Free music, sound effects, photos and videos in your edit

Music, sound effects and images from Openverse (no key)

Openverse is WordPress.org’s search engine for openly licensed media. The editor uses it for music fromJamendo, sound effects from Freesound, audio from Wikimedia Commons, and images from Flickr,Wikimedia Commons, rawpixel and NASA.

1. Open the video editor → Create → Stock → Openverse.
2. Pick Music, Sound effects or Images. Type a search or tap a mood (wedding, festive, sitar, whoosh, applause…). Filter by length, source, shape or size.
3. Press ▶ to preview a track (the waveform shows where you are; click it to jump). Each result shows its length and licence.
4. Press + Add. Music goes on a Music track from the start, trimmed to your edit, fading out and ducking under speech. Effects go on the SFX track at the playhead. Images go at the end of the timeline or as B-roll.
5. When you export, the Export dialog lists the credits with a Copy for the caption button, and can add a small credits line to the end card.

Which licences, and when you must give credit

We only show licences that allow commercial use and editing. Works with “NonCommercial” (NC) or “NoDerivatives” (ND) licences are never shown. Summary, not legal advice:

• CC0 and Public Domain Mark: use freely, no credit needed. We still list them, with thanks.
• CC BY: free for any use, including ads, if you credit the title, author, source and licence where you post the video. Paste the credits from the Export dialog into the caption or description.
• CC BY-SA: as CC BY, and your video must also be shared under CC BY-SA. So the editor leaves BY-SA out by default (Leave out share-alike is ticked; untick it to see BY-SA works, and the editor remembers your choice). The template maker always leaves it out.

Credits are saved on each file in the project, so they survive saving, reopening and .idvproj project files.

Limits and token

Your own browser talks to api.openverse.org. Without a token, Openverse allows about 20 searches a minute and 200 a day from your connection. Searches are remembered for 24 hours, so repeating one costs nothing. If you hit the limit, the editor tells you how long to wait. For more, register for a free token atapi.openverse.org and paste it (or client_id:client_secret) under Openverse token. It stays in your browser.

Only files whose host lets a web page download them are shown. Freesound, Jamendo, Wikimedia, Flickr and rawpixel do. Other results are hidden, and the count says how many.

1. Get your free Pixabay key (about 2 minutes)

1. Create a free account at pixabay.com (or log in). No card is needed.
2. Open pixabay.com/api/docs/ while logged in.
3. Scroll to Search Images → Parameters. Next to key you will see your key in green, for example 12345678-abcdef0123456789abcdef012.
4. Copy the whole key.

2. Paste it into the editor

1. Open the video editor → left rail → Create → Stock.
2. Paste the key and press Save. By default it is kept only for this tab. Tick Remember on this device to keep it in this browser; Remove deletes it.
3. Search, filter by type, orientation, category and size, then press + on a result. It is downloaded into your project (never linked from Pixabay’s servers), and its author, page and licence are saved.
4. The Credits tab gives a ready text for your YouTube or Instagram description, or a credits.json file.

3. Pixabay music and sound effects

Pixabay has no API for audio. The Openverse tab (above) finds music and effects inside the editor. For Pixabay tracks:

1. Stock → Music & SFX → Open Pixabay Music or Sound Effects, and download a track.
2. Drop the MP3 into the Music & SFX box (keep the original file name). The editor recognises Pixabay file names, saves the credit, puts music on a Music track that automatically ducks under speech, and puts effects on an SFX track.

No time to browse? The AI Director composes original, royalty-free music for every style.

What you may do, in plain words

Pixabay content is under the Pixabay Content License. Summary (not legal advice):

• Yes: use it free in your videos, including commercial videos, ads and client work. You can edit it. Credit is not required, but it is appreciated.
• No: selling or sharing the files on their own, unchanged (as stock, wallpapers, prints or NFTs).
• Careful: with recognisable people, logos and brands. Don’t suggest that a person or brand endorses you, and don’t use people in a way that is offensive, misleading or illegal.
• No: bulk or automated mass downloading, and scraping (for example for AI training).

The editor follows Pixabay’s API rules for you. Searches are cached for 24 hours, files are downloaded rather than hotlinked, and results say they come from Pixabay. Search is limited to about 100 requests a minute.

For AI agents and bots

A connected agent (through the local bridge or WebMCP in the editor) can use these tools. Openverse needs no key. For Pixabay, you paste the key yourself; agents never ask for it.

• search_openverse: Search Openverse music, sound effects or images (no key). Only CC0, public domain, CC BY and CC BY-SA, and only files the browser can download.
• add_openverse_to_timeline: Download one Openverse item into your project: music on a ducked Music track trimmed to the edit, effects on the SFX track, images as shots or B-roll. Title, author, source and licence are saved.
• search_stock: Search Pixabay photos, illustrations and videos with your key (results cached for 24 hours).
• add_stock_to_timeline: Download one item into your project and place it (new shot, B-roll cutaway, music or SFX), with the credit saved.
• stock_audio_links: Links to Pixabay Music and Sound Effects (they have no API) plus how to import the files.
• get_stock_credits: A ready credits block for your video description, with the Creative Commons credits that are required.

2. Without a key: the agent visits pixabay.com, downloads only the files the edit needs, and brings them in with import_media (bridge) or video by link. It should keep the original file names so credits are detected.

Either way: only what the video needs. Agents get at most 12 stock downloads per 10 minutes before the editor asks you.

AI-generated images and video

The AI → Generate tab makes images and clips with ComfyUI on your own PC (free), or with your own fal.ai, Together, Replicate or Higgsfield key. You see the cost in rupees and confirm before anything is charged. Everything generated is labelled AI-generated and listed in the credits.