> For AI agents: the complete Sanity documentation index is available at [https://www.sanity.io/docs/llms.txt](https://www.sanity.io/docs/llms.txt). # Media Library introduction Learn about Media Library, how to incorporate it into your workflow, and how to get started. Media Library is a Sanity app for managing your organization's assets. **This is a paid feature** This feature is available as an addon for certain Enterprise plans. [Talk to sales](https://www.sanity.io/contact/sales?ref=docs) to learn more. Media Library allows you to: - Centrally store assets for use across multiple applications and datasets. - Create custom groupings, called aspects, to make managing assets easier. [Configure your studios and CLI to use Media Library](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/configure-library) Once Media Library is enabled for your organization, you can connect it to your Studio and the CLI. ## Requirements - Dashboard - Studio v3.82.0 or later is required to incorporate Media Library assets in the Studio. - API v2024-06-24 or later is required for any Media Library API requests. Linked requests, like those to your dataset that include Media Library assets, require v2025-02-19 or later. ## Core concepts The Media Library introduces a few new concepts in addition to the image and asset workflows in the rest of the Sanity ecosystem. ### Assets An asset is a digital file that your apps and Studio can use, like an image, video, or document. Common examples include product photos, marketing videos, and downloadable PDFs. Beyond standard image previews, Media Library supports specialized previews for multimedia and document formats. Video files display in a preview player, PDF documents open in a full-screen viewer where you can browse pages, audio files include playback controls, and animation formats like Lottie and Rive render their animations. Files without specialized preview support display as standard file types. Outside of Media Library, these assets live alongside your dataset. In Media Library, they live in a special dataset your organization shares. You can set assets as public or private. Assets set to "Private" are not served through their normal public URL. Logged-in Media Library users can still see them, and an app or website can be granted time-limited access with a signed URL. Without a signed URL or a Media Library session, the asset isn't accessible. Learn more about changing asset visibility in [the interface guide](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/interface). > [!TIP] > Your Sanity project still supplies the assets to your applications > With Media Library, you can treat it as the source of truth for your assets, but your project is still the access point for rendering images and creating download links. All requests for Media Library assets should go through your project datasets. > [Enable library access](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/configure-library) in your studios, then continue [presenting images](https://www.sanity.io/docs/apis-and-sdks/presenting-images) as if they were coming straight from the same dataset as the rest of your content. This could be by passing `asset` into a URL builder, or expanding the asset reference with `asset -> {...}` and building the URL yourself. ### The library The library is the interface that your content teams use to manage assets. Users can upload, search, manage, and assign aspects to assets. [Meet the library](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/interface) Get to know Media Library's user interface. ### Aspects Aspects are schema-style fields that apply to assets. They include additional, identifying information that helps asset managers search and organize assets. Some examples are usage licenses, references to products in your organization, and copyright details. This extra level of information is specific to the Media Library. For local metadata, you should create schemas in your Studio projects. Developers define aspects that users can then apply to an asset. Depending on your plan, there are limits to the number of aspects each asset can have. [Create an aspect](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/create-aspect) Create and deploy aspects for Media Library. [Aspect patterns](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/aspect-patterns) Common patterns for defining aspects ### Collections Collections allow teams to group assets for better organization and sharing. ### Global document references Media Library assets exist outside your projects and datasets, so you need a way to connect them. Global document references are a new reference type that allows you to target a reference in a different resource. Resources are currently limited to datasets and media libraries, and at this time you can only reference dataset documents from Media Library aspects. See the [common aspect patterns guide](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/aspect-patterns) for details on referencing documents from within aspects. ### Folders Folders provide a nested hierarchy for organizing your assets, similar to a file system. Use folders to model your team’s structure, a project, or any taxonomy that matches how your organization works. Each asset can live in one folder; **shortcuts** make a single asset appear in additional folders without duplicating the underlying file. Folder operations are available throughout the [Media Library app](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/interface) as well as [programmatically via the API](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/folders). ## Work with AI agents An agent connected to the Sanity MCP server can upload, find, edit, organize, and link assets in your library. [Use Media Library with AI agents](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/mcp) Connect an AI agent to upload, find, edit, organize, and link assets in your organization's Media Library. [Sanity MCP server](https://www.sanity.io/docs/ai/mcp-server) Enable AI agents to interact with your Sanity workspace through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). ## Limitations - Media Library is only available within [Dashboard](https://www.sanity.io/docs/dashboard). - For additional usage limits, see the [limits and usage document](https://www.sanity.io/docs/media-library/limits-and-usage). ## Related changelog entries Entries are listed newest first; each link points to the full entry as markdown. Follow one when you need to know what changed, when, or why — for example, to summarize recent updates, explain behavior that differs from older documentation, or check whether a fix has shipped. - [Media Library v2026.08.12: Asset previews now show shareable URLs, steadier dialogs, and assorted improvements](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/apiChange-ml-heavy-rice-pull.md) — August 12, 2026 - [Content Agent v2026-05-07: Media Library support, better search, and bug fixes](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/5e11a899-ac6c-46aa-b2a2-1fc7abfb6365.md) — May 7, 2026 - [Media Library v2026-05-06: Folders arrive in Media Library](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/fldr-rel-09-changelog-2026-05-05.md) — May 6, 2026 - [Media Library v2026-04-15: Visibility toggle bugfix](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/apiChange-ml-happy-birds-ask.md) — April 15, 2026 - [Media Library v2026-01-07: Improved responsive panel behaviour, sidebar popovers, and support for private assets](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/76c1a07c-8df1-4683-8a38-d1a145ff566f.md) — January 7, 2026 - [Media Library v2025-10-29: Enhanced preview experience and improved paste behavior](https://www.sanity.io/docs/changelog/ede78780-2447-4065-864f-41135b8ba5c5.md) — October 29, 2025