Placeholder
The /placeholder endpoint generates SVG placeholders: simple images or animated skeleton loaders.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
type | Yes | image or skeleton | — |
width | No | Width in pixels (1–4000) | 800 |
height | No | Height in pixels (1–4000) | 600 |
bg | No | Background color (hex) | #cccccc / #e5e5e5 |
color | No | Text / highlight color (hex) | #333333 / #f5f5f5 |
text | No | Displayed text (image only) | 800×600 |
rows | No | Number of lines (skeleton only, 0–20) | 3 |
avatar | No | Avatar shape: circle, rounded, square or true | — |
lines | No | Text lines next to avatar (skeleton only) | 2 |
animate | No | Animation: shimmer, pulse, none | shimmer |
speed | No | Animation speed (0.1–10) | 1.5 |
radius | No | Border radius of blocks (0–50) | 4 |
Good to know
The bg and color defaults differ between types: image uses #cccccc/#333333, skeleton uses #e5e5e5/#f5f5f5.
Response
The response is an image/svg+xml file for both types.
Code Examples
curl -X GET \
"https://api.sylvain.sh/v4/placeholder?type=image&width=400&height=300&text=Hello"Try It
Error Handling
If parameters are missing or invalid, the API will return an error:
| Error Message | Description |
|---|---|
Type must be one of: image, skeleton | The type parameter is invalid |
width must be a number | Width is not a valid number |
width must be between 1 and 4000 | Width is out of range |
Invalid color (use hex like #ff6600) | A color parameter is malformed |
avatar must be one of: circle, rounded, square | Invalid avatar shape |
animate must be one of: shimmer, pulse, none | Invalid animation mode |
speed must be between 0.1 and 10 | Speed is out of range |
radius must be between 0 and 50 | Radius is out of range |