Google Favicons — Free Website Favicon Lookup API (No Key)

TL;DR

The Google Favicons API provides easy access to any website's favicon at multiple sizes via Google's cached favicon service. Simply provide a domain name and optional size parameter. Returns the favicon image directly — no parsing or scraping needed. Supports sizes from 16px to 256px. No API key, no rate limits (within reason). Perfect for bookmark managers, link previews, website dashboards, and browser-like interfaces.

Quick start: https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com&sz=64

No API key needed — just make a request!

How to Use This API

1. Get Favicon at Default Size

https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com

2. Get Favicon at Specific Size

https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com&sz=64

3. JavaScript — Display Bookmark Favicons

const sites = ['github.com', 'stackoverflow.com', 'npmjs.com'];

sites.forEach(domain => {
  const img = document.createElement('img');
  img.src = `https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=${domain}&sz=32`;
  img.alt = domain;
  img.title = domain;
  document.getElementById('bookmarks').appendChild(img);
});

4. Python — Batch Favicon Download

import requests

domains = ['github.com', 'gitlab.com', 'bitbucket.org', 'sourceforge.net']
for domain in domains:
    url = f'https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain={domain}&sz=64'
    img_data = requests.get(url).content
    filename = f'{domain.replace(".", "_")}.png'
    with open(filename, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(img_data)
    print(f"Saved {filename} ({len(img_data)} bytes)")

GitHub favicon (64px): https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com&sz=64

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Frequently Asked Questions

What URL parameters are supported?: domain (required) — the website domain. sz (optional) — icon size in pixels (16, 32, 64, 128, 256). Default is 16px.
What size favicons can I request?: Common sizes: 16, 32, 64, 128, 256. The API returns crisp PNG images at the requested resolution. Larger sizes are scaled from the source favicon.
Does every domain have a favicon?: Most domains have a favicon cached by Google. If a domain has no favicon, the API returns a default globe icon placeholder.
How up-to-date are the cached favicons?: Google periodically recrawls websites and updates its favicon cache. Recent domain or favicon changes may not be reflected immediately.
Can I use this in production applications?: This is Google's public favicon service used internally by Google products. It's free and reliable for reasonable usage volumes.
What format does the response use?: The API returns raw image data (PNG format) directly. Set the response as src on an <img> tag or save the binary response.

API Details

API URL: https://www.google.com/s2/favicons
Documentation: Google Favicons (unofficial)
Category: Developer Tools
Authentication: Not Required
Geographic Coverage: Global

What You Can Build

Bookmark manager with visual grid of site favicons for quick navigation
Browser start page with favicon-labeled shortcuts to favorite sites
Link preview component showing domain favicon next to external links
Website uptime dashboard with color-coded favicon indicators
Tab management extension using favicons to identify open sites