Reverse Image Search#

Find the source, similar images, or context for any image using reverse image search engines.

Setup#

On first use, create a Python venv and install the dependency:

bash

SKILL_DIR="$(dirname "SKILL.md")"
python3 -m venv "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/.venv"
"$SKILL_DIR/scripts/.venv/bin/pip" install -q PicImageSearch typing_extensions

typing_extensions is included here because the current PicImageSearch import path needs it on this machine's Python 3.14 runtime.

Usage#

bash

SKILL_DIR="$(dirname "SKILL.md")"
"$SKILL_DIR/scripts/.venv/bin/python3" "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/search.py" "<image_url_or_path>" [engine] [limit]

• image_url_or_path: HTTP(S) URL or local file path
• engine: yandex (default, most reliable), google (Google Lens path), bing, or all
• limit: Max results per engine (default: 10)

Output is JSON with matched results including title, URL, thumbnail, and similarity when available.

If every selected engine fails due to upstream scraper breakage or anti-bot responses, the script exits non-zero so the caller can retry or fall back instead of treating the run as a clean success.

For Yandex hard failures, the error object includes attempt_log and diagnostics (including debug_html_path files in /tmp) so you can inspect exactly what response variant was received.

Engine Selection#

• yandex — Best overall: most stable, good at finding exact matches and similar images
• google — Uses Google Lens via PicImageSearch; useful as a secondary source
• bing — Useful as supplementary source
• all — Run yandex first, then fall back to Google Lens and Bing only if Yandex is insufficient

Typical Workflow#

1. User provides image (URL or file attachment)
2. Run search with yandex first
3. Only if yandex is insufficient, retry with all
4. Summarize findings: source, context, similar images

Do not start with all unless the user explicitly asks for all engines at once.