Images Search
Requires API Key: Get one at https://api.search.brave.com
Plan: Included in the Search plan. See https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/subscriptions/subscribe
Quick Start (cURL)
Basic Search
bashcurl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=mountain+landscape" \ -H "Accept: application/json" \ -H "X-Subscription-Token: ${BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY}"
With Parameters
bashcurl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search" \ -H "Accept: application/json" \ -H "X-Subscription-Token: ${BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY}" \ -G \ --data-urlencode "q=northern lights photography" \ --data-urlencode "country=US" \ --data-urlencode "search_lang=en" \ --data-urlencode "count=20" \ --data-urlencode "safesearch=strict"
Endpoint
httpGET https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search
Authentication: X-Subscription-Token: <API_KEY> header
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
q | string | Yes | - | Search query (1-400 chars, max 50 words) |
country | string | No | US | Search country (2-letter country code or ALL) |
search_lang | string | No | en | 2+ char language code |
count | int | No | 50 | Results to return (1-200) |
safesearch | string | No | strict | off or strict (no moderate for images) |
spellcheck | bool | No | true | Auto-correct query; corrected query in query.altered |
Response Format
json{ "type": "images", "query": { "original": "mountain landscape", "altered": null, "spellcheck_off": false, "show_strict_warning": false }, "results": [ { "type": "image_result", "title": "Beautiful Mountain Landscape", "url": "https://example.com/mountain-photo", "source": "example.com", "page_fetched": "2025-09-15T10:30:00Z", "thumbnail": { "src": "https://imgs.search.brave.com/...", "width": 200, "height": 150 }, "properties": { "url": "https://example.com/images/mountain.jpg", "placeholder": "https://imgs.search.brave.com/placeholder/...", "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }, "meta_url": { "scheme": "https", "netloc": "example.com", "hostname": "example.com", "favicon": "https://imgs.search.brave.com/favicon/...", "path": "/mountain-photo" }, "confidence": "high" } ], "extra": { "might_be_offensive": false } }
Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
type | string | Always "images" |
query.original | string | Original query |
query.altered | string? | Spellchecked query (null if no correction) |
query.spellcheck_off | bool? | Whether spellcheck was disabled |
query.show_strict_warning | bool? | True if strict safesearch hid relevant results |
results[] | array | List of image results |
results[].type | string | Always "image_result" |
results[].title | string? | Image title |
results[].url | string? | Page URL where image was found |
results[].source | string? | Source domain |
results[].page_fetched | string? | ISO datetime of last page crawl |
results[].thumbnail.src | string? | Brave-proxied thumbnail URL (~500px width) |
results[].thumbnail.width | int? | Thumbnail width |
results[].thumbnail.height | int? | Thumbnail height |
results[].properties.url | string? | Original full-size image URL |
results[].properties.placeholder | string? | Low-res placeholder URL (Brave-proxied) |
results[].properties.width | int? | Original image width (may be null) |
results[].properties.height | int? | Original image height (may be null) |
results[].meta_url.scheme | string? | URL protocol scheme |
results[].meta_url.netloc | string? | Network location |
results[].meta_url.hostname | string? | Lowercased domain |
results[].meta_url.favicon | string? | Favicon URL |
results[].meta_url.path | string? | URL path |
results[].confidence | string? | Relevance: low, medium, or high |
extra.might_be_offensive | bool | Whether results may contain offensive content |
Use Cases
- Visual content discovery: Build image galleries, mood boards, or visual research tools. Use
count=200for comprehensive coverage. Prefer overweb-searchwhen you need image-specific metadata (dimensions, thumbnails). - Content enrichment: Add relevant images to articles or generated content. Use
countryandsearch_langto target your audience's locale. - Safe image retrieval: Default
safesearch=strictensures family-friendly results out of the box. Only two modes (off/strict) — no moderate option, unlike web/video/news search. - High-volume batch retrieval: Up to 200 images per request (vs 20 for web, 50 for videos/news). Ideal for bulk image sourcing or visual analysis pipelines.
Notes
- SafeSearch: Defaults to
strictfor images (stricter than web search) - High volume: Can return up to 200 results per request
- Thumbnails: Brave-proxied for user privacy (500px width). Use
properties.urlfor original full-resolution image. - Dimensions:
properties.width/heightmay be missing for some images - Placeholder:
properties.placeholderis a low-res URL (not inline base64) useful for progressive loading UX
