---
title: "Update Thumbnail Customizations"
method: PUT
path: "/medias/{mediaId}/customizations/thumbnail"
tags: ["Customizations"]
---

# Update Thumbnail Customizations

`PUT /medias/{mediaId}/customizations/thumbnail`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://api.wistia.com/modern`
- URL: `https://api.wistia.com/modern/medias/{mediaId}/customizations/thumbnail`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

Applies a partial update to a video's thumbnail customizations. Only the
fields supplied are changed; sending a field as null deletes it (reverting to
the default).

## Requires api token with one of the following permissions
```
Read, update & delete anything
```

Tokens with the "Act with a team member's permissions" permission
(`all:delegate_to_contact_permissions` scope) can also be used. Requests
made with such a token are authorized using the permissions of the
contact assigned to the token.

An [expiring access token](https://docs.wistia.com/reference/post_expiring-token)
created with the `all:delegate_to_contact_permissions` scope and an
authorization granting the `edit` permission on this media can also be used.

## Path parameters

- `mediaId` string, required

## Headers

- `X-Wistia-API-Version` string, required

## Request body

- object: Pre-play poster image and looping video thumbnail / text-overlay plugins for a video. Every field is optional; only the fields you send are changed (partial update). Send a field as null to reset it to its default.
  - `stillUrl` string: Overrides the thumbnail image that appears before the video plays.
  - `thumbnailAltText` string: Alt text for the thumbnail image, used for accessibility.
  - `fitStrategy` string: Resizes the thumbnail when there's a discrepancy between its aspect ratio and that of its parent container. Options are contain, cover, fill, and none.
  - `unalteredStillImageAsset` string: Reference to the original, unaltered still image asset.
  - `plugin` object: Container for thumbnail-related player plugin configurations.
    - `videoThumbnail` object: Looping video thumbnail (a short clip used as the poster).
      - `clickToPlayButton` boolean: If set to false, removes the “Click to Play” button on video thumbnails.
      - `clickForSound` boolean: If set to true, shows a click-for-sound affordance on the video thumbnail.
      - `hashedId` string: The hashed ID of the media used as the looping video thumbnail.
      - `trimStart` string: Start time of the trimmed clip used as the video thumbnail.
      - `trimEnd` string: End time of the trimmed clip used as the video thumbnail.
      - `priorityMode` string: Priority mode controlling how the video thumbnail is loaded.
    - `thumbnailTextOverlay-v2` object: Text overlay rendered on top of the thumbnail.
      - `on` boolean: If set to true, the text overlay is enabled.
      - `text` string: The text displayed in the overlay.

## Response `200`

Thumbnail customization update successful

- object: Explicitly-set thumbnail customizations for the video. Leaf values are returned as strings (e.g. "true"); fields that have never been set are omitted.
  - `stillUrl` string
  - `thumbnailAltText` string
  - `fitStrategy` string
  - `unalteredStillImageAsset` union
    - string
    - object
      - `url` string
      - `width` string
      - `height` string
  - `plugin` object
    - `videoThumbnail` object
      - `clickToPlayButton` string
      - `clickForSound` union
        - string
        - object
          - `on` string
          - `showText` string
      - `hashedId` string
      - `trimStart` string
      - `trimEnd` string
      - `priorityMode` string
    - `thumbnailTextOverlay-v2` object
      - `on` string
      - `text` string

## Other responses

- `400`: Bad request
- `401`: Unauthorized, invalid or missing token
- `403`: Forbidden, token is valid but account does not have access to feature
- `404`: Resource not found
- `500`: Internal server error

## Changes

- **2026-11-03** `b86cb2a7b420`: 1 info
  - endpoint added

[Operation history](https://skmtc.dev/wistia/apis/data-api/changes/medias/:mediaId/customizations/thumbnail/put.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/wistia/apis/data-api.md) - [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/wistia/apis/data-api/llms.txt) - [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/wistia/apis/data-api/revisions/b86cb2a7b420?raw)