Each GIF item includes its ID, title, description, dimensions, tags, source URL, thumbnail URL, GIF URL, and a nullable MP4 URL. Do not assume every result has a video rendition.
Add categories and pagination
Use GET /api/rest/categories for current category IDs and names. Use GET /api/rest/gifs/{id} when you need one known item. Do not construct an ID from its title.
For the next search page, pass the returned nextOffset as offset with the same query and category. Stop when it is null. Reset the offset whenever either search input changes.
Keep sponsor entries separate from GIF items and render them as labeled sponsored cards when integrating the picker. They are not alternate GIF records and should not be inserted into the organic result count.
Handle the first failures clearly
A 401 requires checking credentials and verified account access. A 429 requires backing off; it is not a reason to rotate keys. Limits are shared across an account: 120 authenticated requests per minute and 20,000 per day.
Consult the integration guide, OpenAPI, and llms.txt for the current API contract. The JavaScript example shows response validation, and the pagination guide covers changing queries while a request is in flight.