# Image search with [images_search](../reference/images_search.md#serpapi_search_tools.images_search)

[images_search](../reference/images_search.md#serpapi_search_tools.images_search) searches Google Images for image URLs and structured metadata. It is useful when the agent needs visual references rather than ordinary web pages.


# When to use it

Use it for visual research, inspiration gathering, product imagery discovery, identifying visual themes, or locating source pages for images.

Choose [`web_search`](web_search.md) for text sources. This tool returns image metadata; it does not download, edit, license, or verify permission to reuse an image.


# Quick example

``` python
from serpapi_search_tools import images_search

visual_search = images_search()
agent_tools = [visual_search]
```


# Inputs the agent can provide

| Field   | Type   | Required | Meaning                                            |
|---------|--------|----------|----------------------------------------------------|
| `query` | string | yes      | The subject, object, style, or scene to search for |

The engine is fixed to `google_images`, so the agent only needs to provide the image query.


# Configure the tool

| Constructor option | Default | Use it for |
|----|----|----|
| `provider` | `"auto"` | Detect the installed agent SDK |
| `default_params` | `None` | Fix safe search, locale, or other supported image filters |
| `mode` | `compact` | Return the main image result section; use [SearchResultMode.FULL](../reference/SearchResultMode.md#serpapi_search_tools.SearchResultMode.FULL) to keep supporting sections and all fields on retained results |
| `response_format` | `markdown` | Return Markdown by default, or use [SearchResultFormat.JSON](../reference/SearchResultFormat.md#serpapi_search_tools.SearchResultFormat.JSON) for structured fields |
| `result_limit` | `50` | Maximum `images_results` retained in either mode; use `None` for all returned images |
| `api_key` | `None` | Override environment key lookup |
| `timeout` | `None` | Set the built-in client timeout |
| `client` | `None` | Provide a custom client for logging, caching, or tests |
| `include_examples` | `True` | Add a sample image query to the description |
| `name` | `"images_search"` | Rename a specialized visual-search tool |


# Useful SerpApi parameters

Safe search is a common application-controlled policy:

``` python
from serpapi_search_tools import images_search

safe_images = images_search(
    default_params={"safe": "active", "hl": "en", "gl": "us"},
    name="safe_image_search",
)
```

Google Images supports additional size, color, type, rights, time, and page filters. Use the official reference for accepted values. The package rejects known conflicts such as `location` with `uule`, and relative-period filters with explicit start/end dates.


# What comes back

Both modes return up to `result_limit` `images_results` (50 by default). Compact mode keeps the image URLs, thumbnails, source pages, dimensions, titles, and other useful result data while omitting supporting response sections and redundant navigation fields. Use `result_limit=None` to keep all returned images. Result fields are optional, so normalization should handle missing values.


# Common mistakes

- Treating a returned image URL as a reuse license. Check the source and rights.
- Sending both `location` and `uule`.
- Mixing relative-period and explicit date filters.
- Opting into full image responses for a model when compact mode is enough.


# Official SerpApi documentation

- [Google Images API](https://serpapi.com/google-images-api)

See the [image discovery recipe](recipes.md) and the [Pydantic AI image example](../docs/sdk-examples/pydantic_ai.md).