# Image Asset Server

> Free search engine, REST API, CLI and MCP server for openly licensed images. One query searches 33 image sites (NASA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons, Iconify and Openverse directly, plus deep links into Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Flickr, the Smithsonian, Europeana and paid libraries such as Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and Getty Images) for photos, public-domain art, maps and posters, illustrations, SVG vectors and icons, with a thumbnail, a display-size preview, pixel size, orientation, transparency and a licence verdict on commercial use for every image. No account or API key needed; a free, non-commercial service that never proxies or re-hosts images (thumbnails, previews and downloads come straight from the sources).

**When to use Image Asset Server.** Use it when a user or task needs existing images:

- finding images for a site, app, deck or document ("misty forest at sunrise", "van gogh sunflowers", "saturn rings", "vintage map of paris", "rocket icon");
- matching a format: a wide hero, a vertical phone screen, a square avatar, 4K for print, a transparent PNG or SVG;
- filling every image slot of a page at once, with images.json, HTML with credit captions, a download script and the credits;
- downloading the right rendition (MP4/WebM, 720p to 4K) with ATTRIBUTION.md into a project;
- checking whether an image may be used commercially, whether it is editorial-only, and which credit line it needs.

**Catalog (counted 2026-11-04).** 140,352,833+ image listings from 8 counted sources, 140,352,833+ free and 11,288 CC0; by category: 1,133,163 history & archives, 464,444 icons & symbols, 100,866 art.

Do not use it to generate new images, to clear photos of specific people or brands for ads, or to buy stock (paid results link to their store). Licence rules for agents: search commercial-safe by default, report every image's `license.verdict` and `license.editorial`, never present `no`, `check-terms` or editorial images as cleared for advertising, and pass on the `attribution` line when there is one.

**How to call it.** MCP (preferred): add `https://image.shep.bot/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, no auth) under the name `images`, e.g. `claude mcp add --transport http images https://image.shep.bot/mcp`, then call `search_images` → `get_image` → download its `selection.downloadUrl`, or `build_image_set` for a whole page (`download_image` on local installs: `npx -y image-asset-server mcp`). REST: `GET https://image.shep.bot/v1/search?q=...&orientation=landscape&min_resolution=1080&commercial=true` → `GET /v1/images/{id}` → `GET /v1/images/{id}/download?width=1920` (302 to the source); `POST /v1/sets`. Limits: 120 requests/minute per client (RateLimit headers, 429 + Retry-After). Full agent guide: https://image.shep.bot/AGENTS.md

## Docs

- [Agent guide](https://image.shep.bot/AGENTS.md): when to use the service, licence rules, and how an AI agent should search, choose and download images
- [Quick start](https://image.shep.bot/docs.md): Get started with Image Asset Server in two minutes. Search free images in the browser, connect Claude Code or Cursor over MCP, or call the REST API.
- [MCP server for AI agents](https://image.shep.bot/docs/mcp.md): Connect Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Codex or Gemini CLI to the Image Asset Server MCP server so your agent finds, vets and fetches free images.
- [REST API guide](https://image.shep.bot/docs/api.md): Search free images across many sites with one REST call, read licence verdicts and credit lines, download the size you need and plan image sets.
- [Image licences explained](https://image.shep.bot/docs/licences.md): What CC0, public domain, CC BY, BY-SA, NC and ND, museum open access, NASA media, icon-set licences and editorial images mean for commercial use.
- [Frequently asked questions](https://image.shep.bot/docs/faq.md): Short answers about what Image Asset Server searches, licence verdicts, credits, downloads, rate limits, AI agents and self-hosting.
- [Versioning, deprecation & rate limits](https://image.shep.bot/docs/api/versioning.md): How the Image Asset Server API is versioned, how deprecations are announced with Deprecation and Sunset headers, and how rate limits work.
- [Sources & licences](https://image.shep.bot/docs/sources.md): The 33 sites searched, with licences.
- [Image Asset Server CLI](https://image.shep.bot/docs/cli.md): Use the image-asset-server command line tool to search free image sites from a terminal, download the size you need, build image sets or run the MCP server.
- [Self-hosting](https://image.shep.bot/docs/self-hosting.md): Run your own Image Asset Server with Docker or Node.js, protect it with an API key, let the MCP server download to disk, and expose Prometheus metrics.

