Image hosting API PHP with built-in curl.
A copy-paste function for uploading images from PHP. Uses the built-in curl extension — works in WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, CakePHP, or raw PHP.
<?php
function uploadImage(string $path, ?string $apiKey = null): string {
$ch = curl_init('https://imagetourl.cloud/api/upload');
$postData = ['file' => new CURLFile($path)];
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $postData);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);
if ($apiKey) {
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ['Authorization: Bearer ' . $apiKey]);
}
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
if ($code >= 400) throw new RuntimeException("HTTP $code");
$body = json_decode($response, true);
if (!empty($body['error'])) throw new RuntimeException($body['error']);
return $body['data']['url'];
}
// Example
$url = uploadImage('/var/www/uploads/screenshot.png', getenv('IMAGETOURL_KEY'));
echo $url;Why use ImageToURL's API
No Composer package required
The built-in curl extension is enabled on every PHP host since PHP 4. You don't need Guzzle, though you can swap in Guzzle for PSR-18 compliance.
WordPress plugin-ready
Drop the function into a plugin file; hook to media_upload or save_post to auto-push WP Media Library uploads to ImageToURL.
Laravel compatible
Use Laravel's HTTP client (Http::attach) or this raw curl version inside a service class. Save the returned URL to a model's URL column.
Backwards-compatible
Works on PHP 5.6+ with CURLFile. Modern (8.x) users can switch to the built-in http\Client for PSR-18.
FAQ
Should I use Guzzle instead?
If your project already uses Guzzle, yes — $client->post($url, ['multipart' => [['name' => 'file', 'contents' => fopen($path, 'r')]]]). The curl version avoids adding a dependency if you don't already have one.
WordPress integration?
Add an action on 'add_attachment' that calls uploadImage() with the local WP file path, then stores the ImageToURL URL as post_meta. Serve the CDN URL instead of the local one.
Laravel Filesystem custom driver?
Yes — implement a custom FilesystemAdapter where put() calls uploadImage() and returns the URL. Makes Storage::disk('cdn')->put() transparent.
Max upload size in PHP?
Watch php.ini upload_max_filesize and post_max_size. ImageToURL accepts up to 10 MB free / 50 MB Business — make sure PHP's limits are higher than that.
Error handling?
Wrap in try/catch; the function throws on HTTP errors or API-level errors. Log body['error'] to your monitoring before rethrowing.
HTTPS / SSL verification?
curl verifies SSL by default. If your server has an outdated CA bundle, CURLOPT_CAINFO to a fresh cacert.pem. Don't disable verification in production.
Rate-limit handling?
Check HTTP 429 response. The Retry-After header tells you how many seconds to wait. Implement exponential backoff for bulk operations.
Is the API key safe in PHP code?
Never hard-code it. Use getenv() or Laravel's config() to read from .env — exclude .env from git.