Public API

Last Updated: November 12th, 2026

The SimPictures public API lets other websites, apps and bots show published pictures of aircraft and airports. It is read-only, returns JSON, needs no API key and can be called directly from the browser.

Every picture you display must follow the attribution requirements below.

The API is also described as an OpenAPI 3.1 document, for tools such as Postman or client generators:

https://www.simpictures.com/api/v1/public/openapi.json

1. Endpoints

Each endpoint returns the latest four published pictures matching the request, newest first. Older pictures are not available through the API.

1.1 Aircraft pictures

GET https://www.simpictures.com/api/v1/public/pictures/aircraft?registration=D-AIMA

Returns pictures of the aircraft with the given registration. Only pictures of the Aircraft category are included, so detail, cockpit and cabin shots are not.

Parameter	Required	Description
`registration`	Yes	Aircraft registration. Letter case, hyphens, spaces and other separators are ignored, so `D-AIMA`, `d aima` and `DAIMA` return the same pictures.

1.2 Airport pictures

GET https://www.simpictures.com/api/v1/public/pictures/airports?icao=EDDF

Returns pictures of the Airport category taken at the airport, except ground handling pictures. Pictures with a custom location name are not included.

Parameter	Required	Description
`icao`	Yes	ICAO code of the airport, any letter case, for example `EDDF`.

1.3 Response

Both endpoints return the same format. An example from the aircraft endpoint:

{
  "data": [
    {
      "image": {
        "full": "https://cdn.simpictures.com/pictures/v2/0b7c.../full.jpg",
        "small": "https://cdn.simpictures.com/pictures/v2/0b7c.../small.webp"
      },
      "aspectRatio": "16/9",
      "flightsim": "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024",
      "author": {
        "username": "pilot",
        "url": "https://www.simpictures.com/member/pilot"
      },
      "license": {
        "name": "CC BY-ND 4.0",
        "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/"
      },
      "attribution": "Picture by pilot on SimPictures, licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0",
      "publishedAt": "2026-11-10T14:32:05.000Z",
      "id": 1234,
      "url": "https://www.simpictures.com/picture/1234",
      "title": "Airbus A380-800 Taxiing at EDDF - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024",
      "registration": "D-AIMA",
      "aircraft": {
        "typeDesignator": "A388"
      },
      "airport": {
        "icao": "EDDF",
        "name": "Frankfurt Main Airport"
      },
      "airline": "Lufthansa"
    }
  ]
}

data holds up to four pictures. If no published pictures match, data is an empty array. Each picture has these fields:

Field	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Picture ID.
`url`	URL	Picture page on SimPictures. The displayed image must link here.
`title`	string	Title of the picture, as shown on SimPictures.
`image.full`	URL	Full size JPEG.
`image.small`	URL	Smaller WebP version, suited for thumbnails and lists.
`aspectRatio`	string or `null`	Aspect ratio of the image, for example `16/9`.
`registration`	string or `null`	Registration as entered on the picture, which may differ in format from the one you searched for.
`aircraft.typeDesignator`	string or `null`	ICAO type designator, for example `A388`. `null` when the picture has no aircraft from the SimPictures database.
`airport.icao`	string or `null`	ICAO code of the airport where the picture was taken.
`airport.name`	string or `null`	Airport name. Both airport fields are `null` when the picture is not linked to an airport.
`airline`	string or `null`	Airline name.
`flightsim`	string or `null`	Flight simulator the picture was taken in.
`author.username`	string	Username of the author.
`author.url`	URL	Profile page of the author on SimPictures.
`license.name`	`CC BY-ND 4.0` or `All Rights Reserved`	License chosen by the author.
`license.url`	URL or `null`	License text, `null` for All Rights Reserved.
`attribution`	string	Attribution text to show below the image.
`publishedAt`	ISO 8601 date-time	When the picture was published, in UTC.

1.4 Status codes

Errors return a JSON body with a message field.

Status	Meaning
`200`	Up to 4 pictures, newest first. No matching published pictures returns an empty `data` array.
`400`	A required parameter is missing or a parameter is invalid, `message` tells which.
`500`	Unexpected error, try again later.
`503`	SimPictures is under maintenance or temporarily unavailable.

2. Attribution requirements

Pictures belong to their authors, who choose a license for each picture. When you display a picture from the API:

Link the image to SimPictures. The image must link to the picture page given in url.
Show the attribution text below the image. Display the attribution text directly below the image. Link the author's username to author.url and, when license.url is set, the license name to license.url.
Show the image as it is. Do not crop, edit, filter or put anything over the image. Scaling it to fit your layout is allowed.
Load images from the URLs in the response. Pictures licensed as All Rights Reserved must not be downloaded and hosted elsewhere. Pictures licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 may be copied under the terms of the license.
Do not imply endorsement. Showing a picture does not mean its author or SimPictures endorses your website, app or service.

What the license allows:

CC BY-ND 4.0: The image may be copied and distributed for any purpose, including commercial use, provided attribution is given. Modified versions may not be distributed. See CC BY-ND 4.0 .

Example in HTML:

<figure>
  <a href="https://www.simpictures.com/picture/1234">
    <img
      src="https://cdn.simpictures.com/pictures/v2/0b7c.../small.webp"
      alt="Airbus A380-800 Taxiing at EDDF - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024"
    />
  </a>
  <figcaption>
    Picture by <a href="https://www.simpictures.com/member/pilot">pilot</a> on
    <a href="https://www.simpictures.com/picture/1234">SimPictures</a>, licensed
    under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND 4.0</a>
  </figcaption>
</figure>

Pictures can be removed by their authors or by moderators. Fetch them from the API again rather than storing responses permanently, so removed pictures disappear from your website or app as well.

3. Caching and fair use

Responses are cached for up to 5 minutes. A newly published picture can take a few minutes to appear.
Cache responses on your side as well, and avoid requesting the same registration repeatedly, for example for every aircraft shown on a live map.
Use image.small for thumbnails and lists, and image.full only where the picture is shown large.
There is no API key. Traffic that degrades SimPictures for others may be blocked without notice.

4. Stability

The API is versioned in its path (/api/v1/). Within a version, fields are only added, never removed or renamed, so ignore fields you don't recognise.

Questions and feedback about the API are welcome through the feedback form linked in the menu.