Get started

Pexels for AI agents

Pexels offers a free library of high-quality stock photos and videos through an API. Marketing and content teams use it to source visuals for campaigns and websites without licensing fees. Connect it once through Arc0, and your agent, or Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, can use it through one MCP endpoint, limited to what each user approved.

Connect PexelsSee the 9 actions ↓
Design and imagesAPI keyMCP + RESTpexels.com
AUDIT LOG · PEXELSPOLICY: acme-support
09:41:07 · claude · u_8f2read
pexels.search_photos
Search Photos✓ allowed · 212ms
09:41:08 · claude · u_8f2read
pexels.get_photo
Get Photo✓ allowed · 164ms
09:41:09 · claude · u_8f2write
pexels.curated_photos
Get Curated Photos✓ approved · approved by user
EVERY PEXELS CALL, ON THE RECORD
01 · USE CASES

What agents do in Pexels.

01

Search for stock photos

Find photos matching a keyword to use in a blog post or marketing asset.

02

Search for stock videos

Find video clips matching a theme for a social media or website background.

03

Check curated collections read-only

Browse curated or featured collections for inspiration before searching manually.

02 · ACTIONS

9 Pexels actions, graded by risk.

Every Pexels action is tagged read, write or destructive, so one policy covers the whole app and new actions inherit the right default.

read

4

Look things up. Allowed by default.

  • pexels.get_photo
    Get Photo
  • pexels.search_photos
    Search Photos
  • pexels.search_videos
    Search Videos
  • pexels.get_video_by_id
    Get Video by ID

write

5

Create and change things. Allow, or ask the user first.

  • pexels.curated_photos
    Get Curated Photos
  • pexels.my_collections
    Get My Collections
  • pexels.popular_videos
    Get Popular Videos
  • pexels.collection_media
    Get Collection Media
  • pexels.featured_collections
    Featured Collections

destructive

0

Delete, cancel or archive. Ask first, or deny outright.

  • No destructive actions.
03 · HOW IT WORKS

Pexels in three steps.

  1. 01Your users connect PexelsThey add their Pexels api key on Arc0 Connect, under your brand. It goes straight into the vault.
  2. 02You set the rulesReads run, and writes like “get Curated Photos” can wait for the user to approve.
  3. 03Any agent can actYour agent calls Pexels through the Arc0 SDK or MCP, and so can Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor. Every call lands on the audit log.
POLICY.TS
await arc0.policies.set('pexels', {
  read: 'allow',
  write: 'ask',        // curated_photos
  destructive: 'deny',  
})

# Claude Code: the same connection, one URL
$ claude mcp add --transport http arc0 \
    https://mcp.arc0.ai/u/u_8f2
04 · AUTH AND DATA

How Pexels connects.

Users add their Pexels api key on Arc0 Connect. It is encrypted in the vault, never shown to the model, and each user can rotate or revoke it at any time.

The same Pexels connection serves your agent over MCP and your own backend over REST and the proxy, so a user connects once. How Arc0 handles credentials →

AUTH
API key
CREDENTIALS
Per-tenant encrypted vault
MODEL SEES
Results only, never credentials
AUDIT LOG
Every call, on every plan
05 · WORKS WITH

Use Pexels from any agent.

Claude
ChatGPT
Cursor
Codex
VS Code
OpenAI Agents SDK
Claude Agent SDK
Vercel AI SDK
Mastra
LangGraph
06 · RELATED

More design and images apps.

Figma53 actionsAbyssale4 actionsAdrapid3 actionsCloudinary109 actionsPenpot90 actionsImgix53 actionsCanva49 actionsBannerbear33 actions
ALL DESIGN AND IMAGES APPS →
07 · FAQ

Pexels and Arc0, answered.

Q01

Can I use Pexels with Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor?

Yes. Connect Pexels to Arc0 once, then add your Arc0 MCP URL to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code or any other remote-MCP client. Each assistant only gets the Pexels actions you allow.

Q02

How do users connect Pexels?

Users add their Pexels api key on Arc0 Connect. It is encrypted in the vault, never shown to the model, and each user can rotate or revoke it at any time.

Q03

Which Pexels actions can my agent take?

9 in total: 4 read, 5 write and 0 destructive, such as “get Curated Photos”. Your policies decide which of them each agent may call.

Q04

Can I make my agent read-only in Pexels?

Yes. Allow read actions and deny writes in the Pexels policy. Your agent can still look things up, and any write it attempts is blocked and logged.

Q05

Can my own backend call Pexels too?

Yes. The same Pexels connection is available over REST and through the Arc0 proxy, so your product and your agent share one connection per user.

Get started

Plug Pexels into your agent.

Your users connect Pexels once, under your brand. Your agent gets 9 actions behind your policies, with every call on the record.

Connect PexelsBrowse all apps →

Free to build · MCP + REST · Audit log on every plan