Data Size Converter API: The Complete Guide

Need to convert data sizes in your application? This guide covers everything you need to know about data size conversion via API, including binary vs decimal units, file sizes, and implementation examples in multiple languages.

Understanding Data Units

Digital information is measured in bits and bytes. A byte consists of 8 bits. Larger units include kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB). Understanding data sizes is essential for file management, storage planning, and bandwidth calculations.

Binary vs Decimal

There are two systems for measuring data:

Supported Units

• Byte (B): Base unit
• Kilobyte (KB/KiB): 1,000 / 1,024 bytes
• Megabyte (MB/MiB): 1,000,000 / 1,048,576 bytes
• Gigabyte (GB/GiB): 10^9 / 2^30 bytes
• Terabyte (TB/TiB): 10^12 / 2^40 bytes
• Petabyte (PB/PiB): 10^15 / 2^50 bytes

Using the Data Size Converter API

TinyFn provides a dedicated endpoint for data size conversions:

GET https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/convert/data
Headers: X-API-Key: your-api-key

{
  "from_unit": "GB",
  "to_unit": "MB",
  "value": 5,
  "result": 5000,
  "base": "decimal"
}

Parameters

Code Examples

JavaScript / Node.js

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/convert/data?from=GB&to=MB&value=5&base=decimal',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'your-api-key' } }
);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.result); // 5000

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/convert/data',
    params={'from': 'GB', 'to': 'MB', 'value': 5, 'base': 'decimal'},
    headers={'X-API-Key': 'your-api-key'}
)
data = response.json()
print(data['result'])  # 5000

cURL

curl "https://api.tinyfn.io/v1/convert/data?from=GB&to=MB&value=5&base=decimal" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"

Common Use Cases

• File Management: Display file sizes in human-readable format
• Cloud Storage: Show storage usage and quotas
• Upload Progress: Calculate and display transfer progress
• Bandwidth Monitoring: Track data usage
• DevOps: Monitor server storage and memory

Best Practices

1. Be consistent: Choose binary or decimal and stick with it
2. Show appropriate units: Use GB for large files, KB for small
3. Explain discrepancies: Note if storage differs from expected
4. Use IEC notation: Use KiB, MiB when precision matters

Use via MCP

Your AI agent can call this tool directly via Model Context Protocol — no HTTP code needed. Add TinyFn to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tinyfn-convert": {
      "url": "https://api.tinyfn.io/mcp/convert/",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

See all conversion tools available via MCP in our Conversion MCP Tools for AI Agents guide.