# Search free images

> One search across 33 image sites (NASA Image and Video Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons, Iconify, Openverse, plus deep links into Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay and paid stock libraries) for photos, public-domain art, maps, illustrations, SVG vectors and icons, with a thumbnail, a display-size preview, pixel size, orientation and a licence verdict on every result.

The search page (https://image.shep.bot/search) is an interactive app. Every search is a URL, and the same parameters work on the JSON API:

- Web: https://image.shep.bot/search?q=mountain+lake&orientation=landscape&min_resolution=1080&commercial=true
- API: `curl "https://image.shep.bot/v1/search?q=mountain+lake&orientation=landscape&min_resolution=1080&commercial=true"`

No image passes through the server: thumbnails, previews and downloads load straight from the source sites.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `q` | Free text describing the picture: `mountain lake at sunrise`, `van gogh sunflowers`, `rocket icon svg`. Size (`4k`, `high resolution`), orientation (`vertical`, `16:9`), format (`svg`, `png`) and transparency (`transparent`) words become filters. |
| `category` | Comma-separated categories (below). A parent matches its children. |
| `style` | `photo`, `illustration`, `painting`, `drawing`, `vector`, `icon`, `transparent`, `black-white`. `vector` and `icon` filter strictly; the others rank first (filtered only with `strict=true`). |
| `orientation` | `landscape`, `portrait` (vertical) or `square`. |
| `min_resolution` | Short side in pixels: `720`, `1080`, `1440`, `2160` (or `hd`, `fhd`, `large`, `4k`). A 2160×3840 phone wallpaper counts as 2160. Vectors always pass. |
| `transparent` | `true`: only images with a transparent background. |
| `format` | `jpg`, `png`, `svg`, `webp`, `tif` (comma-separated). |
| `commercial` | `true`: only images cleared for commercial use (verdict `yes` or `yes-with-credit`). Editorial-only images can still appear: check `license.editorial`. |
| `free` | `true`: no paid images. |
| `downloadable` | `true`: only images with direct file links. |
| `strict` | `true`: drop images whose orientation, size or transparency is unknown when you filter on them. |
| `providers` | Source ids, e.g. `nasa,met,wikimediacommons`. |
| `image` | Opens one image full size with its files and credit line, e.g. `image=nasa:PIA03606` (web only). |

## Categories

- `nature`: Nature & landscapes
- `nature.ocean`: Ocean & beach
- `nature.water`: Rivers & lakes
- `nature.sky`: Sky & weather
- `nature.forest`: Forest & trees
- `nature.plants`: Flowers & plants
- `nature.mountain`: Mountains & snow
- `animals`: Animals & wildlife
- `city`: Cities & streets
- `city.skyline`: Skylines
- `architecture`: Architecture & interiors
- `people`: People & portraits
- `people.work`: Work & business
- `people.lifestyle`: Lifestyle & travel
- `people.sport`: Sport
- `food`: Food & drink
- `objects`: Objects & still life
- `tech`: Technology
- `transport`: Transport
- `space`: Space & astronomy
- `space.earth`: Earth from space
- `space.missions`: Rockets & astronauts
- `space.planets`: Sun, moon & planets
- `science`: Science & medicine
- `art`: Art
- `art.painting`: Paintings
- `art.drawing`: Drawings & prints
- `art.sculpture`: Sculpture & objects
- `archive`: History & archives
- `archive.map`: Maps
- `archive.poster`: Posters & ephemera
- `background`: Backgrounds & textures
- `icons`: Icons & symbols
- `other`: Other

Full API: https://image.shep.bot/docs/api.md · OpenAPI: https://image.shep.bot/openapi.json · Agent guide: https://image.shep.bot/AGENTS.md

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Source: https://image.shep.bot/search