Programmable Media

Java SDK

Last updated: Jan-17-2024

This page provides an in-depth introduction to the Java SDK.

Tip
If you're ready to get coding, jump straight to our quick start.

Overview

Cloudinary's Java SDK provides simple, yet comprehensive image and video upload, transformation, optimization, and delivery capabilities that you can implement using code that integrates seamlessly with your existing Java application.

Related topics
This guide relates to the latest released version of the Cloudinary Java library.

For details on all new features and fixes from previous versions, see the CHANGELOG.

Quick example: Transformations

Take a look at the following transformation code and the image it delivers:

sample transformation

This relatively simple code performs all of the following on the original front_face.jpg image before delivering it:

  • Crop to a 150x150 thumbnail using face-detection gravity to automatically determine the location for the crop
  • Round the corners with a 20 pixel radius
  • Apply a sepia effect
  • Overlay the Cloudinary logo on the southeast corner of the image (with a slight offset). The logo is scaled down to a 50 pixel width, with increased brightness and partial transparency (opacity = 60%)
  • Rotate the resulting image (including the overlay) by 10 degrees
  • Convert and deliver the image in PNG format (the originally uploaded image was a JPG)

And here's the URL that would be included in the image tag that's automatically generated from the above code:

In a similar way, you can transform a video.

Learn more about transformations

Quick example: File upload

The following Java code uploads the dog.mp4 video to the specified sub-folder using the public_id, my_dog. The video will overwrite the existing my_dog video if it exists. When the video upload is complete, the specified notification URL will receive details about the uploaded media asset.

Java library features

Cloudinary provides an open source Java library for further simplifying the integration:

The library is built for Java 6 / JSP 2.0 and will work with higher versions. The following are resources which serve as a good starting point to better familiarize yourself with the library:

Choosing the right Maven package

The Maven repository includes several packages ("artifacts") to choose from:

  • cloudinary-http - for general Java applications. It utilizes the Apache HTTP libraries.

    • cloudinary-http45 - Cloudinary Apache HTTP 4.5 Library
    • cloudinary-http44 - Cloudinary Apache HTTP 4.4 Library
    • cloudinary-http43 - Cloudinary Apache HTTP 4.3 Library
    • cloudinary-http42 - Cloudinary Apache HTTP 4.2 Library
  • cloudinary-taglib - provides a Java Tag Library for J2EE applications

  • cloudinary-android - provides support for android applications

Installation and setup

The easiest way to start using Cloudinary's Java library is to use Maven.

Note
We recommend updating the version number shown below to use the latest version of the Java SDK.
  1. Download and install Maven. Follow https://maven.apache.org/download.cgi for reference.
  2. Create a maven project. See example here.
  3. Add the Cloudinary dependency to the list of dependencies in the pom.xml:

  4. If you are building a Java EE web application you should consider using the tag library by adding:

When using in Java code import the appropriate package:

When using in a JSP view import the tag library:

Configuration

To use the Cloudinary Java library, you have to configure at least your cloud_name. Your api_key and api_secret are also needed for secure API calls to Cloudinary (e.g., image and video uploads). You can find your product environment configuration credentials in the Dashboard page of the Cloudinary Console.

In addition to the required configuration parameters, you can define a number of optional configuration parameters if relevant.

Setting the configuration parameters can be done globally using either an environment variable or the ObjectUtils.asMap method, or programmatically in each call to a Cloudinary method. Parameters set in a call to a Cloudinary method override globally set parameters.

Note
For backward compatibility reasons, the default value of the optional secure configuration parameter is false. However, for most modern applications, it's recommended to configure the secure parameter to true to ensure that your transformation URLs are always generated as HTTPS.

Setting the CLOUDINARY_URL environment variable

You can configure the required cloud_name, api_key, and api_secret by defining the CLOUDINARY_URL environment variable. The CLOUDINARY_URL value is available in the Dashboard page of the Cloudinary Console. When using Cloudinary through a PaaS add-on (e.g., Heroku or AppFog), this environment variable is automatically defined in your deployment environment. For example:

Set additional parameters, for example upload_prefix and cname, to the environment variable:

This will enable you to receive a Cloudinary instance:

Setting configuration parameters globally

Here's an example of setting configuration parameters in your Java application:

Or you can directly register a Cloudinary instance in your initializer code:

Note
The tags in the tag library require an instance to be available in the Singleton to function correctly.

Java capitalization and data type guidelines

When using the Java SDK, keep these guidelines in mind:

  • Parameter names: snake_case. For example: public_id
  • Classes: PascalCase. For example: CloudinaryImageTag
  • Methods: camelCase. For example: imageUploadTag
  • Pass parameter data as: Map

Sample projects

To find additional useful code samples and learn how to integrate Cloudinary with your Java applications, take a look at our Sample Projects. These projects are based on the Spring MVC v3.2.

Photo Album: A fully working web application that allows you to uploads photos, maintain a database with references to them, list them with their metadata, and display them using various cloud-based transformations. Image uploading is performed both from the server side and directly from the browser using a jQuery plugin.

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