Cloudinary Automation

Automate Cloudinary media management workflows -- create folders, configure upload presets, look up assets, manage transformations, search folders, and monitor usage -- all through natural language.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/cloudinary

Setup

Add the Rube MCP server to your environment: https://rube.app/mcp
Connect your Cloudinary account when prompted (API key auth via Composio)
Start issuing natural language commands for Cloudinary automation

Core Workflows

1. Organize Assets with Folders

Create folder structures for organizing hosted images, videos, and raw files.

Tool: CLOUDINARY_CREATE_FOLDER

Key parameters:

folder -- full path of the new asset folder (required), e.g., images/events/2023

Supporting tools:

CLOUDINARY_SEARCH_FOLDERS -- search folders by name, path, or creation date using Lucene-like expressions
- expression -- search filter (e.g., name:sample AND path:events)
- max_results -- 1-500 results (default 50)
- sort_by -- list of sort objects (e.g., [{"created_at": "desc"}])
- next_cursor -- pagination cursor
CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCES_BY_ASSET_FOLDER -- list assets within a specific folder

Example prompt:

"Create a folder called 'marketing/campaigns/spring-2026' in Cloudinary"

2. Configure Upload Presets

Define centralized upload behavior including target folder, allowed formats, transformations, tags, and overwrite rules.

Tool: CLOUDINARY_CREATE_UPLOAD_PRESET

Key parameters:

name -- preset name (auto-generated if omitted)
folder -- target folder path for uploads (e.g., samples/)
allowed_formats -- comma-separated list (e.g., jpg,png,webp)
tags -- comma-separated tags to apply (e.g., marketing,thumbnail)
transformation -- incoming transformation (e.g., c_limit,w_500)
eager -- eager transformations to generate on upload (e.g., c_fill,g_face,h_150,w_150)
unsigned -- allow unsigned uploads (true/false)
overwrite -- overwrite existing assets with same public_id (cannot be true when unsigned=true)
resource_type -- image, video, or raw (default image)
unique_filename -- append random suffix to avoid collisions (default true)
use_filename -- use original filename (default false)
moderation -- moderation type: manual, webpurify, aws_rek, etc.
auto_tagging -- confidence threshold 0.0-1.0 for AI auto-tagging
notification_url -- webhook URL for upload notifications

Example prompt:

"Create an upload preset called 'product-images' that only allows JPG and PNG, stores in 'products/' folder, and auto-tags with 0.7 confidence"

3. Look Up Asset Details

Retrieve full details for a specific asset by its public ID, including metadata, derived assets, and related resources.

Tool: CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCE_BY_PUBLIC_ID

Key parameters:

public_id -- the asset's public ID (required)
resource_type -- image, video, or raw (required)
type -- delivery type: upload, private, authenticated, fetch, etc. (required)
colors -- include color histogram and predominant colors
faces -- include detected face coordinates
media_metadata -- include IPTC, XMP, and detailed metadata
quality_analysis -- include quality analysis scores
phash -- include perceptual hash for similarity detection
versions -- include backed-up versions
related -- include related assets
max_results -- max derived/related assets to return (1-500)

Example prompt:

"Get full details for the image 'products/hero-banner' including color analysis and quality scores"

4. Manage Transformations and Derived Assets

List existing transformations, apply eager transformations to uploaded assets, and clean up derived resources.

Tools:

CLOUDINARY_GET_TRANSFORMATIONS -- list all named and unnamed transformations
- max_results -- 1-500 (default 10)
- next_cursor -- pagination cursor
CLOUDINARY_EXPLICIT_RESOURCE -- update an existing asset: pre-generate transformations, update metadata, move to new folders, or modify tags
- public_id -- target asset (required)
- eager -- list of transformation strings to pre-generate (e.g., ["c_fill,w_300,h_200", "c_thumb,w_100,h_100,g_face"])
- eager_async -- generate transformations asynchronously
- tags -- replace existing tags
- asset_folder -- move asset to a new folder
- display_name -- set display name
- context -- key-value metadata (e.g., {"alt": "Mountain view"})
- invalidate -- invalidate CDN cache (takes up to 1 hour)
CLOUDINARY_DELETE_DERIVED_RESOURCES -- delete specific derived assets by IDs (up to 100 per call)

Example prompt:

"Pre-generate a 300x200 fill crop and a 100x100 face-detection thumbnail for asset 'products/hero-banner'"

5. Monitor Usage and Configuration

Check account-level usage limits, environment configuration, and tag inventory.

Tools:

CLOUDINARY_GET_USAGE -- monitor storage, bandwidth, requests, and quota limits
CLOUDINARY_GET_CONFIG -- fetch environment config details
- settings -- set to true to include configuration settings like folder_mode
CLOUDINARY_GET_TAGS -- list all tags for a resource type

Example prompt:

"Show me my Cloudinary account usage and remaining quota"

6. Set Up Webhook Triggers

Create webhook notifications for specific Cloudinary events.

Tool: CLOUDINARY_CREATE_TRIGGER

Use to receive callbacks when uploads complete, transformations finish, or other events occur.

Example prompt:

"Create a webhook trigger that notifies https://my-app.com/hook on upload events"

Known Pitfalls

Pitfall	Details
Folder creation idempotency	`CLOUDINARY_CREATE_FOLDER` may error or no-op if the path already exists -- design idempotent folder naming
Preset-upload alignment	Upload preset options like `allowed_formats`, `folder`, and `unsigned` must match the actual upload method or uploads will be rejected
Strict asset lookup	`CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCE_BY_PUBLIC_ID` fails if any of `resource_type`, `type`, or `public_id` is incorrect, even when the asset exists
Folder path sensitivity	`CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCES_BY_ASSET_FOLDER` only lists assets in the exact folder specified; typos return empty results
Quota blocking	`CLOUDINARY_GET_USAGE` reflects account-level limits -- hitting caps silently blocks uploads until usage is checked and addressed
CDN invalidation delay	Setting `invalidate=true` on `CLOUDINARY_EXPLICIT_RESOURCE` takes up to 1 hour to propagate
Unsigned vs overwrite conflict	Cannot set `overwrite=true` when `unsigned=true` in upload presets

Quick Reference

Action	Tool Slug	Key Params
Create folder	`CLOUDINARY_CREATE_FOLDER`	`folder`
Search folders	`CLOUDINARY_SEARCH_FOLDERS`	`expression`, `max_results`
List folder assets	`CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCES_BY_ASSET_FOLDER`	folder path
Create upload preset	`CLOUDINARY_CREATE_UPLOAD_PRESET`	`name`, `folder`, `allowed_formats`, `tags`
Get asset details	`CLOUDINARY_GET_RESOURCE_BY_PUBLIC_ID`	`public_id`, `resource_type`, `type`
List transformations	`CLOUDINARY_GET_TRANSFORMATIONS`	`max_results`, `next_cursor`
Update/transform asset	`CLOUDINARY_EXPLICIT_RESOURCE`	`public_id`, `eager`, `tags`
Delete derived assets	`CLOUDINARY_DELETE_DERIVED_RESOURCES`	`derived_resource_ids`
Get usage	`CLOUDINARY_GET_USAGE`	(none)
Get config	`CLOUDINARY_GET_CONFIG`	`settings`
List tags	`CLOUDINARY_GET_TAGS`	resource_type
Create webhook	`CLOUDINARY_CREATE_TRIGGER`	event type, URL