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Giphy Data Source

Giphy is the world's largest library of animated GIFs, stickers, and short video clips. The Giphy connector enables you to ingest GIF and sticker content, metadata, and trending data from the Giphy API into Nexla for use in downstream applications, analytics, and content pipelines. Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from a Giphy source in Nexla.
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Giphy

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the Giphy connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Giphy API, and click Next; or, create a new Giphy credential for use in this flow.

  3. In Nexla, Giphy data sources can be created using pre-built endpoint templates, which expedite source setup for common Giphy API endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Giphy endpoint, making source configuration easy and efficient.
    • To configure this source using a template, follow the instructions in Configure Using a Template.

    Giphy sources can also be configured manually, allowing you to ingest data from Giphy API endpoints not included in the pre-built templates or apply further customizations to exactly suit your needs.
    • To configure this source manually, follow the instructions in Configure Manually.

Configure Using a Template​

Nexla provides pre-built templates that can be used to rapidly configure data sources to ingest data from common Giphy API endpoints. Each template is designed specifically for the corresponding Giphy endpoint, making data source setup easy and efficient.

Endpoint Settings​

  • Select the endpoint from which this source will fetch data from the Endpoint pulldown menu. Available endpoint templates are listed in the expandable boxes below. Click on an endpoint to see more information about it and how to configure your data source for this endpoint.

Search GIFs

This endpoint searches the Giphy library for GIFs matching a keyword or phrase. Use this endpoint when you need to retrieve GIF content and metadata for specific topics, brands, or expressions — for example, to populate a content catalog, analyze GIF engagement by topic, or feed a recommendation engine.

  • Enter the word or phrase to search for in the Query field. Giphy will return GIFs whose title, tags, or associated metadata match the search term. Multi-word searches are supported (for example, happy birthday or reaction meme).

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Limit field to control the maximum number of GIF records returned per API request. The Giphy API supports a maximum of 50 results per page; the default is 25. For large data ingestion jobs, Nexla will paginate automatically.

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Rating field to filter results by content rating. Accepted values are:

    • g — General audiences (all ages)
    • pg — Parental guidance suggested
    • pg-13 — Parents strongly cautioned
    • r — Restricted (adult audiences)
  • Optionally, enter an ISO 639-1 two-letter language code in the Language field to filter search results to GIFs relevant to a specific language or locale (for example, en for English or es for Spanish).

The Search GIFs endpoint returns a JSON array of GIF objects under the data key. Each object contains the GIF ID, URL, embed URL, title, rating, user information, images at various resolutions, and attribution metadata. The Giphy API reference provides complete field descriptions at developers.giphy.com/docs/api/endpoint/#search.

Trending GIFs

This endpoint retrieves the currently trending GIFs on Giphy. Trending content is updated daily and reflects the most relevant and engaging GIFs across the Giphy network. Use this endpoint when you want to track what content is popular, power a trending feed, or analyze GIF engagement trends over time.

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Limit field to specify the maximum number of trending GIF records to return per request. The maximum supported by the Giphy API is 50; the default is 25.

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Rating field to filter trending results by content rating. Accepted values are g, pg, pg-13, and r.

Trending GIFs are recalculated by Giphy on a daily basis. To capture daily snapshots of trending content, consider scheduling this Nexla source to run once per day. Additional details are available in the Giphy Trending endpoint documentation.

Search Stickers

This endpoint searches the Giphy sticker library for animated stickers matching a keyword or phrase. Stickers are animated, transparent-background GIFs designed for use in messaging apps, creation tools, and iMessage-style integrations. Use this endpoint when you need sticker-specific content and metadata rather than standard GIFs.

  • Enter the word or phrase to search for in the Query field. Giphy will return stickers whose title or tags match the search term.

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Limit field to control the maximum number of sticker records returned per request (maximum 50, default 25).

  • Optionally, enter a content rating in the Rating field to filter results. Accepted values are g, pg, pg-13, and r.

Stickers are stored in a separate Giphy library from GIFs. Content and metadata returned by this endpoint — including image URLs and attribution — follow the same structure as the GIF search response. For complete field documentation, refer to the Giphy API reference.

Trending Stickers

This endpoint retrieves the currently trending stickers on Giphy. Use this endpoint when you want to track popular sticker content, build a trending sticker feed, or analyze sticker engagement trends.

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Limit field to specify the maximum number of trending sticker records to return per request (maximum 50, default 25).

  • Optionally, enter a value in the Rating field to filter results by content rating. Accepted values are g, pg, pg-13, and r.

Get GIF by ID

This endpoint retrieves a single GIF object by its unique Giphy ID. Use this endpoint when you have a specific GIF ID and need to fetch its full metadata — for example, to enrich an existing dataset with current GIF information or to verify that a specific GIF is still available.

  • Enter the unique Giphy GIF identifier in the GIF ID field. GIF IDs are alphanumeric strings (for example, xT9IgG50Lg7russbER) that can be found in any previous Giphy API response or in the GIF's share URL on giphy.com.

This endpoint returns a single GIF object, not an array. If you need to retrieve multiple GIFs by ID in a single call, the Giphy API also supports a "Get GIFs by IDs" endpoint that accepts a comma-separated list of IDs. You can access that endpoint via the manual configuration option below.

Endpoint Testing​

Once the selected endpoint template has been configured, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current settings. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Configure Manually​

Giphy data sources can be manually configured to ingest data from any valid Giphy API endpoint. Manual configuration provides maximum flexibility for accessing endpoints not covered by pre-built templates or when you need custom API configurations.

