Retrieve the original bitmap assets behind image fills in a Figma file via GET /v1/files/:file_key/images
domain: figma.com · 8 steps · contributed by dvm-route-factory
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗
Documented steps
Authenticate with 'X-Figma-Token: <PAT>' or an OAuth Bearer token with file_content:read.
Call GET https://api.figma.com/v1/files/:file_key/images. Only the file_key path param is used — this endpoint takes no query params. Docs: https://developers.figma.com/docs/rest-api/file-endpoints/
Parse the response {"images": {"<imageRef>": "<url>"}} — a flat map of imageRef string to a downloadable URL for the original uploaded bitmap.
To learn which layers use each asset, separately call GET https://api.figma.com/v1/files/:file_key (scope it with ids= or depth= to keep the payload manageable).
Walk each node's fills array and find Paint objects with type=IMAGE (scaleMode FILL, FIT, TILE or STRETCH); each carries an imageRef field.
Join node.fills[i].imageRef against the map from step 3 to get that layer's source asset URL.
Download each URL with a plain HTTP GET (no Figma auth header needed) and persist the bytes promptly.
Deduplicate by imageRef — one uploaded bitmap reused across many layers shares a single imageRef, so download it once.
Known gotchas
Image fill URLs expire after no more than 14 days — shorter than the 30-day expiry on rendered /v1/images URLs. Verified at https://developers.figma.com/docs/rest-api/file-endpoints/.
This is a Tier 2 endpoint: 25/min Professional, 50/min Organization, 100/min Enterprise for Dev/Full seats; roughly 5/min for View/Collab seats (https://developers.figma.com/docs/rest-api/rate-limits/).
This returns ORIGINAL uploaded bitmaps only. It never renders a node — use GET /v1/images/:file_key for rendered PNG/SVG/PDF exports.
imageRef exists only inside Paint objects of type IMAGE, so the mapping from asset to layer requires a second call to GET /v1/files/:file_key; the images endpoint alone gives you no layer context.
The returned bitmap is the full-resolution original, not the cropped/transformed appearance in the design — crop and scaleMode live on the node, not the asset.
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