Upload Files to ImageKit

CRITICAL: Only URL-based uploads are supported

The file parameter must be a publicly accessible URL string. Local files cannot be uploaded — local paths, Buffers, and streams are not supported and will fail. If the user has a local file, they must first host it at a public URL and pass that URL.

Both file and fileName are required.

NEVER convert a local file to a base64 (data URI) string and try to upload it. Reading a file into the model context to base64-encode it burns a huge number of LLM tokens and still won't work for large files. Always pass a URL — never inline file bytes.

Uploads are performed with the SDK's client.files.upload() method via mcp_imagekit_api_execute.

Usage

async function run(client) {
  const file = await client.files.upload({
    file: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg', // URL string ONLY — no local paths
    fileName: 'photo.jpg',
    folder: '/products',
    tags: ['product', 'featured'],
  });
  return { fileId: file.fileId, url: file.url, size: file.size, fileType: file.fileType };
}

Parameters

Parameter names mirror the Upload API (FileUploadV1) field names in camelCase. When a field is omitted, ImageKit applies its own default.

Examples

// Basic upload to a folder with tags
await client.files.upload({
  file: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
  fileName: 'photo.jpg',
  folder: '/products',
  tags: ['product', 'featured'],
});

// Overwrite an exact-named file
await client.files.upload({
  file: 'https://example.com/banner.jpg',
  fileName: 'banner.jpg',
  useUniqueFileName: false,
  overwriteFile: true,
});

// Upload with auto-tagging extension
await client.files.upload({
  file: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
  fileName: 'photo.jpg',
  extensions: [{ name: 'google-auto-tagging', maxTags: 5 }],
});

// Upload with custom metadata and a pre-transformation
await client.files.upload({
  file: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
  fileName: 'photo.jpg',
  customMetadata: { brand: 'Nike' },
  transformation: { pre: 'w-1200,q-80' },
});

Notes

• Local files cannot be uploaded. Only a publicly accessible URL works. If the user provides a local path, tell them to host it publicly first and share the URL.
• folder is the ImageKit media library path (not local). Starts with /, auto-creates nested folders. Don't include the filename in the folder path.
• fileName allows: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, ., -. Other characters become _.
• useUniqueFileName defaults to true (a unique suffix is appended). To overwrite an exact-named file, set useUniqueFileName: false and overwriteFile: true.
• customMetadata fields must be created in the DAM first.

Procedure

1. Get a public URL: Confirm the file is available at a publicly accessible URL. If the user has only a local file, stop and ask them to host it and provide the URL.
2. Decide folder and tags: Where in the ImageKit media library the file should live.
3. Run the upload via mcp_imagekit_api_execute using client.files.upload().
4. Verify the response: Confirm a fileId and url are returned and the reported size/fileType match (fileType is image for images, non-image for video and other files).

Error Prevention

• Local paths fail: Passing a local file path, Buffer, or stream is not supported — always pass a URL string.
• Never base64-encode a file to upload it: Converting a local file to a base64/data-URI string wastes LLM tokens and fails for large files. Host the file and pass its URL instead.
• File size limits: Free plan: 25MB images, 100MB videos. Paid plans: higher.
• Version limit: Max 100 versions per file.