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Deliver photos to a SmugMug client

The edit is done and the client is waiting. You create a gallery, set who may see it, upload the files and send the invitations, and each step is a different screen.

Cotlet does it in your own SmugMug account with create_gallery, upload_photos, invite_gallery_viewers and get_gallery, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can SmugMug do this on its own?

SmugMug does this end to end in the web app. The API can create galleries and upload files through its Uploader, but its Album reference shows no way to invite viewers by email (checked 17 Oct 2026), so private sharing is the step a script cannot finish.

How you do it in SmugMug today

  1. Click Upload > Into New Gallery in the global navigation bar, or go to My Site > Site Organizer and click Create > Gallery.
  2. In the gallery settings overlay, give the gallery a title and a description, set visibility, access and photo protection, and click Create.
  3. Drag the photos into the uploader. The upload starts by itself.
  4. In the gallery, open Settings > Security & Sharing > Access, choose People I Choose, type the email addresses separated by commas and click Save.
  5. SmugMug shows a notice that the invitations were sent. Each client must then accept the invitation by email and sign up for a guest account if they have none.

How to deliver photos to a SmugMug client

Prompt

Create a private SmugMug gallery "Smith wedding" in the folder "Delivered 2026", upload these 3 files, and invite anna@example.com and tom@example.com to view it. Show me the gallery link before you invite anyone.
  1. 01

    Create it closed

    create_gallery makes the gallery inside your delivery folder with visibility Private. An empty gallery reaches no one, so nothing is sent at this point.

  2. 02

    Upload the files

    upload_photos adds the files you list into the new gallery. The call asks for your OK first, because it puts files on your site.

  3. 03

    Check the link

    get_gallery returns the gallery link and its current access, so you see exactly what the client will open before anyone is invited.

  4. 04

    Invite, after your yes

    invite_gallery_viewers switches access to People I Choose and sends the invitations. This is the one call that reaches your client, so it waits for your confirmation by default.

  5. 05

    Report who was invited

    The reply lists each address and the total now invited to the gallery, so you can see if the 200-invitation limit is near for a busy folder.

What you get back

Example data

Gallery "Smith wedding" created in "Delivered 2026" (Private)
Uploaded 3 files
Link: https://studio.smugmug.com/Delivered-2026/Smith-wedding
Invited 2: anna@example.com, tom@example.com
Total invited to this gallery: 2

Other ways to ask

  • Create the gallery and upload the files, but do not invite anyone. I will send the link myself.
  • Invite mia@example.com to the existing gallery "Smith wedding" as well.
  • Make the gallery protected by a password with the hint "Wedding date" instead of inviting by email.
  • Create one gallery per name in this list, with the same settings, and show me the links.

What SmugMug allows, and what to know first

  • Private sharing with People I Choose is available on the Power plan and higher.
  • You can invite up to 200 people to each gallery, folder or page.
  • Each invitation has a unique redemption token. After your guest uses it, nobody else can, even if the email is forwarded.
  • Invited people accept by email and sign up for a guest account if they are not SmugMug users yet.
  • To take access back, click the X next to an address under Security & Sharing, or manage it in Site Settings > Contacts.

upload_photos and invite_gallery_viewers ask for your OK by default. To run it on a schedule without you, switch confirmation off for those tools in your dashboard.

Sources: SmugMug Help: Create a gallery · SmugMug Help: Share photos privately with only people I choose · SmugMug Help: Upload photos and videos · SmugMug API v2: Album reference

Call invite_gallery_viewers from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/smugmug/galleries/Xk4RtP/viewers/invite \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"emails":["anna@example.com","tom@example.com"]}'

Example response

{
  "gallery_id": "Xk4RtP",
  "access": "people_i_choose",
  "invited": [
    "anna@example.com",
    "tom@example.com"
  ],
  "total_invited": 2
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is smugmug_write → invite_gallery_viewers. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

SmugMug tools this automation uses

Cotlet SmugMug tools used to deliver photos to a SmugMug client
Tool Parameters
create_gallery title, folder_id, description, visibility
upload_photos gallery_id, file_urls
invite_gallery_viewers gallery_id, emails
get_gallery gallery_id
All 12 SmugMug tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect SmugMug to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to SmugMug yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get SmugMug once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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