Using Picsum for Placeholder Images
Leroy · 1 Apr 2026 · 1 min read
Image Credit: Picsum
What is Picsum?
Picsum provides placeholder photos. It serves real photographs over a simple URL. You use them in websites, demos, and mockups without downloading or hosting anything. Picsum is often called "the Lorem Ipsum for photos." The comparison fits, you get a photo wherever you need one, at whatever size you specify.
Basic Usage
The URL structure follows this pattern:
https://picsum.photos/<width>/<height>
Pass one number for a square image. Pass two for a rectangle.
https://picsum.photos/200
https://picsum.photos/200/300
Each request returns a random photo at the requested dimensions.
Seeded Images
Need the same image every time? Use the seed parameter.
https://picsum.photos/seed/picsum/200/300
The seed value determines which image you get. Same seed, same image. This is useful when you want consistent images across page loads without downloading and hosting them yourself.
Specific Images
Picsum assigns an ID to each photo in its library. Use /id/<id> to request a specific one.
https://picsum.photos/id/237/200/300
Browse the gallery on the Picsum website to find image IDs you like.
Image Parameters
Picsum supports a few URL parameters for basic image manipulation.
Grayscale: Append ?grayscale to remove color.
https://picsum.photos/200/300?grayscale
Blur: Append ?blur to soften the image. Optionally provide a blur value between 1 and 10.
https://picsum.photos/200/300?blur
https://picsum.photos/200/300?blur=2
Combine parameters: Separate multiple parameters with &.
https://picsum.photos/id/870/200/300?grayscale&blur=2
File extension: Append .jpg or .webp for a specific format.
https://picsum.photos/200/300.jpg
https://picsum.photos/200/300.webp
Multiple Images on One Page
If you request the same URL on one page, the browser cache returns the same image. Add a random query parameter to bypass caching.
<img src="https://picsum.photos/200/300?random=1">
<img src="https://picsum.photos/200/300?random=2">
Putting It Together
<img src="https://picsum.photos/900/600?grayscale&blur=3" alt="Gray Scale Blurred Image" />
That's all there is to it. Build a URL and drop it in an img tag.