Carrd OG Image: Screenshot vs Custom

Five ways to ship the card

Carrd's adding-a-share-image doc says a simple screenshot is shown when a site is shared, and that a Share Image requires Pro Lite or higher. The steps there are Publish, the Media tab, Share Image, Upload, crop, Accept, and Publish Changes. If the site was shared before, Carrd says it may take up to 24 hours because of image caching.

Plan names and yearly prices below are from Carrd's plans page: Pro Lite $9/year, Pro Standard $19/year, and Pro Plus $49/year, each listing Share Images. The plan catalog has no per-image price, and this page does not publish an API latency.

Approach	Setup effort	When it fits	Freshness when the page changes	Cache / re-scrape	Cost / maintenance
Carrd default screenshot	Publish the site and leave Share Image empty. Carrd's docs say a simple screenshot is what social networks show.	One site, and the screenshot is an acceptable link preview.	The share-image doc does not say whether a new publish replaces that screenshot immediately.	Carrd says a site that was already shared may take up to 24 hours because of image caching.	Carrd's plans page calls Basic the free experience. Share Images are not listed on that experience.
Manual Share Image upload	Pro Lite or higher. Publish, Media, Share Image, Upload, crop, Accept, Publish Changes.	You already have an image and you will upload it once.	The file stays until you upload another one. Editing the page text does not redraw it.	Same Carrd note: up to 24 hours if the site was previously shared. Then check the URL in the debugger.	Carrd lists Pro Lite at $9/year, Pro Standard at $19/year, and Pro Plus at $49/year, and lists Share Images on each. Cited from the plans page.
One-off generate, then upload	Paste the Carrd URL at /new, download the file, then use the Share Image upload. Pro Lite or higher is still required.	You want a branded card for one site and you will not sign an API request.	The file is that generate. A later edit on Carrd does not update it until you generate and upload again.	Publishing the new file hits the same Carrd cache note: up to 24 hours if the site was previously shared. This page does not publish a separate cache time for Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Slack, or WhatsApp.	The browser form at /new. The plan catalog has no per-image price. Starter is $5/month ($50/year, 10,000-image quota).
OG Pilot API, then upload	An API key, a verified domain, and a JWT signed on your server or an SDK. Download the JSON url. Upload that file. Carrd does not call the API.	You regenerate many pages, or something else can download the file before you upload it.	Call again when the page changes, then upload the new file. A present iat keeps the hosted cache for 24 hours from that timestamp. Omit iat and the hosted cache does not expire on its own.	The new Carrd file still follows Carrd's 24-hour note if the site was shared before.	The plan catalog lists Starter at $5/month ($50/year, 10,000-image quota), Builder at $49/month ($99/year, 100,000-image quota), and Growth at $99/month ($199/year, unlimited image quota). A Stripe image_quota feature can replace the quota. The catalog has no per-image price. The API allows a verified domain plus an active subscription, a past-due subscription, or a trial.
MCP generate_og_image, then upload	type streamable-http, url https://ogpilot.com/mcp, OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. Call generate_og_image with the public Carrd url. Download image_url and upload it.	An agent already has the public Carrd URL and should make the card.	Ask again after the page changes. The tool does not watch the Carrd site and it does not publish to Carrd.	Same upload and Carrd cache note. The tool returns image_url. It does not set Share Image.	generate_og_image needs an active plan and at least one credit. A trial cannot call it. The catalog lists Starter at $5/month with 0 AI credits, Builder at $49/month with 100 credits, and Growth at $99/month with 200 credits.

Queries this page is written for: carrd social image, carrd open graph, carrd og image, carrd share image, custom social image no code, and carrd link preview. The content strategy doc does not publish impression counts for this cluster, so this page does not invent any.

Upload the file in Carrd

These steps follow Carrd's share-image doc. The Carrd social image guide uses the same Publish → Media → Share Image path. Carrd's share-image doc names Upload as the control that selects the file. This page follows that doc.

Carrd's Pro plans page lists image and GIF uploads up to 16MB under Large Images and Videos. That line is a general Pro upload limit, not a separate Share Image limit. The share-image doc does not state a pixel size. A completed OG Pilot image is 1200×630, which is the width and height in the API JSON. Sizes for other networks are on the og:image size cheat sheet.

Carrd Share Image

Carrd docs: https://carrd.co/docs/sites/adding-a-share-image
Requires Pro Lite or higher.

1. Click Publish.
2. Click the Media tab.
3. Under Share Image, click Upload.
   The how-to at /carrd-social-image says Change when a share image is already set.
4. Select the image. Use the file you downloaded from OG Pilot.
5. Resize and crop as needed, then click Accept.
6. Click Publish Changes.
7. If the site was shared before, Carrd says it may take up to 24 hours
   because of image caching. Check the URL in the Open Graph debugger.

Download a URL, then upload the file

For one Carrd site, paste the public URL at /new and download the card. You do not need an API key for that form. When the page changes often, or you have many sites, sign a request and download url from the JSON. Get an API key first. The key stays in OG_PILOT_API_KEY. The browser never sees it. The gem and SDK sign the JWT. Do not add a hand-rolled signer.

createImage with json: true matches the contract on /docs. Attach nothing in Carrd until status is completed and url is present. image_type selects the delivered file format. The sample leaves it unset. A present iat keeps the hosted cache for 24 hours from that timestamp. Omit it and the hosted cache does not expire on its own. The share-image doc says to select an image. It does not say a remote URL is accepted, so download the file and upload it.

