Public API
Scientific figure API
Generate and edit scientific illustrations, plot charts from your data and draw flowcharts over HTTP, with the same engines as the SciFig website.
Same credits as the website: buy them once on the pricing page and use them anywhere.
curl -X POST https://scifig.ai/api/v1/images/generations \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SCIFIG_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
-H "Prefer: wait=25" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"prompt": "Mitochondrial electron transport chain, labelled", "aspect_ratio": "4:3"}'Getting access
- 1
Sign in
Use your SciFig account. Read-only keys work on any account; keys that create figures need an active subscription or a credit-pack balance above zero.
- 2
Create a key
Under Settings → Developer, pick read-only or read and generate, and an expiry. The key is shown once.
- 3
Call and wait
Send a request with an Idempotency-Key and
Prefer: wait=25, then download the outputs or read the job until it finishes.
What the API does
Image generations
POST /images/generations
Scientific illustrations from a prompt, with styles, palettes and up to three reference images.
Image edits
POST /images/edits
Edit by instruction or masked region, white background, new aspect ratio, recolor, or replace text in place.
Upscales
POST /images/upscales
Upscale to 2K, 4K or 8K for print.
Conversions
POST /images/conversions
Editable SVG by vectorization; PNG, PDF, TIFF and PPTX at 300–1000 DPI, flowcharts included.
Data charts
POST /charts/generations
Publication-ready charts from CSV or Excel in journal styles, then follow-up edits.
Flowcharts
POST /flowcharts/generations
CONSORT diagrams, workflows and pipelines as editable SVG, then follow-up edits.
Files
POST /files · GET /files/{id}
Upload images, masks and attachments; download every output with a signed link.
Jobs and credits
GET /jobs/{id} · GET /credits
Status, outputs and the exact credits reserved, charged and refunded.
Working inside an AI assistant?
Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to the SciFig MCP server. Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code and Codex sign in with your SciFig account; Cursor uses an API key.
What each call costs
| Operation | Credits |
|---|---|
| Image generation | 50 / 75 / 100 (standard / advanced / premium) |
| Image edit | 50 / 75 / 100; region or text 100 |
| Text detection | Free |
| Upscale | 50 / 100 / 150 (2K / 4K / 8K) |
| Conversion | SVG 150; PNG, PDF, TIFF and PPTX free |
| Chart or chart edit | 100 |
| Flowchart or flowchart edit | 100 |
| Reading jobs, files, credits and prices | Free |
Credits are reserved when a job starts, charged once when it succeeds and returned in full when it fails. All prices.
Limits
20
create requests per minute per key
40
create requests per minute per account
120
read requests per minute per key
30 s
longest bounded wait per request
200
free raster conversions per day
Running tasks and tasks per hour follow your plan and are shared with the website. A 429 carries Retry-After: wait, then retry with the same Idempotency-Key.
Questions
Do I need a paid plan?+
Read-only keys work on every account. Keys that create figures need an active subscription or a credit-pack balance above zero, because every creation spends credits.
Are API credits separate from website credits?+
No. The website, the API and the MCP server share one balance and one price list.
What happens when a job fails?+
Its reservation is returned in full. An illustration that timed out may still be delivered for free within 24 hours; the job says until when.
Do my results appear on the website?+
Yes. Charts and flowcharts appear as conversations in their workspaces, where you can keep editing them; their outputs carry an editor_url that opens them there. Download links in API responses last an hour; read the job again for a new one.
Is there a test mode?+
No. Read-only calls and PNG, PDF, TIFF and PPTX conversions are free, so you can wire up most of an integration without spending credits.
Can I get higher limits?+
Write to us through the contact page with your expected volume.
Start with the request above
Create a key, paste the cURL command into a terminal and your figure is ready in about a minute.