Getting Started
What is InspoSearch
InspoSearch is an open-source visual research engine. It searches 2,400+ cultural heritage sources — museums, archives, national libraries, photo agencies, scientific illustration collections — through a single search bar and normalises every response into the same shape.
The app runs in the browser. No account, no tracking, no search backend — your browser talks to each source API directly. A small Cloudflare Worker handles only what the browser can't: proxying CORS-walled APIs, running the free-tier AI analysis (Workers AI), and storing shared boards for 30 days. Optional API keys stay in localStorage on your machine and are sent only to the provider they belong to.
AGPL-3.0 · Current version: 1.1.0 · Try it: insposearch.org
The 30-second tour
- Go to insposearch.org
- Type a query —
vermeer,ukiyo-e,brutalist architecture,medieval bestiary - Press
Enter. Results stream in as each source responds - Scroll. More results load automatically — past page 5, the 3-lane dispatcher keeps variety up
- Click any image for full metadata, the original source link, deep zoom (if IIIF), and AI analysis
That's the loop. Everything else is sharpening it.
Running locally
git clone https://github.com/GI-Synth/InspoSearch.git
cd InspoSearch
npm install
npm run build # bundles src/ → insposearch/app.js
npm start # serves at http://localhost:3000No runtime dependencies. The build step bundles 6 ES modules with esbuild and that's it.
Search modes
| Mode | Best for | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Exact | Known subjects, specific artists, named works | Matches your terms precisely across title / artist / description / tags. Diacritic-aware (van gogh finds Van Gogh) |
| Explore | Visual discovery, mood boards, open-ended research | Casts wider — synonym expansion, qualifier rotation, relaxed source filters |
Toggle with m or the mode switcher in the search bar.
Features worth knowing
Board view (b)
Pin images to a freeform canvas. Drag, group, compare side by side. Persisted to localStorage; optionally shared via a 30-day KV link.
Deep zoom
Any IIIF-compatible source opens in an OpenSeadragon viewer. Pan and zoom to brushstroke resolution. Mouse wheel + click-drag, or keyboard.
Colour extraction
Dominant colours are computed on every result. Filter or sort the entire grid by palette — useful when you're looking for visual relationships rather than subject matches.
3D constellation
Renders results as a navigable point cloud arranged by visual similarity. Surfaces connections the grid hides.
Interpret / cross-reference (i)
Select any image → InspoSearch cross-references it against every source. Finds related works, traces provenance, builds context in one pass.
AI analysis — no keys required
Default analysis runs on Cloudflare Workers AI (LLaVA 1.5) — zero setup. Bring your own key for Gemini, Claude, OpenAI, or Ollama if you want to override. See API Keys.
Offline caching
Previously loaded images and metadata are cached via the service worker. Recent searches remain browsable without a connection.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
/ | Focus search bar |
Enter | Execute search |
Esc | Close overlay / clear focus |
← → | Navigate images in detail view |
↑ ↓ | Scroll results grid |
m | Switch mode (exact / explore) |
i | Interpret selected image |
b | Toggle board view |
s | Toggle source filter sidebar |
k | Toggle API keys panel |
t | Scroll to top |
Source categories
InspoSearch organises sources into eight categories. Counts include dynamically-discovered Europeana and DPLA providers.
| Category | Contains |
|---|---|
| Museums | Major and regional museums, including IIIF-native collections |
| Historical | National libraries, archives, digital heritage aggregators |
| Art and Design | Illustration archives, design collections, typography |
| Photography | Press archives, photo agencies, stock providers |
| Nature | Natural history, botanical, biodiversity |
| Maps | Cartographic collections, historical atlases |
| Fashion | Costume archives, textile design, fashion photography |
| Science | Scientific illustration, medical archives, astronomy |
See the Sources page for the full directory.
Next steps
- Sources — complete source directory
- API Keys — which sources need keys, and why most don't
- Architecture — how the engine works under the hood
- Contributing — add a source, fix a bug, improve docs