Estimate

Endpoint

You describe a file and the request you plan to make. The API answers with the format the result would have, whether it can go as a direct request or needs a job, and what it would cost. No file is sent, nothing is processed, and the estimate itself is free. It works with a live key and with a test key.

Request

Send a JSON body. A field that is not listed here is refused with bad_request.

Response

Status 200.

{
  "object": "estimate",
  "operation": "compress",
  "kind": "image",
  "input_format": "jpg",
  "output_format": "avif",
  "lane": "direct",
  "meter": "images",
  "quantity": 1,
  "amount_usd": 0.01,
  "notes": [
    "If the file cannot be made smaller it is returned unchanged and the request is free."
  ]
}

How the estimate is made

• From the name, not the content. The kind of file is read from the extension of filename. The real request reads it from the file's content. If the two disagree, the real request follows the content.
• As if it succeeds. The amount is the charge for a successful request. A request that fails, or that returns the input unchanged, costs nothing.
• Video. The price follows the size of the output. For a compress estimate, video.resolution is applied to the width and height you send, and video.codec and video.format decide the codec.
• Limits are not checked, apart from the file size. A file over a pixel, page or length limit gets an estimate and then fails as a real request.
• Spend cap and plan credit are not applied. The amount is the value of the usage, not what your next invoice will add.

Errors

Examples

The price of compressing a JPEG to AVIF:

curl -X POST "https://api.smolmac.com/v1/estimate" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SMOL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "operation": "compress",
    "filename": "photo.jpg",
    "size": 1614027,
    "options": { "image": { "format": "avif" } }
  }'

const response = await fetch("https://api.smolmac.com/v1/estimate", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.SMOL_API_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    operation: "compress",
    filename: "photo.jpg",
    size: 1614027,
    options: { image: { format: "avif" } },
  }),
});
const estimate = await response.json();
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${estimate.error.code}: ${estimate.error.message}`);
console.log(estimate.lane, estimate.amount_usd, estimate.notes);

import os
import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.smolmac.com/v1/estimate",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SMOL_API_KEY']}"},
    json={
        "operation": "compress",
        "filename": "photo.jpg",
        "size": 1614027,
        "options": {"image": {"format": "avif"}},
    },
)
estimate = response.json()
if not response.ok:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{estimate['error']['code']}: {estimate['error']['message']}")
print(estimate["lane"], estimate["amount_usd"], estimate["notes"])

The price of compressing a video of 2 minutes 30 seconds at 1920 by 1080, with the default codec, H.265. Three started minutes, times 14 units for 1080, times 1.5 for H.265, is 63 units:

{
  "operation": "compress",
  "filename": "talk.mov",
  "size": 262144000,
  "duration_seconds": 150,
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080
}

{
  "object": "estimate",
  "operation": "compress",
  "kind": "video",
  "input_format": "mov",
  "output_format": "mp4",
  "lane": "job",
  "meter": "video_units",
  "quantity": 63,
  "amount_usd": 0.1575,
  "notes": [
    "If the file cannot be made smaller it is returned unchanged and the request is free."
  ]
}