ambientCGNot published by vendorVerified 2026-10-27

free PBR materials API for Claude & AI agents

Search about 2,000 CC0 PBR materials, 430+ HDRIs and other assets, and get zip download links per resolution. Free, no key, commercial use allowed.

Compare Docs

Verified factsChecked 2026-10-27

Price	Free. Every asset is downloadable at no cost; Patreon supporters get extras such as early access, which the v3 API unlocks with their token.¹ [Verified 2026-10-27]
API key / auth	Not required for public assets. An optional Authorization: Bearer token (from ambientCG.com/activate, for Patreon supporters) only enables early-access or exclusive files.¹ [Verified 2026-10-27]
Rate limit	No numeric limit is published, and our test responses carried no rate-limit headers. The API docs warn that it is run by one person and may not be reliable enough for enterprise use, so cache results.² [Verified 2026-10-27]
License / terms	All assets, including the preview renders, are CC0 1.0: copy, modify and use them commercially without permission. Credit is optional but appreciated. No separate API terms of service are published.³ [Verified 2026-10-27]
Version status	v3 is the current API. The v2 docs say v2 no longer receives updates and new projects should use v3 (v2 still answered our test).⁴ [Verified 2026-10-27]
Catalog size	2,037 materials, 434 HDRIs and 34 3D models (totalResults from /api/v3/assets?type=… on the check date).⁵ [Verified 2026-10-27]
Endpoints	GET /api/v3/assets (search and filter), /api/v3/categories, /api/v3/collections and /api/v3/rss. limit accepts 1 to 500 (default 100). There are no write operations.⁶ [Verified 2026-10-27]

FeaturesChecked 2026-10-27

YesNoN/ANot published

Capability	Value	Note
Statusv3 is the current API and v2 no longer receives updates; no beta or GA label and no SLA. The docs warn it is run by one person and not built for enterprise reliability.	Not published¹ [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3/]	v3 is the current API and v2 no longer receives updates; no beta or GA label and no SLA. The docs warn it is run by one person and not built for enterprise reliability.
API key requiredNo key for public assets. An optional Bearer token only unlocks Patreon early-access or exclusive files.	No¹ [Verified 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3/]	No key for public assets. An optional Bearer token only unlocks Patreon early-access or exclusive files.
Free tierFree; no paid API tier. All assets are free to download; Patreon support adds early access.	Yes¹ [Verified 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3/]	Free; no paid API tier. All assets are free to download; Patreon support adds early access.
Rate limitNo numeric limit is published, and our test responses carried no rate-limit headers.	Not published² [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/]	No numeric limit is published, and our test responses carried no rate-limit headers.
Official MCP serverNo official MCP server is listed in the docs.	Not published² [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/]	No official MCP server is listed in the docs.
Official SDKNo official SDK is listed; the docs describe plain HTTPS GET endpoints.	Not published¹ [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3/]	No official SDK is listed; the docs describe plain HTTPS GET endpoints.
Data license / termsApplies to the asset files and preview renders; credit optional. No separate API terms are published.	CC0 1.0 assets³ [Verified 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/license/]	Applies to the asset files and preview renders; credit optional. No separate API terms are published.
Commercial use allowedYes, CC0. Copy, modify and use commercially without asking permission.	Yes³ [Verified 2026-10-27 on https://docs.ambientcg.com/license/]	Yes, CC0. Copy, modify and use commercially without asking permission.
CORS / browser useNo CORS header. GET and preflight with a third-party Origin returned no Access-Control-Allow-Origin.	No⁷ [Verified 2026-10-27 by test request to https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&q=wood]	No CORS header. GET and preflight with a third-party Origin returned no Access-Control-Allow-Origin.
Freshness / coveragetotalResults from /api/v3/assets?type=material\|hdri\|3d-model.	2,037 materials, 434 HDRIs, 34 models⁵ [Verified 2026-10-27 by test request to https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&limit=1]	totalResults from /api/v3/assets?type=material\|hdri\|3d-model.

What it does

ambientCG is a library of free surface materials (wood, concrete, fabric, metal, ground and more), HDRIs, decals and a small set of 3D models, all released under CC0. Its read-only v3 API takes the same filters as the website’s list page (keywords, type, technique, sort, date, limit and offset) and returns each asset with whatever fields you ask for through the include parameter, such as title, tags, maps, previews and downloads. The downloads field lists a zip per resolution and format (for example 1K-JPG up to 8K-PNG) with its byte size, which is what a Blender or game-dev agent needs: search “oak floor”, pick an id, and fetch a 2K JPG set without scraping the site. The site is run by one person, and its own docs warn that the API is built for hobbyists and educators rather than enterprise reliability.

