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Overview

Image Search provides access to a vast index of images from across the internet. Our service continuously crawls and indexes images from various sources, enabling you to retrieve relevant visual content for your applications with powerful filtering and customization options.

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Key Features

Extensive Image Index

Search across billions of indexed images from diverse sources worldwide

High Volume Results

Retrieve up to 200 images per request for comprehensive coverage

Country & Language Options

Target images from specific countries and in preferred languages

Strict Safe Search

Default strict filtering ensures family-friendly results

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API Reference

Image Search API Documentation

View the complete API reference, including endpoints, parameters, and example requests

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Use Cases

Image Search is perfect for:
  • Visual Content Discovery: Build image galleries and discovery features
  • E-commerce Applications: Find product images and visual inspiration
  • Creative Tools: Source images for design and creative projects
  • Content Management: Discover and aggregate visual content
  • Research and Analysis: Gather visual data for analysis and research
Get started with a simple image search request: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=mountain+landscape" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"

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Country and Language Targeting

Customize your image search results by specifying:
  • Country: Target images from specific countries using 2-character country codes
  • Search Language: Filter results by content language
Example request for images from Japan in Japanese: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=桜&country=JP&search_lang=ja" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"

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Result Count Control

Image Search supports retrieving large batches of results:
  • Default: 50 images per request
  • Maximum: 200 images per request
  • Higher limits than other search types for comprehensive visual content discovery
Example request for 100 images: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=wildlife+photography&count=100" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"
The actual number of images returned may be less than requested based on available results for the query.
Image Search prioritizes safe content with strict filtering by default:
  • strict: Drops all adult content from search results (default)
  • off: No filtering applied
This default setting ensures that image results are appropriate for all audiences out of the box. Example request with safe search disabled: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=art&safesearch=off" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"
Disabling safe search may return adult or inappropriate content. Use with caution and only when appropriate for your use case.

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Spellcheck

Image Search includes automatic spellcheck functionality to improve search accuracy:
  • Enabled by default
  • Automatically corrects common misspellings
  • The modified query is used for search and available in the response
  • Particularly useful for visual searches where terminology matters
To disable spellcheck: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=architecure&spellcheck=false" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"

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Example: Complete Search Request

Here’s a comprehensive example combining multiple parameters: 
curl -s --compressed "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=modern+architecture&country=US&search_lang=en&count=150&safesearch=strict" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: <YOUR_API_KEY>"
This request:
  • Searches for “modern architecture”
  • Targets US content
  • Returns English language results
  • Retrieves up to 150 images
  • Applies strict safe search filtering

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Response Format

Each image result typically includes:
  • Image URL and thumbnail
  • Source page URL
  • Image dimensions
  • Title and description
  • Publisher information
See the API Reference for complete response schema details.

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Best Practices

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Query Optimization

  • Use descriptive, specific terms for better results
  • Combine multiple keywords to narrow down results
  • Consider language and regional variations in terminology

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Performance

  • Request only the number of images you need
  • Use appropriate country and language filters to reduce noise
  • Implement caching on your end to minimize API calls

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Content Safety

  • Keep strict safe search enabled for public-facing applications
  • Implement additional content moderation if needed for your specific use case
  • Be aware of copyright and licensing when using discovered images

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Changelog

This changelog outlines all significant changes to the Brave Image Search API in chronological order.
  • 2023-05-10 Add Brave Image Search API resource.
  • 2024-01-20 Increase maximum result count to 200 images.
  • 2024-08-15 Improve spellcheck accuracy for visual search terms.
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