## Guides

- [All guides](https://image.shep.bot/guides.md): answer-first guides on image licences, credits, museum open access, NASA images, icons and transparent files
- [Free images for commercial use: what you can actually use](https://image.shep.bot/guides/free-images-commercial-use.md): Which free image licences allow commercial use (CC0, public domain, CC BY, free stock licences), which don't, and what still needs a release.
- [How to credit CC BY images on websites, slides and print](https://image.shep.bot/guides/credit-cc-by-images.md): The credit line a CC BY image needs (title, author, source, licence, changes) and where to put it on a web page, a slide, a social post or in print.
- [Museum open access: free public-domain art you can reuse](https://image.shep.bot/guides/museum-open-access-art.md): How museums release public-domain art as CC0, which collections Image Asset Server searches (the Met, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland), and how to use them.
- [Using NASA images: credit, logos and astronauts](https://image.shep.bot/guides/nasa-image-rules.md): NASA images are free to use with credit, but the NASA logo, endorsements and astronauts in ads have rules. What's allowed, what isn't, and partner images.
- [Free SVG icons and transparent PNGs: finding and using them](https://image.shep.bot/guides/transparent-png-and-svg-icons.md): Find free SVG icons and transparent cut-outs, check their licences (MIT, Apache, OFL, CC BY), and use them on any background, in any colour and size.
- [Let an AI agent find and license images for your project](https://image.shep.bot/guides/ai-agent-find-and-license-images.md): Connect Claude Code, Cursor or another MCP client to Image Asset Server so your agent finds free images, checks the licence and writes the credits.
- [Glossary](https://image.shep.bot/glossary.md): stock photo, public-domain art, resolution, DPI, SVG, transparency, IIIF, CC0, CC BY, BY-SA, NC, ND, MIT and OFL icon licences, editorial use, model release, MCP and more

## API

- [OpenAPI 3.1](https://image.shep.bot/openapi.json): machine-readable REST API description (rate-limit headers, 429 responses, schemas)
- [API reference](https://image.shep.bot/docs/api/reference.md): every endpoint, parameter, response and schema
- [API playground](https://image.shep.bot/docs/api/playground): send live requests from the browser (interactive Scalar client)
- [MCP endpoint](https://image.shep.bot/mcp): Streamable HTTP; tools search_images, get_image, build_image_set, list_sources (download_image on local installs)
- [Search endpoint](https://image.shep.bot/v1/search?q=ocean+waves&orientation=portrait&commercial=true): example search

