---
title: "Preview a billboard"
method: POST
path: "/api/billboards/preview"
tags: ["billboards"]
---

# Preview a billboard

`POST /api/billboards/preview`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://dev.to`
- URL: `https://dev.to/api/billboards/preview`
- Auth: one of:
  - API key in header `api-key`
  - HTTP bearer

Render a billboard's Markdown/HTML copy into `processed_html` and `minimized_processed_html` without saving it.

## Request body

- object
  - `body_markdown` string: The text (in markdown or raw HTML) of the ad
  - `minimized_body_markdown` string, nullable: Optional minimized markdown copy
  - `placement_area` 'sidebar_left' | 'sidebar_left_2' | 'sidebar_right' | 'sidebar_right_second' | 'sidebar_right_third' | 'feed_first' | 'feed_second' | 'feed_third' | 'home_hero' | 'footer' | 'page_fixed_bottom' | 'post_fixed_bottom' | 'post_body_bottom' | 'post_body_bottom_secondary' | 'post_sidebar' | 'post_sidebar_secondary' | 'post_comments' | 'post_comments_secondary' | 'post_comments_mid' | 'digest_first' | 'digest_second' | 'external_feed', nullable
  - `render_mode` 'forem_markdown' | 'raw'

## Response `200`

successful

- object
  - `processed_html` string, nullable
  - `minimized_processed_html` string, nullable

## Other responses

- `401`: unauthorized
- `422`: unprocessable

## Changes

- **2026-10-27** (v1) `12db4ecde9f3`: 1 info
  - endpoint added

[Operation history](https://skmtc.dev/forem/apis/forem-api-v1/changes/api/billboards/preview/post.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/forem/apis/forem-api-v1.md) - [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/forem/apis/forem-api-v1/llms.txt) - [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/forem/apis/forem-api-v1/revisions/36f1cf80cf48?raw)