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Adobe Photoshop API - Firefly Services

Unlock the potential of Adobe Photoshop and cutting edge AI/ML services through an easy-to-use RESTful API.

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🚀 Now Generally Available - Photoshop API v2

Photoshop API v2 is now generally available. This release introduces major improvements in scalability, flexibility, and programmability, enabling teams to build production-grade, high-volume content workflows. v2 addresses these gaps and introduces a more extensible foundation for modern content pipelines.

Learn more

Overview

Welcome to the Adobe Photoshop API, now integrated into Firefly Services. Our API follows REST-like principles, utilizing standard HTTP response codes, verbs, and authentication methods that return JSON-encoded responses. While the examples provided are in cURL, feel free to develop your application in any preferred language.

This guide will assist you in:

Creating a project within the Adobe Developer Console
Obtaining and authenticating your credentials
Constructing personalized workflows by chaining API calls to various endpoints within the Firefly Services APIs
Developing event-driven applications through Adobe I/O Events

Photoshop API v2 — General Availability

Photoshop API v2 is the unified next-generation surface for Photoshop and Lightroom-style workflows in Firefly Services: one architecture, consistent request and response patterns, and flexible output destinations. If you've worked with v1, you likely encountered limitations around file size, embedded assets, and rigid workflows. v2 addresses these gaps and introduces a more extensible foundation for modern content pipelines.

What's new in v2

Linked Smart Objects

Photoshop API v2 adds support for linked smart objects, a foundational improvement for content supply chains.

In v1, embedded smart objects created several challenges:

PSD files increased in size quickly and often exceeded the 2GB limit
Assets were duplicated across files instead of reused
Updating assets downstream was difficult to manage and govern

With linked smart objects:

Assets are referenced instead of embedded
File sizes remain manageable, even in large-scale workflows
Updates propagate across templates and variants
Teams can centralize and govern shared assets

This enables more efficient, maintainable, and scalable content systems.

Increased file size limits

Maximum file size increased from 2GB to 5GB

This allows for significantly more complex documents and removes a key limitation for enterprise use cases.

UXP scripting (JavaScript automation)

Photoshop API v2 introduces support for UXP scripting, allowing developers to execute JavaScript directly within Photoshop workflows.

This adds a programmable layer to automation and unlocks advanced use cases:

Copy fitting and dynamic text adjustments
Conditional logic based on inputs or metadata
Automated recoloring and localization
Trapping and print-specific adjustments
Compliance and brand rule enforcement

Previously, these scenarios required custom workarounds or waiting for new API capabilities. With UXP scripting:

Teams can define and maintain their own logic
Business rules can be embedded directly into workflows
Automation becomes extensible rather than fixed

This significantly expands what can be built with the API.

More powerful action workflows

Support for Generative Fill, Generative Expand, and additional actions
Adobe action files are now published and customizable
Outputs can be dynamically generated at runtime without predefining assets

Richer document intelligence

Artboards are now first-class objects with full metadata (size, presets, background)
Ability to extract embedded smart objects without opening Photoshop
Expanded layer metadata including text settings, blend ranges, and layout details

Expanded creative control

Improved smart object workflows with support for SVG and linked assets
New replacement and transformation capabilities
Enhanced text rendering for complex and multilingual content
Improved color management with ICC profile support

Built for scale

Support for files up to 5GB
Longer processing times for complex jobs
Improved error handling with more actionable responses
Flexible storage options for both prototyping and production workflows

Photoshop API v2 services

Many useful Photoshop operations are available in the v2 API. Here are just a few:

Remove background — Detect and isolate the main subject with AI and remove the background while preserving the subject for use in composites and cutouts.
Smart Objects — Create and replace embedded and linked Smart Objects in a PSD so new imagery fits the original layer bounds and keeps its aspect ratio.
Product Crop — Smart-crop images by detecting the subject and framing it as the focal point.
ActionJSON — Apply Photoshop Actions from an ATN file programmatically and adjust the action payload for more flexible, dynamic edits.

Explore all available services in the Photoshop API v2 guides or browse endpoints in the Photoshop API v2 reference.

Migration from v1

Photoshop API v1 will reach end of life on July 31, 2026. Teams should begin planning migration to v2 immediately to take advantage of the new capabilities and avoid service disruption.

To support a smooth transition, we provide topic-based migration guides covering edit, document, layer, actions, output, artboard, manifest, and status flows. Versioned /v2 endpoints and a dedicated v2 OpenAPI reference exist alongside the legacy v1 reference, so you can compare contracts and plan migration without merging the two.

Start your migration:

Photoshop API v2 migration guides — v1-to-v2 topic guides and v2 workflow documentation
Photoshop API v2 reference — Full endpoint reference for the photoshopv2-api.json specification