The curl sample is the same HTTP call: POST https://ogpilot.com/api/v1/images with the JWT in the JSON field token. The API allows a verified domain plus an active subscription, a past-due subscription, or a trial. MCP generation is a different check, below.

API: download url, then upload

// No-code path: download the file, then upload it in Carrd.
// Carrd does not call this API. Docs: https://ogpilot.com/docs
// npm install og-pilot-js  (package ^0.4.2 on /docs)

import { configure, createImage } from "og-pilot-js"

configure((config) => {
  config.apiKey = process.env.OG_PILOT_API_KEY
  config.domain = process.env.OG_PILOT_DOMAIN
})

const metadata = await createImage(
  {
    template: "page",
    title: "Your Carrd page",
    description: "The line you want on the card",
    path: "/",
  },
  { json: true, iat: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) },
)

// When metadata.status is "completed", download metadata.url.
// Width and height on a completed image are 1200 and 630.
// Upload that file: Publish → Media → Share Image.
// A 202 means the render is still going. Leave the current
// share image and retry. Retry-After is 30.

curl -X POST "https://ogpilot.com/api/v1/images" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -d '{"token":"YOUR_JWT_TOKEN"}'

The same card from MCP

An agent that already has the public Carrd URL can call generate_og_image. The tool takes url and an optional style. It returns image_url. It does not log into Carrd and it does not set Share Image. Download the file and use the upload steps above.

Auth is OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. The config file has no API key. generate_og_image needs a signed-in account with an active plan and a credit. A trial can call the API after the domain is verified. A trial cannot call generate_og_image. Install steps and the tool table are on /docs/mcp.

MCP install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "og-pilot": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://ogpilot.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

# Auth: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. No API key in this file.
# Docs: https://ogpilot.com/docs/mcp

generate_og_image
{ "url": "https://example.crd.co" }

# Optional: "style". Omitted or unknown uses auto-detect.
# Returns status, image_url, page_url, title, style.
# Download image_url and upload it in Carrd. The tool does not publish.

Get an API key

Create an account when you will download images from the API. To let an agent generate a card for a public Carrd URL, install the MCP server on an active plan that has a credit. Either way, Carrd still needs the Share Image upload.

Get an API key Install the MCP server

How to add a Carrd OG image

Leave Share Image unset only when Carrd's default screenshot is an acceptable link preview.
For a custom card, download a file from OG Pilot or bring your own, then upload it under Publish, Media, Share Image.
Crop, accept, and publish. Carrd says a previously shared site may take up to 24 hours because of image caching.
Create an API key and download the JSON url when you regenerate many pages, or install MCP and call generate_og_image with the public Carrd URL.
Check the public URL in the Open Graph debugger.

Questions

Which Carrd approach should I use for a social image?

Use the default screenshot when you publish without a Share Image and that screenshot is acceptable. Carrd's adding-a-share-image doc says a simple screenshot is what social networks show until you set one. Upload a Share Image when you have one file and Pro Lite or higher. Generate a one-off at /new and upload it when you want a branded card and you will not sign requests. Use the API when you regenerate many pages and can download the JSON url. Use MCP when an agent should call generate_og_image with the public Carrd URL. Carrd still receives a file. It does not call OG Pilot. The shorter upload how-to stays at /carrd-social-image.

What does Carrd require for a Share Image?

Carrd's adding-a-share-image doc says Pro Lite or higher. The steps are Publish, the Media tab, Share Image, Upload, select an image, resize and crop, Accept, then Publish Changes (https://carrd.co/docs/sites/adding-a-share-image). That doc names Upload as the control that selects the file. Carrd's plans page lists Pro Lite at $9/year, Pro Standard at $19/year, and Pro Plus at $49/year, and lists Share Images on all three (https://carrd.co/docs/pro/plans).

Does the OG Pilot API publish into Carrd?

No. POST /api/v1/images returns JSON with status, url, width 1200, and height 630 when the render is completed. Download that url and upload the file under Share Image. The docs say a present iat keeps the hosted cache for 24 hours from that timestamp, and omitting iat means the hosted cache does not expire on its own. A 202 means the render is still going: status processing or failed, url null, and Retry-After 30. Carrd's share-image doc says to select an image. It does not say a remote URL is accepted.

Can MCP publish a Carrd share image?

No. generate_og_image takes a public url and an optional style, and returns image_url. The config is type streamable-http and url https://ogpilot.com/mcp. Auth is OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. The file has no API key. The tool needs a signed-in account with an active plan and a credit. A trial is not enough. Install steps are at /docs/mcp. You still upload the file in Carrd.

Will this page publish latency or price benchmarks?

No. This page does not publish an API latency. The plan catalog has no per-image price. Starter is $5/month ($50/year, 10,000-image quota), Builder is $49/month ($99/year, 100,000-image quota), and Growth is $99/month ($199/year, unlimited image quota). Carrd plan prices on this page are from Carrd's plans page. The share-image doc does not state a pixel size. Carrd's Pro plans page lists image and GIF uploads up to 16MB under Large Images and Videos. That line is a general Pro upload limit, not a separate Share Image limit.

Carrd OG image: screenshot, Share Image, or a generated file