Conversion API

Authentication

Create a key under Settings → API Keys, then send it with every request:

x-api-key: <your key>

Conversions are billed to the key owner's credit balance (10 credits per conversion, all formats included). Failed conversions are refunded automatically.

Create a conversion

Send raw image bytes (PNG, JPEG, or WebP):

curl -X POST https://layerback.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "x-api-key: $LAYERBACK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  --data-binary @diagram.png

{ "job_id": "5c048e6f-ec4d-43ad-9eee-0697414d5cef" }

Returns 402 when the balance is empty, 413 over 20 MB, 415 for unsupported bytes, and 429 when the hourly rate limit is hit.

Poll job status

curl https://layerback.com/api/v1/jobs/$JOB_ID \
  -H "x-api-key: $LAYERBACK_KEY"

{
  "job_id": "5c048e6f-…",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "total_seconds": 46.9,
  "formats": ["vsdx", "pptx", "drawio", "svg", "ir", "preview"]
}

status moves through queued → running → succeeded or failed. Poll every few seconds; conversions typically finish in 30–60 seconds.

Download artifacts

curl -L "https://layerback.com/api/v1/jobs/$JOB_ID/download?format=vsdx" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LAYERBACK_KEY" -o diagram.vsdx

format accepts vsdx, pptx, drawio, svg, ir (the structured diagram JSON), or preview (PNG). Downloads are free and repeatable.

The endpoint may respond with a 302 redirect to a short-lived download URL, so keep the -L flag (or follow redirects in your HTTP client).

Completion webhook

Skip polling: pass callback_url when starting a conversion and we POST the result to it when the job finishes (success or failure).

curl -X POST "https://layerback.com/api/v1/convert?callback_url=https://your.app/hooks/layerback" \
  -H "x-api-key: $LAYERBACK_KEY" \
  --data-binary @diagram.png

The webhook body:

{
  "job_id": "…",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "total_seconds": 31.2,
  "error": null,
  "formats": ["vsdx", "pptx", "drawio", "svg", "ir", "preview"]
}

callback_url must be a public https URL. Delivery is attempted twice; verify important results by calling the job endpoint. Polling keeps working whether or not you use webhooks.

OpenAPI

The full machine-readable spec lives at layerback.com/openapi.yaml — import it into Postman, or generate a typed client for your language.

Limits

• Images up to 20 MB, formats PNG / JPEG / WebP
• Rate limit: 20 conversions per hour per account — building something bigger (batch migration, automation pipelines)? Email davie@daviechen.com for higher limits and volume pricing
• Artifacts are retained for at least 72 hours — download promptly or re-convert when needed