Working exampleRun 2026-10-27

ShellRequest

curl -sS -A "my-agent/1.0" "https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&q=wood&limit=2&include=title,downloads"

Response (trimmed)

HTTP responseResponse

HTTP 200 (run 2026-10-27)
{"totalResults":295,
 "nextPageHttp":"https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&q=wood&sort=popular&limit=2&offset=2&include=title%2Cdownloads",
 "assets":[{"id":"Wood096","title":"Wood 096",
   "downloads":[{"attributes":"1K-JPG","extension":"zip",
                 "url":"https://ambientcg.com/get?file=Wood096_1K-JPG.zip","size":5358165},
                {"attributes":"2K-JPG","extension":"zip",
                 "url":"https://ambientcg.com/get?file=Wood096_2K-JPG.zip","size":19620619}, ...]},
  {"id":"Wood095","title":"Wood 095", ...}]}

Agent setup

Prompt to give your agent

Prompt

Use the ambientCG API (https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets, no key). For each material I describe, call it with type=material, q=<keywords>, limit=5 and include=title,tags,downloads, pick the best match, and give me its 2K-JPG zip URL, its size in MB and the page link https://ambientcg.com/a/<id>. Materials: weathered oak planks, polished concrete, rusty corrugated metal.

Agent / MCP-style tool snippet

JSONTool snippet

// Agent tool definition (JSON Schema) — implement with HTTP GET, no key
[
  {
    "name": "ambientcg_search",
    "description": "Search CC0 materials, HDRIs and models on ambientCG. Returns ids, titles and zip download links per resolution.",
    "input_schema": { "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "q": { "type": "string", "description": "Keywords, ANDed" },
        "type": { "type": "string", "enum": ["material", "hdri", "decal", "3d-model", "terrain"] },
        "limit": { "type": "integer", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500 }
      },
      "required": ["q"] }
  }
]
// GET https://ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?q={q}&type={type}&limit={limit}&include=title,tags,downloads

Fit and safety

Good for

Blender or game-dev agents that texture scenes from a text description
Picking ground, wall and floor materials for architectural renders
Choosing an HDRI for scene lighting
Filling asset browsers inside creative tools with free materials

Watch out

Do not build a product that needs an uptime guarantee on it. The docs say it is run by one person and is not meant for enterprise-level reliability; mirror the files you depend on.
Do not let an agent download 8K sets by default. One 8K PNG zip in our test was about 930 MB; ask for 1K or 2K JPG unless the user needs more.
Do not call it straight from browser code. Our test showed no Access-Control-Allow-Origin header, so route calls through your server or agent runtime.
Do not use v2 for new work. Its docs say it no longer receives updates; use /api/v3/.

Alternatives

Poly Haven API	Another keyless CC0 library with more 3D models and per-map download links instead of zips.
Openverse API	Openly licensed 2D images and audio when the job is photos or sound, not PBR materials.
GitBook docs MCP	Keyless docs lookup for the agent, useful alongside an asset API when it also needs a tool’s documentation.

FAQ

Does the ambientCG API need a key?

No. Public assets are keyless. A Bearer token is only for Patreon supporters who want early-access or exclusive files through the API.

Can I use ambientCG materials commercially?

Yes. All assets are CC0 1.0, so commercial use is allowed without permission or credit, though credit is appreciated.

How does an agent get download links from ambientCG?

Call /api/v3/assets with q, type and include=downloads. Each asset lists a zip per resolution and format with its URL and size.

Compare

Put ambientCG API side by side with other free agent tools on keys, limits, MCP support, licensing and CORS. Open the comparison grid →

SourcesFootnotes

1docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3Verified 2026-10-27
2docs.ambientcg.com/apiVerified 2026-10-27
3docs.ambientcg.com/licenseVerified 2026-10-27
4docs.ambientcg.com/api/v2Verified 2026-10-27
5ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&limit=1Verified 2026-10-27
6docs.ambientcg.com/api/v3/assetsVerified 2026-10-27
7ambientcg.com/api/v3/assets?type=material&q=woodTested 2026-10-27