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Media Library Widget API reference

Last updated: Nov-27-2025

The Media Library widget API reference details all the parameter options that you can use when configuring the Media Library widget.

See also:

On this page:

Installation

To use the Media Library widget, include Cloudinary's Media Library JavaScript file in your HTML:

The all.js file instantiates the cloudinary class with access to initialization methods, configuration options, callbacks, and events.

Configuration

When you call the openMediaLibrary() or createMediaLibrary() method, you pass it a set of configuration options. These options include the mandatory cloud_name and api_key options. Additionally, you can include a variety of optional settings that control the behavior and look and feel of the widget.

You can also optionally adjust the values of the Media Library behavior options when re-opening the widget using the show() method.

Configuration options

Option Description Default Value
Authentication
cloud_name Required. String. The cloud_name of the product environment to access.
api_key Required. String. The product environment API key.
username String. The user name to use when accessing Cloudinary.

When this value is provided, if the user is not already logged in, the Cloudinary login screen opens with the specified user name already displayed.
When not provided, the user can manually enter any user name and corresponding password in the Cloudinary login screen.		 None
use_saml Boolean. Whether to perform automatic SSO login via SAML for the specified username. This parameter is relevant only if the 'Enforce SAML login' option is disabled for your account. False
saml_iframe_support Boolean. Enables opening a new tab for SSO login via SAML, which automatically closes upon completion. Useful for Azure SSO login, as Azure blocks login within an iframe, preventing successful login.

Note: Browser pop-up blockers may require user permission (once) to allow the new tab.

False
Analytics Note: Adding analytics is a requirement for becoming a Cloudinary integration partner.
integration Object. Enables seamless analytics tracking within the widget for analyzing usage patterns and performance metrics. For more information, see How to add analytics to your integration. None
Client-side
button_caption String. The caption text to display on the button in the page that opens the Media Library.

Applied when the btnPlaceholder parameter is provided in the widget instantiation method.

 Open Media Library
button_class String. The class to use for the button in the page that opens the Media Library.

Applied when the btnPlaceholder parameter is provided in the widget instantiation method.

 None
(Uses a default HTML button element.)
inline_container String or HTMLElement. The selector string or HTMLElement that will contain the Media Library widget. Include this parameter if you want the Media Library to open as an embedded element in your web page.

When opened as modal (default), the Media Library blocks access to your application page. When opened inline, your application is not blocked.		 None
(opens as a modal dialog box)
insert_caption String. The caption text to display on the Insert button. If you want to use an external mechanism for the insert operation, you can set this option to null or an empty string to hide the built-in insert button entirely. Insert
remove_header Boolean. Whether to remove the blue top banner when opening the widget inline. Only relevant when inline_container also has a value set. When opening the widget as a modal dialog box, this parameter is ignored. False
z_index Integer. Sets the CSS stack order of the Media Library element.

Relevant when working with the Media Library widget as a modal dialog
(when inline_container is not defined).

 99999 (top)
Media Library behavior Note: These options can also be adjusted using the show() method.
default_transformations Object[][]. A transformation object containing one or more transformations that you want to apply to every inserted media asset. each transformation can include multiple chained components if needed. This is defined in the same way you would define an eager transformation. For example: [[{quality: "auto"},{fetch_format: "auto"}]]

Your default transformation can also be a complex, chained transformation object that controls the size and quality, adds overlays, and more. Additionally, it can contain more than one transformation definition. In that case, multiple derived images are created for each selected asset and included in the response.

Notes:
  • If the user selects a transformation from the asset drill-down page, your default transformation is chained after the user's transformation.
  • If your library includes multiple media types (image, video, raw), make sure that your default transformation works well on all relevant types.
 None
max_files Max number of media assets that can be added during a single session. Relevant when multiple=true. 20
multiple Boolean. Whether to allow users to select multiple images from the Media Library asset grid. True
Custom show() options These options are relevant only for the show() method.
asset Object. Instructs the widget to open directly to the Manage page of the Media library with a specified asset. The unique identifier of the asset to open is specified with an asset object. The asset object can either separately define the resource_type, type, and public_id, or as a single resource_id identifier.
For example:
{asset: {resource_type: "image", type: "upload", public_id: "sample"}}
  OR
{asset: {resource_id: "image/upload/sample"}} 		None
collection Object. Instructs the widget to open in collections view:

  • Passing an empty object opens the collection view showing all collections, for example: collection: {}
  • Passing a collection ID opens the widget with a specific collection displayed (the id number is the last component of the URL when viewing the collection in the Media Library Console), for example: collection: { id: XXXX }
None
search Object. Instructs the widget to open in search view:

  • Passing an empty object opens the default search view with no filter, for example: search: {}
  • Passing a search expression opens the widget with the view results filtered as per the search expression, for example: search: {expression: 'resource_type:image AND tags=kitten'}
See the Search expressions documentation for more information		 None
folder Object. Instructs the widget to open in browse mode, displaying the contents of the specified folder, and optionally filtered to a specific asset type. These options are specified with a folder object as follows:
{folder: {path: "folder", resource_type: "video"}} 		Root (Home) folder,
All asset types
transformation Object. Instructs the widget to open directly to the Edit page of the Media library with a specified asset, and with a specified transformation already applied. The asset and transformation are specified in URL format with a transformation object as follows:
{transformation:{url: "https://res.cloudinary.com/demo/image/upload/c_scale,w_123/a_45/v1653893768/cld-sample-3.jpg"}} 		None

Note
All transformations use the JavaScript (legacy) syntax. When looking at transformation examples in the rest of the documentation, you can change the JS tab to display the legacy (cloudinary-core) code examples.

