How to Download SoundCloud Cover Art in Full Size

If you grab the cover from a SoundCloud track page, the biggest copy the page shows is usually a 500 × 500 pixel JPG. That's fine for a thumbnail, but it looks soft as a wallpaper or in a music player that shows large artwork.

The good news: SoundCloud usually keeps a copy of the image the uploader sent, and you can open it with a small change to the image address. The catch: "full size" can only ever mean the size the uploader sent. Anything bigger is an enlarged copy with no extra detail.

This guide shows how to find the largest real version of a track's cover, how to check what you got, and when an extension is the quicker option.

The short answer

1. Open the track page on soundcloud.com in a desktop browser.
2. Find the artwork address. It looks like https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-…-t500x500.jpg.
3. Replace -t500x500 with -original and open the new address.
4. If that returns an error, try the same address ending in .png instead of .jpg.
5. Save the image, then check its pixel size before you use it.

The rest of this guide explains each step, and why a bigger number in the address doesn't always mean a better image.

How SoundCloud stores cover art

When an artist uploads a cover, SoundCloud makes several resized copies and serves them from its image server, i1.sndcdn.com. Every copy has the same address except for a size suffix just before the file extension. The page loads whichever copy fits the spot: a tiny one in comment lists, a medium one in playlists, and the 500 × 500 copy in the main player.

These are the suffixes we requested for one track on October 28, 2026, and the size of the file each one returned:

Suffix	Size returned	Where you'll typically see it
-large	100 × 100	lists and sidebars
-t300x300	300 × 300	playlist and search grids
-t500x500	500 × 500	the main player and link previews
-original	as uploaded (600 × 600 for this track)	not shown on the page
-t1080x1080	1080 × 1080 (enlarged from the 600 × 600 upload)	the page's search-engine markup, not the player
-t3000x3000	3000 × 3000 (enlarged from the 600 × 600 upload)	not shown on the page

The two largest sizes in that table were enlarged from the 600 × 600 upload, so they hold no more detail than -original.

SoundCloud's own help center asks uploaders for a JPG or PNG of at least 800 × 800 pixels, under 2 MB. Older uploads, like the track in our check, can be smaller. Artists who also release on streaming services often prepare covers at 3000 × 3000, because that's the minimum SoundCloud lists for artwork used in its distribution service. So the original can be anywhere from a few hundred pixels to several thousand.

Step by step: find the original image

1. Get the artwork address

On the track page, the cover is drawn as a background image, so the usual "Open image in new tab" option often isn't there. Two reliable ways to get the address:

• Page source. Press Ctrl+U (Cmd+Option+U on a Mac in Chrome) to view the page source, then search for og:image. The content value is the 500 × 500 artwork address.
• Developer tools. Right-click the cover, choose Inspect, and look for background-image: url(…) on the highlighted element. Copy the address inside the brackets.

Both work in Chrome and Firefox.

2. Swap the size suffix

Replace the size part and keep everything else the same:

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000067273316-smsiqx-t500x500.jpg

becomes

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000067273316-smsiqx-original.jpg

Paste the new address into the address bar and press Enter.

3. If you get an error, change the extension

If the .jpg address returns an error, the cover may have been uploaded in another format, so try .png. If neither works, -t500x500 is the largest copy you can rely on.

4. Save it

Right-click the image and choose Save Image As. Give it a name you'll recognize later, such as the artist and track title. A folder full of files called artwork.jpg gets confusing quickly.

Check what you actually got

Before you print the cover or use it as a wallpaper, check its real size. On Windows, right-click the file, choose Properties, then Details. On a Mac, select it in Finder and press Cmd+I. Most image viewers also show the dimensions.

Then compare it with the original. This matters because SoundCloud also answers requests for sizes larger than the upload.

For the track in our check, the original upload was 600 × 600, yet the -t3000x3000 address returned a 3000 × 3000 file. Those extra pixels were not in the upload, so that file is an enlarged copy of the same picture. It's larger on disk and no sharper. The same goes for any tool or website that promises "HD" or "4K" SoundCloud covers: if the uploader sent 800 × 800, then 800 × 800 is the most real detail that exists.

A simple rule: request -original first, note its size, and treat any larger version as an enlargement.

The quicker option: save artwork with an extension

The manual method works, but it takes a minute per track. If you save covers often, an extension can do it from a button.

SoundCloud Enhanced Pro is a Chrome and Firefox extension made by UnifyBrowse, the publisher of this blog. For artwork, it does two things on the free plan:

• Download Artwork saves a track's cover as a separate JPG named after the track. In version 3.2.1, this saves the 500 × 500 copy, the same size the SoundCloud player shows, not the -original file. If you need the uploader's original, use the steps above. If a track has no cover, it uses the uploader's profile picture instead. Characters outside basic Latin letters and numbers are dropped from the filename, so titles in other scripts get shortened names.
• When you save a track, the extension embeds the cover in the audio file when artwork is available, along with title, artist, album and genre tags. Your music player then shows the right cover without extra work. For why tags and embedded artwork matter, see why your downloaded tracks need ID3 tags and artwork.

The free plan saves tracks as .m4a, the format SoundCloud streams. The optional one-time Lifetime upgrade adds larger batches, more audio options (including MP3), file naming templates, artist folders and history export. See pricing for the current plans.

A note on audio: when an artist hasn't enabled downloads for a track, SoundCloud Enhanced Pro shows a warning with two buttons, Cancel and Download anyway. If you tick "Don't show this again" and choose Download anyway, the warning stays off in that browser profile until you reinstall the extension. If you choose to continue, you accept responsibility for that download, and you must follow SoundCloud's terms and respect the artist's rights.

If you're comparing tools for other jobs, such as feed filters, a dark theme or a popup player, see our guide to the best SoundCloud extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

Get SoundCloud Enhanced Pro for Chrome or Firefox.

Respect the artist's work

Cover art belongs to the artist, the label or the designer they hired. Saving it for personal use, like a phone wallpaper or the artwork in your own music library, is a very different thing from reusing it. Before you put a cover on a video thumbnail, a flyer, merchandise or a repost on another platform, ask the rights holder for permission. Credit the artist and link to the track when you share it. This guide explains a technique; it isn't legal advice.

FAQ

Why does the cover I saved look blurry? You probably saved the 500 × 500 copy that the player shows, or a smaller one from a list. Open the -original version and compare the sizes.

Can I always get 3000 × 3000 artwork? Only if the uploader sent a 3000 × 3000 image. SoundCloud will return a 3000 × 3000 file for smaller uploads too, but that file is enlarged and has no extra detail.

Does this work for playlist and album covers? Playlist and album covers use the same kind of artworks-… address on i1.sndcdn.com, so the same suffix swap usually works. Find the address in the playlist page's source the same way.

Is SoundCloud Enhanced Pro affiliated with SoundCloud? No. SoundCloud Enhanced Pro is an independent extension by UnifyBrowse and is not affiliated with or endorsed by SoundCloud.