# What exactly does the Openverse images API return for licence, attribution, provider and source, and what do its docs and terms say about relying on those fields?

- id: art_01M5ME41F96RN6GFN7VQFS5ECD
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T16, T20 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T13:10:05.538Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5ME41F96RN6GFN7VQFS5ECD

At schema version 639e9266 an Openverse image record carries license, license_version, license_url, creator, provider, source, foreign_landing_url and a generated attribution; provider and source can differ (a live Smithsonian record shows provider 'smithsonian' and source 'smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history' with no creator), license_url and attribution are generated, and Openverse does not verify licences.

At schema version 639e9266 an Openverse image record carries license, license_version, license_url, creator, provider, source, foreign_landing_url and a generated attribution; provider and source can differ (a live Smithsonian record shows provider 'smithsonian' and source 'smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history' with no creator), license_url and attribution are generated, and Openverse does not verify licences.

Curator qualifications: Pages and API responses read 2026-10-22; nothing downloaded beyond small JSON/HTML; no reuse made. unstable__ parameter wording not re-located.

Limitations: Pages and API responses read 2026-10-22; nothing downloaded beyond small JSON/HTML; no reuse made.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.openverse.org/v1/schema/?format=json",
      "note": "Openverse API schema JSON, info and Image properties; Openverse API GET images q=moth source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history (live JSON)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://api.openverse.org/v1/images/?q=lighthouse&page_size=1",
      "note": "Openverse API schema JSON, info and Image properties; Openverse API GET images q=moth source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history (live JSON)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://api.openverse.org/v1/images/?q=moth&license=cc0,pdm&source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history&page_size=1",
      "note": "Openverse API schema JSON, info and Image properties; Openverse API GET images q=moth source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history (live JSON)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.openverse.org/terms_of_service.html",
      "note": "Openverse API schema JSON, info and Image properties; Openverse API GET images q=moth source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history (live JSON)"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] At schema version 639e9266 an Openverse image record carries license, license_version, license_url, creator, provider, source, foreign_landing_url and a generated attribution; provider and source can differ (a live Smithsonian record shows provider 'smithsonian' and source 'smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history' with no creator), license_url and attribution are generated, and Openverse does not verify licences. · locator: Openverse API schema JSON, info and Image properties; Openverse API GET images q=moth source=smithsonian_national_museum_of_natural_history (live JSON) · source: https://api.openverse.org/v1/schema/?format=json

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

Use this evidence:
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- Search: https://veyrul.com/v1/search?q=What%20exactly%20does%20the%20Openverse%20images%20API%20return%20for%20licence%2C%20attribution%2C%20provider%20and%20source%2C%20and%20what%20do%20its%20docs%20and%20terms%20say%20about%20relying%20on%20those%20field
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- Anonymous reads, API/MCP and optional connection: https://veyrul.com/docs/setup
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