## Collections

- [All collections](https://image.shep.bot/collections.md): curated, daily-refreshed lists of free images by topic, with licence verdicts and image ids
- [Free nature photos: landscapes and wildlife](https://image.shep.bot/collections/nature.md): Free nature photos and illustrations: mountains, lakes, oceans, forests, flowers and wildlife, from public-domain and Creative Commons collections.
- [Free public-domain art: paintings and prints](https://image.shep.bot/collections/art.md): Free public-domain art from museum open-access collections: paintings, Japanese prints, botanical drawings and engravings, released as CC0 by the museums.
- [Free space images: planets, galaxies and Earth](https://image.shep.bot/collections/space.md): Free space and science images from NASA and open archives: planets, nebulae, galaxies, Earth from orbit, rockets and astronauts, with NASA's credit rules shown.
- [Free historical images: old photos and maps](https://image.shep.bot/collections/history.md): Free historical images from the Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons and museums: vintage photographs, antique maps, posters and prints, with rights shown.
- [Free icons, vectors and textures for design](https://image.shep.bot/collections/design.md): Free SVG icons from open-source icon sets, plus vectors, textures and backgrounds, with the licence of every set and file shown and transparent files marked.
- [Free 4K nature photos: mountains, lakes, coasts](https://image.shep.bot/collections/free-4k-nature-photos.md): Free high-resolution nature photos, at least 4K on the short side: mountains, lakes, coasts and forests, with the licence and credit line on every image.
- [Free flower photos and plant pictures](https://image.shep.bot/collections/free-flower-photos.md): Free photos of flowers and plants, from tulips and roses to cacti and ferns, from Wikimedia Commons and Openverse, with licence verdicts and credit lines.
- [Free botanical illustrations and plant drawings](https://image.shep.bot/collections/botanical-illustrations.md): Free public-domain botanical illustrations: hand-coloured plates of flowers, fruit and plants from old herbals and museums, ready for print and design.
- [Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), free](https://image.shep.bot/collections/japanese-woodblock-prints.md): Free public-domain Japanese woodblock prints: Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro and more, from museum open-access collections, with sizes and CC0 licences shown.
- [Public-domain Impressionist paintings](https://image.shep.bot/collections/public-domain-impressionist-paintings.md): Free Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings from museum open access (Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne), released as CC0 by the Met and other museums.
- [Earth from space: free photos from orbit](https://image.shep.bot/collections/earth-from-space-photos.md): Free photos of Earth taken from orbit by the ISS, satellites and Apollo: city lights at night, storms, coastlines and sunrise over the horizon, from NASA.
- [Free Mars photos from rovers and orbiters](https://image.shep.bot/collections/mars-photos.md): Free photos of Mars from NASA's rovers and orbiters: Perseverance and Curiosity panoramas, craters, dunes and the planet from orbit, with NASA's credits.
- [Hubble and Webb space images: galaxies, nebulae](https://image.shep.bot/collections/hubble-space-images.md): Free Hubble and Webb telescope images of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters from NASA, at full resolution, with NASA's credit and usage rules shown.
- [Vintage city photos: streets of the past](https://image.shep.bot/collections/vintage-city-photographs.md): Free vintage photographs of city streets, buildings and daily life from the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons, with each archive's rights shown.
- [Vintage maps: free antique maps and atlases](https://image.shep.bot/collections/vintage-maps.md): Free antique and vintage maps from the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons: city plans, world maps and charts, with the rights statement for each.
- [Free paper textures and backgrounds](https://image.shep.bot/collections/paper-textures-backgrounds.md): Free paper, wood, stone and fabric textures and backgrounds for designs, slides and web pages, from open collections, with sizes and licence verdicts.
- [Free SVG icons from open-source icon sets](https://image.shep.bot/collections/free-svg-icons.md): Free SVG icons from open-source sets (Material Symbols, Tabler, Phosphor, Lucide and more) via Iconify, with each set's licence and transparent backgrounds.

## About

- [About Image Asset Server](https://image.shep.bot/about.md): What Image Asset Server is, who runs it, how it finds free images across many sites, and how it treats licences and the sites it searches.
- [Free images in numbers](https://image.shep.bot/stats.md): How many images every source holds (counted daily, by category), plus live usage.
- [Contact](https://image.shep.bot/contact.md): How to reach the Image Asset Server maintainers for support, bug reports, security issues, source and licence questions, and requests from image sites.
- [Privacy](https://image.shep.bot/privacy.md): What Image Asset Server records (search text in server logs, anonymous counters, which AI tools call MCP), what stays in your browser and who else you reach.

## Optional

- [Claude Code skill](https://image.shep.bot/skill/SKILL.md): drop into ~/.claude/skills/images/SKILL.md
- [Everything in one file](https://image.shep.bot/llms-full.txt)
- [Web search](https://image.shep.bot/search.md): search parameters and categories as URLs
- [Image set builder](https://image.shep.bot/build.md): every image a page needs, with credits, in one API call
- [Sitemap](https://image.shep.bot/sitemap-index.xml)