Best way to preview DAM images in a custom frontend explorer (thumbnails vs other options)

[EstebanTr]

Hello everyone,

I'm building a custom asset explorer in my application where I need to list folders and images stored in AEM DAM (similar to the Assets UI).
Right now, I'm using the AEM Assets HTTP API to retrieve folders and assets, and then rendering them in my frontend.

For image previews, I found that I can use the thumbnail renditions generated by AEM, for example:

{{instance}}/api/assets/integraciones/tiktok.png/renditions/cq5dam.thumbnail.48.48.png

This works well, but I would like to know:

Is this the best and fastest way to preview images in a custom frontend?

Or is there:

• a more optimal endpoint,

• a lighter thumbnail,

• or a recommended AEM feature for previewing assets efficiently?

My goal is to build a performant folder browser where each listed asset shows a small preview without loading heavy files.

So far the thumbnails work, but I want to make sure I’m following the recommended approach and not missing a faster or simpler option.

Any guidance or best practices from the community would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!