With manual configuration, you can also create more complex Giphy sources, such as sources that use chained API calls, custom query parameters, or endpoints like Translate, Random GIF, or Get GIFs by multiple IDs.

API Method​

  1. To manually configure this source, select the Advanced tab at the top of the configuration screen.

  2. Select the API method that will be used for calls to the Giphy API from the Method pulldown menu. The Giphy API is a read-only REST API — all data-retrieval endpoints use GET.

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the Giphy API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. All Giphy API endpoints begin with https://api.giphy.com/v1/. Common endpoint URLs include:

    • Search GIFs: https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs/search?q=your+query&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Trending GIFs: https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs/trending?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Random GIF: https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs/random?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Get GIF by ID: https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs/GIF_ID?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Get GIFs by IDs: https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs?ids=ID1,ID2&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Translate (GIF): https://api.giphy.com/v1/gifs/translate?s=your+phrase&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Trending Stickers: https://api.giphy.com/v1/stickers/trending?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
    • Search Stickers: https://api.giphy.com/v1/stickers/search?q=your+query&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Your Giphy API key is automatically injected by Nexla from the credential — you do not need to manually add the api_key query parameter when using credential-based authentication. Confirm with your Nexla administrator whether the credential is configured to pass the key as a query parameter or request header.

Date/Time Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Optionally, the API URL can be customized using macros—all macros added to the API URL will be converted into values when Nexla executes the API call. Macros are dynamic placeholders that allow you to create flexible API endpoints that can adapt to different time periods or data requirements.

Macros are particularly useful for APIs that require date ranges, pagination parameters, or other dynamic values that change between data ingestion runs.

  1. To add a macro, type { at the appropriate position in the API URL (within the Set API URL field), and select the desired macro from the dropdown list.

    • {now} – The current datetime
    • {now-1} – The datetime one time unit before the current datetime
    • {now+1} – The datetime one time unit after the current datetime
    • custom – Datetime macros can reference any number of time units before or after the current datetime—for example, enter (now-4) to indicate the datetime four time units before the current datetime

  2. Select the format that will be applied to datetime macros from the Date Format for Date/Time Macro pulldown menu. This format will be applied to the base datetime value of the macro—i.e., the value of {now} in {now-1}.

  3. Select the datetime unit that will be used to perform mathematical operations in the included macro(s) from the Time Unit for Operations pulldown menu—for example, for the macro {now-1}, when Day is selected, {now-1} will be converted to the datetime one day before the current datetime.

Lookup-Based Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Column values from existing lookups can also be included as macros in the API URL. Lookup-based macros allow you to reference data from previously configured data sources or lookups, enabling dynamic API endpoints that can adapt based on existing data.

Lookup-based macros are useful when you need to create API endpoints that reference specific IDs, values, or parameters from other data sources in your Nexla environment.

  1. To include a lookup column value macro, select the relevant lookup from the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

  2. Type { at the appropriate position in the API URL, and select the lookup column-based macro from the dropdown list. Lookup-based macros are automatically populated into the macro list when a lookup is selected in the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

Path to Data​

Optional

If only a subset of the data returned by the Giphy API endpoint is needed, you can designate the part of the response that should be included in the Nexsets produced from this source. This is particularly useful because Giphy API responses wrap GIF records inside a data key along with pagination metadata in a pagination key and attribution information in a meta key.

For example, when fetching a list of GIFs, the Giphy API returns a JSON object where the array of GIF records is located at $.data[*]. By entering this path, you configure Nexla to treat each element of the returned array as a record.

Path to Data is essential when working with Giphy API responses. Without specifying the correct path, Nexla may ingest the entire response object — including pagination and meta sections — as a single record rather than ingesting individual GIF objects as separate records.

  • To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.

    • For list endpoints (Search, Trending), the GIF records are located at the JSON path $.data[*].

    • For the Get GIF by ID endpoint, the single GIF object is located at the JSON path $.data.

    Path to Data Example:

    For a Giphy Search or Trending response, enter $.data[*] in the Set Path to Data in Response field to configure Nexla to treat each GIF object in the returned array as an individual record.

Autogenerate Path Suggestions​

Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.

  • To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content & format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.

  • Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

    PathSuggestions.png

Metadata​

If metadata is included in the response but is located outside of the defined path to relevant data, you can configure Nexla to include this data as common metadata in each record. This is useful when you want to preserve pagination statistics or attribution details that apply to all records in a Giphy response.

For example, Giphy API list responses include a pagination object containing total_count, count, and offset fields, and a meta object containing the HTTP status, msg, and response_id. These fields are located outside the $.data[*] path and can be preserved as metadata on each ingested record.

Preserving the pagination.total_count field as metadata is helpful when you need to know how many total results exist for a given query, beyond the current page.

  • To specify the location of metadata that should be included with each record, enter the path to the relevant metadata in the Path to Metadata in Response field.

    • For Giphy list responses, the pagination metadata is located at the JSON path $.pagination and the API meta information is at $.meta.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2). The Giphy API does not require custom request headers for standard use, but headers can be added for advanced scenarios such as API versioning or proxy configurations.

    You do not need to include the API key as a request header here — it is handled automatically by Nexla based on your credential configuration.

Endpoint Testing​

After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows users to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Save & Activate the Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Giphy data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.