Browser tools

The Tools button on the homepage (and on /api and /docs) opens a side panel of helpers for using FaviconAPI from the browser. You configure a profile once — preferred provider, optional fallbacks, and a minimum icon size — and that profile powers every tool below. Preferences are encoded in the URL; there is no account and nothing is stored on the server.

Open the panel from Tools in the top navigation, or go to https://your-host/#tools.

Browser Search

Look up favicons straight from your browser's address bar — type a domain or app name and land on the FaviconAPI homepage with results already loaded.

Search URL

Add this as a custom search engine in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox:

https://your-host/search?q=%s

%s is the placeholder your browser replaces with whatever you type. Example: searching for github.com opens:

https://your-host/search?q=github.com

That redirects to /?q=github.com, which runs the same lookup as the homepage search box (domain favicons and, when enabled, service-icon catalogs).

Install

1. Open the homepage and click Tools in the top navigation.
2. Click Search from browser (under Browser search).
3. Copy the URL from the modal, or follow the step-by-step guide for your browser.

Firefox shortcut: the homepage exposes OpenSearch at /opensearch.xml. Firefox may show Add search engine automatically when you visit the site.

Suggested values when adding manually:

Use

1. Focus the address bar.
2. Type your keyword (if you set one, e.g. fav) followed by a space, or pick FaviconAPI from the search-engine list.
3. Enter a domain (reddit.com) or app name (immich).
4. The homepage opens with favicon cards for that query.

Works for both website domains and service-icon lookups (same rules as the homepage: domains contain a dot, app names do not).

Browser notes

On iPhone/iPad Safari, only built-in search engines are available.

Build custom URL

Build a shareable URL template that returns favicons and service icons with your preferred provider order, fallbacks, and minimum size — encoded in the URL itself. No account, no database, no per-site configuration on the server.

https://your-host/{id}/{domain-or-appname}

Generate {id} once from Tools → Build custom URL on the homepage (live preview and copy), then swap {domain-or-appname} for each site or app you need an icon for. The same {id} works for every target.

Why use it?

The default GET /{domain} endpoint picks the best icon from all providers. A custom URL lets you pin a resolution strategy instead:

• Prefer your own HTML scraper, then fall back to Google and DuckDuckGo.
• Require at least 64×64 so dashboard tiles never look blurry.
• Prefer self-hosted icon catalogs (selfhst, dashboardicons, lobehub) for homelab app names like immich or jellyfin.
• Share one URL pattern with your team — everyone gets the same icon quality and fallback behaviour.

Because settings live in the path, you can paste a single base URL into config files, bookmark managers, or <img src="…"> tags and only change the trailing segment per item.

Use cases

Quick start

1. Open the homepage → Tools → Build custom URL.
2. Choose a preferred provider, up to four fallbacks (numbered 1–4), and a minimum size (16, 32, 64, or 128).
3. Preview with a sample domain or app name, then Copy URL.
4. Replace the sample target with any domain (github.com) or app name (immich):

https://your-host/{generated-id}/github.com
https://your-host/{generated-id}/jellyfin

The {id} is a URL-safe base64url string (minimum 20 characters, opaque in the Web UI) that encodes the whole configuration.

Resolution

The chain [preferred, …fallbacks] is tried in order; the first usable icon wins:

Minimum sizes: 16, 32, 64, 128.

Encoding

The id is base64url of a compact JSON array:

// [version, preferredProvider, [fallbacks...], minSize]
[1, "scraper", ["googlev2", "duckduckgo"], 128]

Providers — any from the favicon providers or service-icon catalogs tables.

Credentials — logodev and brandfetch steps are skipped when their tokens are not configured.

App names — domain-only providers (scraper, raster providers, brandfetch) are skipped when the target has no dot (service name).

Offline search page

Download a self-contained HTML file that lets you look up favicons from your own computer — no need to visit the FaviconAPI website every time. The file uses the provider chain and minimum size from your profile, baked directly into the page.

How it works

The downloaded faviconapi-search.html file contains:

• Your FaviconAPI server URL.
• Your profile configuration (preferred provider, fallbacks, minimum size).
• A search box where you type a domain (github.com) or app name (immich).
• A favicon preview with a copyable URL.

When you search, the page fetches the icon from your FaviconAPI server using the profile URL pattern (/{profileId}/{query}). This means the file works anywhere you can open a browser, but requires a network connection to your FaviconAPI instance to retrieve icons.

Download

1. Open the homepage and click Tools in the top navigation.
2. Configure your preferred provider, fallbacks, and minimum size in the profile builder.
3. Click Download HTML under Offline search page.

The file is generated in your browser with the current profile settings. To change providers or size, download a new copy.

Use

1. Open faviconapi-search.html in any browser (double-click the file or drag it into a browser window).
2. Type a domain or app name in the search box and press Enter.
3. The favicon appears with its full URL — click Copy to copy the URL to your clipboard.

Tips

• The file works on any device that can reach your FaviconAPI server — save it on a USB stick, share it with colleagues, or keep it on your desktop for quick lookups.
• Each download snapshots your current profile. If you change your provider chain, download a fresh copy to get the updated settings.
• The copy button requires a secure context (https:// or localhost). When opening a local file, some browsers may block clipboard access — in that case, select the URL text manually.

Bookmarklet

Copy a site's favicon URL from any page you visit — without opening the FaviconAPI homepage first.

Install

1. Open the homepage and click Tools in the top navigation.
2. Find Bookmarklet and drag the purple FaviconAPI Copy button to your browser's bookmarks bar.

Do not click the button or copy its URL manually — browsers only auto-fill the bookmark name FaviconAPI Copy when you drag it. If you add the link by hand, you must type the name yourself.

The bookmarklet is tied to your FaviconAPI instance: it uses the origin of the page where you dragged it (e.g. https://favicons.example.com).

Use

1. Browse to any website (e.g. https://github.com).
2. Click the FaviconAPI Copy bookmark in your bookmarks bar.

The bookmarklet:

• Reads the current page's hostname (github.com).
• Builds the best-pick favicon URL: https://your-host/github.com (same as GET /{domain}).
• Copies that URL to your clipboard.
• Shows a short on-page toast with a preview of the icon and a clickable link (dismisses after 5 seconds).

If the page has no hostname (e.g. a blank tab or file:// URL), you get an alert instead.

Tips

• Works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and other browsers that support JavaScript bookmarklets.
• Safari on desktop has limited support for custom bookmark JavaScript; use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox, or use Browser search instead.
• The copied URL returns the icon directly — paste it into a dashboard tile, <img src="…">, or anywhere you need a favicon link.