# Wikimedia Commons

> Wikimedia Commons as searched by Image Asset Server: Over 100 million freely licensed photos, drawings, maps, diagrams and SVGs: nature, places, people, history, science and art. Licence recorded per file (CC0, public domain, CC BY, CC BY-SA); resized copies up to 4K and the original file.

- Website: https://commons.wikimedia.org
- Best for: Over 100 million freely licensed photos, drawings, maps, diagrams and SVGs: nature, places, people, history, science and art. Licence recorded per file (CC0, public domain, CC BY, CC BY-SA); resized copies up to 4K and the original file.
- Categories: Nature & landscapes, Animals & wildlife, Cities & streets, Architecture & interiors, People & portraits, Food & drink, Objects & still life, Technology, Transport, Space & astronomy, Science & medicine, Art, History & archives, Backgrounds & textures, Icons & symbols
- Pricing: free
- Licence: set per image
- How it is searched: api
- Direct download through Image Asset Server: yes
- Restrict a search to it: `https://image.shep.bot/v1/search?q=...&providers=wikimediacommons`
- Video listings counted 2026-11-04: 138,114,435, 138,114,435 free

## What it is

Wikimedia Commons is the media library behind Wikipedia: over 100 million freely licensed files, most of them photos, drawings, maps and diagrams, uploaded by volunteers, institutions and photographers, each with its licence recorded per file.

## Best for

Almost anything: places and landmarks, plants and animals, historical images, maps, diagrams and SVG drawings.

## Licence

Set per file: CC0 and public domain (free for any use), CC BY (credit needed), CC BY-SA (share-alike: an edited version must carry the same licence). The verdict and credit line come from the file's own licence data.

## How Image Asset Server searches it

Through the public MediaWiki API with a descriptive User-Agent, searching bitmap and drawing files. Thumbnails and resized copies (960 to 3840 px) come from upload.wikimedia.org; SVG originals stay vectors.

## Example searches

- [Landmarks](https://image.shep.bot/search?q=eiffel+tower&providers=wikimediacommons)
- [Animals](https://image.shep.bot/search?q=red+fox&category=animals&providers=wikimediacommons)
- [Diagrams](https://image.shep.bot/search?q=diagram+svg&providers=wikimediacommons)
- [Old maps](https://image.shep.bot/search?q=old+map&category=archive.map&providers=wikimediacommons)
- [Flowers](https://image.shep.bot/search?q=tulip&providers=wikimediacommons)

Guides: https://image.shep.bot/guides/credit-cc-by-images.md, https://image.shep.bot/guides/free-images-commercial-use.md

## In these collections

- [Free 4K nature photos: mountains, lakes, coasts](https://image.shep.bot/collections/free-4k-nature-photos.md): 14 of 23
- [Free flower photos and plant pictures](https://image.shep.bot/collections/free-flower-photos.md): 14 of 35
- [Earth from space: free photos from orbit](https://image.shep.bot/collections/earth-from-space-photos.md): 14 of 15
- [Free Mars photos from rovers and orbiters](https://image.shep.bot/collections/mars-photos.md): 14 of 28
- [Free paper textures and backgrounds](https://image.shep.bot/collections/paper-textures-backgrounds.md): 14 of 14
- [Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), free](https://image.shep.bot/collections/japanese-woodblock-prints.md): 13 of 36
- [Public-domain Impressionist paintings](https://image.shep.bot/collections/public-domain-impressionist-paintings.md): 13 of 36
- [Hubble and Webb space images: galaxies, nebulae](https://image.shep.bot/collections/hubble-space-images.md): 12 of 36
- [Free botanical illustrations and plant drawings](https://image.shep.bot/collections/botanical-illustrations.md): 9 of 36
- [Vintage maps: free antique maps and atlases](https://image.shep.bot/collections/vintage-maps.md): 5 of 6

## Examples

- [Landscape during Laugavegur hiking trail 2-CA reduced](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Landscape_during_Laugavegur_hiking_trail_2-CA_reduced.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Landscape_during_Laugavegur_hiking_trail_2-CA_reduced.jpg`, CC BY 3.0)
- [Tulip Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane' Rock Ledge Flower Edit 2000px](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tulip_Tulipa_clusiana_%27Lady_Jane%27_Rock_Ledge_Flower_Edit_2000px.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Tulip_Tulipa_clusiana_'Lady_Jane'_Rock_Ledge_Flower_Edit_2000px.jpg`, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- [Earth from space, hurricane](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_from_space,_hurricane.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Earth_from_space,_hurricane.jpg`, Public domain)
- [Surface feature of Mars](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Surface_feature_of_Mars.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Surface_feature_of_Mars.jpg`, Public domain)
- [Vintage Paper Texture (9789792113)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vintage_Paper_Texture_(9789792113).jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Vintage_Paper_Texture_(9789792113).jpg`, CC BY 2.0)
- [Chinese woodblock print - MET CP 481 (cropped)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_woodblock_print_-_MET_CP_481_(cropped).jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Chinese_woodblock_print_-_MET_CP_481_(cropped).jpg`, CC0 1.0)
- [Milwaukee Art Museum January 2023 08 (The European Galleries--Impressionism and Its Influence)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milwaukee_Art_Museum_January_2023_08_(The_European_Galleries--Impressionism_and_Its_Influence).jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Milwaukee_Art_Museum_January_2023_08_(The_European_Galleries--Impressionism_and_Its_Influence).jpg`, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Orion Nebula - Hubble 2006 mosaic 18000](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orion_Nebula_-_Hubble_2006_mosaic_18000.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Orion_Nebula_-_Hubble_2006_mosaic_18000.jpg`, Public domain)
- [Botanical Garden, Moscow](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botanical_Garden,_Moscow.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Botanical_Garden,_Moscow.jpg`, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Old map of Kyiv](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_map_of_Kyiv.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Old_map_of_Kyiv.jpg`, Public domain)
- [Icelandic Landscape near Neskaupstaður July 2014](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icelandic_Landscape_near_Neskaupsta%C3%B0ur_July_2014.JPG) (`wikimediacommons:Icelandic_Landscape_near_Neskaupstaður_July_2014.JPG`, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Hoverfly on flower edit](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hoverfly_on_flower_edit.jpg) (`wikimediacommons:Hoverfly_on_flower_edit.jpg`, CC BY 2.5)

All sources: https://image.shep.bot/docs/sources.md

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Source: https://image.shep.bot/sources/wikimediacommons