# Assets

> 

The Asset APIs enable you to manage and interact with your site's media files through the [Designer's Assets panel](https://university.webflow.com/lesson/assets-panel?topics=elements).

These APIs let you:

* Upload new assets to your Webflow site
* Retrieve existing assets and their metadata
* Update asset properties like names and alt text
* Organize assets into folders
* Get direct URLs to hosted assets

## Using assets on a site

To display an asset on a page, you can:

1. [Create](/designer/reference/create-an-asset) or [select](/designer/reference/get-asset-by-id) an asset
2. [Create an image element](/designer/reference/insert-element-after) using the `webflow.elementPresets.Image` element preset
3. [Set the asset](/designer/reference/image-element/setAsset) on the image element
4. Optionally set additional properties like alt text for accessibility

**Example**

```typescript
// Get a file from a remote URL
const response = await fetch("https://fastly.picsum.photos/id/336/200/300.jpg?hmac=FYvgN5rqQdtTh1q0wSE75sgfBRdhD-qNJwP12mTVXTc")
const blob = await response.blob()
const file = new File([blob], "bikelocks.jpg", { type: 'image/jpeg' });

// Create an asset from the file and set alt text
const asset = await webflow.createAsset(file)
await asset.setAltText('Candid photo of Marvin the Paranoid Android')

// Get Selected Element
const selectedElement = await webflow.getSelectedElement()
if (selectedElement) {           
  
  // Insert Image after selected Element
  const newImage = await selectedElement.after(webflow.elementPresets.Image)

  // Set the asset on the image element
  await newImage.setAsset(asset)
}
```

## Supported file types

The Asset APIs support various file types including images, documents, and Lottie animations. Refer to the accepted MIME types listed below for compatibility. Pass Lottie files as `application/json` MIME types.

```Text MIME Types
'image/jpeg'
'image/jpg'
'image/png'
'image/gif'
'image/svg+xml'
'image/bmp'
'image/webp'
'application/pdf'
'application/msword'
'application/vnd.ms-excel'
'application/vnd.ms-powerpoint'
'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document'
'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet'
'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation'
'text/plain'
'text/csv'
'application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text'
'application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet'
'application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation'
'application/json'
```

<Note>
  Files upload to the Assets panel aren't restricted. They're publicly available and discoverable, but won't necessarily be discovered or indexed by search engines if the file isn't on a publicly viewable webpage or linked elsewhere. [Learn more about asset privacy in Webflow.](https://university.webflow.com/lesson/asset-privacy)
</Note>

## Properties

| Property | Description                    |
| :------- | :----------------------------- |
| `id`     | Unique identifier of the Asset |