TikTok photo-post API: the facts

Source: Content Posting API — photo post reference, get started, content sharing guidelines. Checked 2026-10-12.

Request

POST https://open.tiktokapis.com/v2/post/publish/content/init/ Scope: video.publish (direct post) or video.upload (send to inbox). Header Authorization: Bearer <user token>.

{
  "media_type": "PHOTO",
  "post_mode": "MEDIA_UPLOAD",
  "post_info": {
    "title": "max 90 UTF-16 runes",
    "description": "max 4000 UTF-16 runes"
  },
  "source_info": {
    "source": "PULL_FROM_URL",
    "photo_images": ["https://your-verified-domain/slide-1.jpg", "..."],
    "photo_cover_index": 0
  }
}

Field	Values / limit
media_type	PHOTO only
post_mode	DIRECT_POST (publishes) or MEDIA_UPLOAD (user finishes in the TikTok app; needs app ≥ 31.8; inbox notification)
privacy_level (direct post)	One of the values returned by the creator-info query: PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE, MUTUAL_FOLLOW_FRIENDS, FOLLOWER_OF_CREATOR, SELF_ONLY
disable_comment, auto_add_music, brand_content_toggle, brand_organic_toggle	Optional, direct post only
is_aigc	Optional; adds the AI-generated label
photo_images	Up to 35 public URLs on a domain/prefix you verified
photo_cover_index	0-based cover slide

Limits and errors

Limit	Error
6 requests / minute / user token	HTTP 429 rate_limit_exceeded
Daily posts per account	spam_risk_too_many_posts
5 pending inbox shares per 24 h	spam_risk_too_many_pending_share
Daily active-publisher quota per client app	reached_active_user_cap
Unaudited client app	Posts only to private accounts / SELF_ONLY: unaudited_client_can_only_post_to_private_accounts

What this means for the slideshow loop

• You can't choose a sound by API. Either auto_add_music (direct post) or a human picks a sound.
• Before your app passes TikTok's audit, API posts are private. That's why the Larry setup posts SELF_ONLY and a human switches it public after adding a sound.
• Direct posting requires a UI that shows the creator-info options (privacy, comment toggle, disclosure) to the user; the disclosure toggle must be off by default and branded content can't be SELF_ONLY.
• A separate TikTok Business API exists with its own endpoint; payloads aren't interchangeable (bundle.social write-up, third party).