Logo.dev core concepts

This glossary defines the names Logo.dev uses for brand assets, services, and keys. The brand-asset names cause the most confusion, so they have examples.

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Brand and visual terms

A logo has two parts. The symbol is the graphic mark. The wordmark is the styled name. Together they make the brandmark.

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Company logo

A brand’s own mark, at a resolution you can show anywhere. For most brands it is the symbol, the graphic part with no text. img.logo.dev/:domain returns it. Also called: logo, logomark, pictorial mark, icon, symbol, mark.

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Brandmark

The wide, rectangular logo lockup. For most brands it is the symbol and the wordmark together. For a brand that is only type, it is the wordmark alone. Brand returns it in the brandmark field. Designers often call this a combination mark, and many use “brandmark” for the symbol alone. Also called: combination mark, logo lockup, horizontal logo, full logo.

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Wordmark

The styled text of a company’s name, with no symbol. It is the whole brandmark only for brands that are only type, such as Sony or Visa. Also called: logotype, text logo.

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Favicon

The small icon a browser shows in a tab, usually 16 to 32 pixels. Logo.dev serves company logos, not favicons scraped from websites. You can request a logo at favicon size. Also called: site icon, tab icon, shortcut icon.

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Monogram

A generated placeholder that shows one letter. The Logo.dev CDN returns it when it has no logo for the company, so the image never breaks. Also called: letter avatar, initials placeholder, fallback logo.

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Social banner

The wide header image a brand uses on its social profiles. Brand returns these in social_banners. Also called: header image, cover image, OG banner.

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Brand colors

The brand’s main colors. Brand returns them in colors. Also called: brand palette.

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Service terms

Logo.dev has three products. The introduction lists what each one does.

• Logo.dev CDN. The image service at img.logo.dev. It takes a publishable key. Its usage unit is CDN requests. Also called: the image API, logo image API, Logo CDN.
• Logo.dev API. The REST API at api.logo.dev. It takes a secret key. Its usage unit is API credits. Also called: the REST API, brand data API, Logo API.
• Logo.dev MCP. The MCP server at mcp.logo.dev that gives AI agents the Logo.dev API as tools. Its usage unit is MCP usage, which spends API credits at the same rates as the REST routes. Also called: the MCP server.

The products serve four features:

• Logo. A company’s logo image. The Logo.dev CDN serves it from an image URL, and the Logo.dev API returns it as a file to store.
• Brand. The part of the Logo.dev API that returns brand profiles, logos, and brandmarks. Also called: Brand API, brand profile API, brand kit.
• Search. The part of the Logo.dev API that turns a company name into candidate domains. Also called: Search API, brand search, autocomplete API.
• Transaction. A separate service that identifies a merchant from a card transaction string. It is in private beta, at www.logo.dev/api/transaction, with its own beta key. Also called: Transaction Enrichment API, merchant enrichment.

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Key terms

API keys has the full detail on each key.

• Publishable key. A pk_ key for the Logo.dev CDN, sent in the token query parameter. It is safe in client-side code. Often miscalled a public key, public token, client key, or “the token.”
• Secret key. An sk_ key for the Logo.dev API, sent in the Authorization: Bearer header. Keep it on your server. Often miscalled a private key, server key, or “API key.”
• Domain restrictions. A key setting, the Allowed domains only toggle, that limits a publishable key to requests from domains you list. Also called: allowed domains, referrer restrictions.

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Next steps