Visual Search Client

microsoft · Developer Tools

Developer Tools No Auth Free & Open developer_tools cloud

Visual Search API lets you discover insights about an image such as visually similar images, shopping sources, and related searches. The API can also perform text recognition, identify entities (people, places, things), return other topical content for the user to explore, and more. For more information, see [Visual Search Overview](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/cognitive-services/bing-visual-search/overview). **NOTE:** To comply with the new EU Copyright Directive in France, the Bing Visual

Authentication

No authentication requiredFree to use with no key needed.

Sample Requests

POST Visual Search API lets you discover insights about an image such as visually similar images, shopping sources, and related searches. The API can also perform text recognition, identify entities (people, places, things), return other topical content for the user to explore, and more. For more information, see [Visual Search Overview](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/cognitive-services/bing-visual-search/overview).

https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch?mkt=example&setLang=example&safeSearch=Off

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

Headers — extra info sent with the request

X-BingApis-SDK

true

curl -X POST "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch?mkt=example&setLang=example&safeSearch=Off" \
  -H "X-BingApis-SDK: true"

import requests
params = {
    "mkt": "example",
    "setLang": "example",
    "safeSearch": "Off"
}
headers = {
    "X-BingApis-SDK": "true"
}
response = requests.post(
    "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch",
    params=params,
    headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch');
url.searchParams.set('mkt', 'example');
url.searchParams.set('setLang', 'example');
url.searchParams.set('safeSearch', 'Off');

const response = await fetch(url, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-BingApis-SDK': 'true'
  },
}); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("mkt", "example")
	q.Set("setLang", "example")
	q.Set("safeSearch", "Off")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", targetURL, nil)
	req.Header.Set("X-BingApis-SDK", "true")

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "mkt" => "example",
  "setLang" => "example",
  "safeSearch" => "Off"
})

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
req["X-BingApis-SDK"] = "true"

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/microsoft.com/cognitiveservices-VisualSearch/1.0/images/visualsearch?" . http_build_query([
    "mkt" => "example",
    "setLang" => "example",
    "safeSearch" => "Off"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "POST",
    "header" => implode("\r\n", [
        "X-BingApis-SDK: true"
    ]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

Postman Setup Guide

Get Postman ↗

See official documentation for authentication and setup.

What can you build with Visual Search Client?

Visual Search Client is a Developer Tools API. Developers commonly use developer tools APIs for:

automating code review and quality checks
integrating CI/CD pipelines and build systems
managing feature flags and A/B tests
monitoring errors and application performance
generating and validating test data

No authentication required. This API is open — no signup or key needed. Ideal for quick prototypes and public-facing features. Visual Search Client is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide · Learn about API keys · What is REST?

Open documentation ↗