Callbacks

When instantiating the Media Library widget, you pass a callbacks object containing functions that handle widget events.

insertHandler

The insertHandler callback function is called when a user selects media assets to insert and closes the Media Library. The widget returns a JSON payload that includes the URL(s) of the selected asset(s), any derived assets based on specified or default transformations, as well as other asset data.

Callback signature
Returned data

The returned data consists of an array of Objects - one for each inserted asset. Each object includes the following attributes (shown here in alphabetical order):

  • asset_folder: string (dynamic folder mode only)
  • bytes: number
  • context: Object[]
  • created_at: string
  • derived: Object[]
  • display_name: string (dynamic folder mode only)
  • folder: string (fixed folder mode only)
  • format: string
  • height: number
  • public_id: string
  • resource_type: string
  • secure_url: string
  • tags: string[]
  • type:"upload"
  • url: string
  • version: number
  • width: number
  • [duration: number] - for video assets only

Note about derived assets
If you configure default_transformations, or if the asset already has derived asset versions, the widget includes those transformed assets in the derived object of the payload, alongside the original. Each entry has its own url and secure_url. Cloudinary's best practice is to deliver the derived URLs (derived.secure_url) whenever they are available, rather than the original asset.
Example

showHandler

Optional callback function that runs when the Media Library widget is displayed.

Example

hideHandler

Optional callback function that runs when the Media Library widget is hidden.

Example

Events

After instantiating the Media Library widget, you can register event handlers using the on() method to listen for specific widget events.

upload

The upload event is triggered when assets are uploaded through the Media Library widget's embedded upload functionality.

Example

Note
For a full listing of events triggered by the embedded upload widget, see the Events section in the Upload Widget API reference.

delete

The delete event is triggered when an asset is deleted through the Media Library widget.

Example

Methods

The Media Library widget provides both initialization methods for creating widget instances and instance methods for controlling the widget after it's been created.

Initialization methods

The initialization JavaScript methods are publicly available after including Cloudinary's Media Library JavaScript file.

Note
For the list of methods that can be used with the returned widget object from one of these initialization methods, see the instance methods section.

createMediaLibrary

Creates a widget object in memory, but does not display it until the show() method of the returned widget object is called.

Tip
Improve the perceived performance of your site by creating the widget while your site is loading and then calling the show() method from a click event.
Syntax

cloudinary.createMediaLibrary(config, callbacks, btnPlaceholder)

Parameter Type Description
config Object A map of the Media Library widget parameters to apply. See the configuration options section for a full list of options available.
callbacks Object An object containing callback functions. The primary callback is insertHandler, which is called when the user selects media assets. Additional optional callbacks include showHandler and hideHandler.
btnPlaceholder String or HTML element Optional. An HTML element or selector in your web page that will be replaced with a new button that toggles the Media Library instance open and closed. You can configure the appearance and text of this button by defining the button_class and button_caption configuration options.

Alternatively, you can omit this parameter and control when the widget opens by calling the show() method programmatically from your own UI elements.
Example

openMediaLibrary

Creates a widget object in memory and also opens the widget immediately.

Syntax

cloudinary.openMediaLibrary(config, callbacks, btnPlaceholder)

Parameter Type Description
config Object A map of the Media Library widget parameters to apply. See the configuration options section for a full list of options available.
callbacks Object An object containing callback functions. The primary callback is insertHandler, which is called when the user selects media assets. Additional optional callbacks include showHandler and hideHandler.
btnPlaceholder String or HTML element Optional. An HTML element or selector in your web page that will be replaced with a new button that toggles the Media Library instance open and closed. You can configure the appearance and text of this button by defining the button_class and button_caption configuration options. Since openMediaLibrary opens the widget immediately, this parameter is typically only needed if you want to create a button for reopening the widget later.
Example

Instance methods

After the Media Library has been instantiated using one of the initialization methods, you can use the following methods to control and interact with the widget.

show

Opens the Media Library widget. If you want to adjust any of the Media Library behavior or Custom show() options that were defined when you instantiated the widget, you can optionally pass a new config object with the settings you want to change for this particular show session.

Syntax

window.mediaLibraryHandler.show(config)

Parameter Type Description
config Object Optional. An object containing configuration options to adjust for this show session. You can adjust the Media Library behavior options or specify custom show() options such as opening to a specific folder, asset, or search view.
Example

Note
When you hide the widget using the hide() method, any adjusted options that were passed in the show() command are forgotten, and the settings revert to those set in the initial instantiation.

hide

Closes the Media Library widget. When you hide the widget, any adjusted options that were passed in the show() command are forgotten, and the settings revert to those set in the initial instantiation.

Syntax

window.mediaLibraryHandler.hide()

Example

on

Registers an event handler for specific widget events. You can use this to listen for upload or delete events triggered by the Media Library widget.

Syntax

window.mediaLibraryHandler.on(event_name, handler)

Parameter Type Description
event_name String The name of the event to listen for. Supported values: upload, delete
handler Function A callback function that will be called when the event is triggered. The function receives event data as a parameter.
Example

Note
For a full listing of events triggered by the embedded upload widget, see the Events section in the Upload Widget API reference.

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