Cinemeta API

Cinemeta is Stremio's public movie and series metadata addon: catalogues, search and full metadata keyed by IMDb id, free and without a key. Tested example included.

No API key requiredCORS enabledHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-21

What is the Cinemeta API?

Cinemeta is the public metadata addon behind Stremio. It serves free, key-free JSON catalogues of movies and series — top, popular and search results — plus full metadata for any title keyed by its IMDb id, including cast, director, genres, runtime, ratings and poster artwork.

The practical value here is that Cinemeta is keyed on IMDb ids. `tt0111161` in, a complete metadata document out — no search step, no id mapping table, no key. If you already hold IMDb ids, which most film datasets do, this is the shortest path from an id to a poster and a synopsis that exists without registering for anything. It is also the only widely-available option in that shape, since the major metadata providers all gate access behind an account.

Understand what it is, though, and size your expectations accordingly. Cinemeta is infrastructure for Stremio's own client, published as a Stremio addon, not a product with a support contract or a versioning policy. The URL structure follows the addon protocol — `/catalog/{type}/{id}.json` and `/meta/{type}/{imdb_id}.json` — and the top-level host redirects to a catalogue-serving host behind it, which is normal and not a fault. Because it exists to serve an app, the response shapes can change without notice and there is no changelog to watch, so pin what you rely on and validate defensively.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://v3-cinemeta.strem.io
Authentication: No key or account. It is a public Stremio addon endpoint.
Rate limit: No published limit. It backs a consumer app, so behave like one client, not a crawler.
Pricing: Free.
CORS: Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the Cinemeta API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 2026-08-21, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. Fetch the top movies catalogue

GET https://cinemeta-catalogs.strem.io/top/catalog/movie/top.json

curl

curl 'https://cinemeta-catalogs.strem.io/top/catalog/movie/top.json'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://cinemeta-catalogs.strem.io/top/catalog/movie/top.json");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("https://cinemeta-catalogs.strem.io/top/catalog/movie/top.json", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)

{
  "metas": [
    {
      "imdb_id": "tt37287335",
      "name": "Obsession",
      "type": "movie",
      "awards": "7 wins & 15 nominations total",
      "cast": [
        "Michael Johnston",
        "Inde Navarrette",
        "Cooper Tomlinson"
      ],
      "country": "United States",
      "description": "Baron \"Bear\" Bailey breaks a novelty charm to force his co-worker Nikki Freeman to love him, but the supernatural compulsion warps her mind into violent obsession, trapping him in a nightmare he cannot wish away.",
      "director": [
        "Curry Barker"
      ],
      "genre": [
        "Horror",
        "Romance",
        "Thriller"
      ],
      "imdbRating": "7.9",
      "released": "2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z",
      "slug": "movie/obsession-37287335",
      "writer": [
        "Curry Barker"
      ],
      "year": "2026",
      "moviedb_id": 1339713,
      "popularities": {
        "moviedb": 264.1614,
        "stremio": 8.805380000000001,
        "stremio_lib": 0,
        "trakt": 613
      },
      "poster": "https://images.metahub.space/poster/small/tt37287335/img",
      "runtime": "109 min",
      "trailers": [
        {
          "source": "gMC8kkwbIQQ",
          "type": "Trailer"
        }
      ],
      "background": "https://images.metahub.space/background/medium/tt37287335/img",
      "logo": "https://images.metahub.space/logo/medium/tt37287335/img",
      "popularity": 8.805380000000001,
      "id": "tt37287335",
      "genres": [
        "Horror",
        "Romance",
        "Thriller"
      ],
      "releaseInfo": "2026",
      "trailerStreams

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`type`	path segment	Required	`movie` or `series`. `movie`
`id`	path segment	Required	Catalogue id: `top` for the main ranked list. Others exist per the addon manifest. `top`
`imdb_id`	path segment	Optional	On the meta route: `/meta/movie/tt0111161.json` returns one title's full metadata. `tt0111161`
`search`	path segment	Optional	Search is expressed in the path, addon-style: `/catalog/movie/top/search=matrix.json`. `search=matrix`

Response fields

metas[]array: One object per title in a catalogue response. The single-title route returns `meta` instead.
metas[].imdb_id / idstring: IMDb identifier, the primary key throughout.
metas[].namestring: Title.
metas[].typestring: `movie` or `series`.
metas[].descriptionstring: Synopsis.
metas[].cast / director / writerarray of strings: Credits as plain names.
metas[].genre / genresarray of strings: Genre labels.
metas[].poster / background / logostring: Artwork URLs at different roles and sizes.
metas[].imdbRating / released / runtimestring: Rating, release date and runtime as display strings, not numbers — parse before sorting.

What you can build with the Cinemeta API

Turn a list of IMDb ids into posters and synopses with no key
Build a film discovery UI on top of a ranked catalogue
Enrich a personal watchlist database with artwork and credits
Prototype a media app before deciding whether to license a paid metadata provider

Common errors and how to fix them

404

Wrong path shape.

Fix: Every route ends in `.json`, and the order is `/catalog/{type}/{id}.json` or `/meta/{type}/{imdb_id}.json`. Omitting the extension 404s.

Redirected to another host

Normal behaviour — the versioned host forwards to a catalogue server.

Fix: Follow redirects. Most HTTP clients do this by default; some, such as bare `fetch` with `redirect: 'manual'`, do not.

Numbers arriving as strings

`imdbRating` and `runtime` are display strings, e.g. "9.3" and "142 min".

Fix: Parse them before sorting or comparing, and handle the case where they are missing entirely.

Shape changed without warning

This is an app back end, not a versioned public API.

Fix: Validate the response against what you expect and fail soft. Do not assume today's fields are a contract.

Cinemeta API — frequently asked questions

Is there a free movie metadata API without an API key?

Cinemeta, the metadata addon behind Stremio, serves movie and series metadata keyed by IMDb id with no key or account. It is the most practical no-signup option, though it is app infrastructure rather than a supported public API.

How do I look up a film by IMDb id?

Request `/meta/movie/{imdb_id}.json`, for example `/meta/movie/tt0111161.json`. Series use `/meta/series/{imdb_id}.json`. No search or id-mapping step is needed.

Can I search by title?

Yes, but the query goes in the path rather than the query string, following the Stremio addon convention: `/catalog/movie/top/search=matrix.json`.

Is it safe to build a product on?

With caution. There is no service agreement, no versioning policy and no changelog, and it exists to serve Stremio's own client. Fine for a prototype or a personal tool; for a commercial product, treat it as a dependency that can change under you.

Tools that pair with this API

Movie Schema Generator

Generate Movie JSON-LD with director, cast, ISO 8601 runtime, genre, content rating, a trailer VideoObject and optional aggregate rating and review.

JSON to CSV Converter

Convert a JSON array of objects to CSV online. Automatic column headers from the union of all keys, delimiter choice and proper quoting — all in-browser.

JSON Formatter

Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.

Cinemeta is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-21; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.