MegaConvert API

Introduction

The MegaConvert API lets you convert files between 500+ formats programmatically. Documents, images, videos, audio, ebooks, archives — all through a simple REST API.

Quick Start

Convert a file in one command. No SDK needed.

curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@document.docx" \
  -F "output_format=pdf" \
  -o document.pdf

That's it. The converted file is saved as document.pdf. No polling, no callbacks, no waiting.

Authentication

All API requests (except /formats and /tools) require an API key sent via the X-API-Key header.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/usage \
  -H "X-API-Key: mc_your_api_key_here"

Getting an API Key

1. Register for a free account
2. Go to Dashboard → API Keys
3. Click "Create API Key" — copy it immediately (shown only once)

Rate Limits & Plans

Every response includes rate limit headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 10
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 7

Limits reset daily at midnight UTC. Need more? Contact us for enterprise plans.

Upload a file and receive the converted file directly in the response. No polling required. Perfect for scripts, CLI tools, and AI assistants.

Response

• 200 — Converted file binary (check Content-Type header)
• 202 — Conversion still processing (JSON with job_id and status_url for polling)
• 422 — Conversion failed (JSON error)

Examples

# Convert Word to PDF
curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@report.docx" \
  -F "output_format=pdf" \
  -o report.pdf

# Convert PNG to WebP
curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@photo.png" \
  -F "output_format=webp" \
  -o photo.webp

# Convert video MP4 to MP3 (extract audio)
curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@video.mp4" \
  -F "output_format=mp3" \
  -o audio.mp3

POST /convert

Async conversion. Upload a file, get a job ID, then poll for status. Best for large files or batch processing.

curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@large-video.mov" \
  -F "output_format=mp4"

Response:

{
  "job_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "status": "pending",
  "input_format": "mov",
  "output_format": "mp4",
  "file_size": 52428800,
  "status_url": "https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/status/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "download_url": "https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/download/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
}

POST /tool

Apply a tool to a file (compress, rotate, resize, etc.).

# Compress a PDF
curl -X POST https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/tool \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@large.pdf" \
  -F "tool=compress" \
  -F "quality=balanced"

GET /status/{job_id}

Check the progress of an async conversion job.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/status/JOB_ID \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Response when completed:

{
  "job_id": "a1b2c3d4-...",
  "status": "completed",
  "progress": 100,
  "output_size": 245760,
  "download_url": "https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/download/a1b2c3d4-..."
}

Possible statuses: pending, processing, completed, failed

GET /download/{job_id}

Download the converted file from an async job.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/download/JOB_ID \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o output.pdf

Files expire after 24 hours.

GET /formats

List all supported conversion pairs. No authentication required.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/formats

GET /tools

List all available tools (compress, rotate, etc.). No authentication required.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/tools

GET /usage

Check your current usage and remaining quota.

curl https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/usage \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

{
  "plan": "free",
  "requests_today": 3,
  "rate_limit": 10,
  "remaining": 7,
  "max_file_size": 26214400,
  "max_file_size_human": "25 MB"
}

Code Examples

#!/bin/bash
# Convert a file with MegaConvert API

API_KEY="${MEGACONVERT_API_KEY:-your_key_here}"
INPUT_FILE="$1"
OUTPUT_FORMAT="$2"
OUTPUT_FILE="${3:-output.$OUTPUT_FORMAT}"

curl -X POST "https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@$INPUT_FILE" \
  -F "output_format=$OUTPUT_FORMAT" \
  -o "$OUTPUT_FILE"

echo "Converted: $OUTPUT_FILE"

# pip install requests (only dependency)
import requests
import os

API_KEY = os.environ.get('MEGACONVERT_API_KEY', 'your_key_here')
BASE_URL = 'https://megaconvert.io/api/v1'

def convert(input_path: str, output_format: str, output_path: str = None) -> str:
    """Convert a file to another format. Returns output path."""
    if not output_path:
        base = os.path.splitext(input_path)[0]
        output_path = f"{base}.{output_format}"

    with open(input_path, 'rb') as f:
        resp = requests.post(
            f'{BASE_URL}/convert/sync',
            headers={'X-API-Key': API_KEY},
            files={'file': (os.path.basename(input_path), f)},
            data={'output_format': output_format},
            stream=True
        )

    if resp.status_code == 200:
        with open(output_path, 'wb') as out:
            for chunk in resp.iter_content(8192):
                out.write(chunk)
        return output_path
    elif resp.status_code == 202:
        # Still processing - poll status_url
        data = resp.json()
        print(f"Processing... poll: {data['status_url']}")
        return None
    else:
        raise Exception(f"Error {resp.status_code}: {resp.json()}")

# Usage
convert('document.docx', 'pdf')
convert('photo.heic', 'jpg')
convert('video.mov', 'mp4', 'output.mp4')

// Node.js 18+ (native fetch, no dependencies)
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const API_KEY = process.env.MEGACONVERT_API_KEY || 'your_key_here';
const BASE_URL = 'https://megaconvert.io/api/v1';

async function convert(inputPath, outputFormat, outputPath) {
  if (!outputPath) {
    const base = path.basename(inputPath, path.extname(inputPath));
    outputPath = `${base}.${outputFormat}`;
  }

  const form = new FormData();
  form.append('file', new Blob([fs.readFileSync(inputPath)]), path.basename(inputPath));
  form.append('output_format', outputFormat);

  const resp = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/convert/sync`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'X-API-Key': API_KEY },
    body: form,
  });

  if (resp.ok) {
    const buffer = Buffer.from(await resp.arrayBuffer());
    fs.writeFileSync(outputPath, buffer);
    return outputPath;
  } else {
    const err = await resp.json();
    throw new Error(`Error ${resp.status}: ${err.error}`);
  }
}

// Usage
convert('report.docx', 'pdf').then(console.log);
convert('image.png', 'webp').then(console.log);

<?php
// No dependencies - uses built-in cURL

function megaconvert(string $inputPath, string $outputFormat, string $outputPath = ''): string {
    $apiKey = getenv('MEGACONVERT_API_KEY') ?: 'your_key_here';

    if (!$outputPath) {
        $outputPath = pathinfo($inputPath, PATHINFO_FILENAME) . '.' . $outputFormat;
    }

    $ch = curl_init('https://megaconvert.io/api/v1/convert/sync');
    curl_setopt_array($ch, [
        CURLOPT_POST => true,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ["X-API-Key: $apiKey"],
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => [
            'file' => new CURLFile($inputPath),
            'output_format' => $outputFormat,
        ],
    ]);

    $response = curl_exec($ch);
    $httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
    curl_close($ch);

    if ($httpCode === 200) {
        file_put_contents($outputPath, $response);
        return $outputPath;
    }

    throw new RuntimeException("Conversion failed ($httpCode): $response");
}

// Usage
megaconvert('invoice.docx', 'pdf');
megaconvert('photo.png', 'webp', 'optimized.webp');

Error Codes

All errors return JSON: {"error": "...", "code": "..."}

Changelog