Smart Image Finder

Smart image search and download tool for AI agents. Three methods: news website extraction, Brave image search, AI generation. Use cases: article illustrations, news thumbnails, dashboard images, social media posts. Triggers: find image, search photo, download picture, news image, AI generate image, article illustration

A complete solution for AI agents to find high-quality images for articles, dashboards, and content creation.

No browser required — all methods work via command line in the background.

Core Methods

Method	Best For	Pros	Cons
News Site Extraction	Specific news events	Authentic, high-res, authoritative	Need to know source
Brave Image Search	General keywords	Fast, free, good relevance	Variable quality
AI Generation	Concept art, custom visuals	Fully customizable	Requires good prompts

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Method 1: News Website High-Res Extraction (No Browser)

Workflow: curl + grep (Recommended)

Extract image URLs directly from HTML without opening a browser:

bash

# Step 1: Fetch page HTML and extract image URLs
curl -sL "https://www.reuters.com/world/article-slug/" | \
  grep -oE 'https://www\.reuters\.com/resizer/v2/[^"]+\.jpg[^"]*' | head -3

# Step 2: Download with HD parameters
curl -sL -o photo.jpg "https://www.reuters.com/resizer/v2/xxx.jpg?width=3000&quality=100"

# Step 3: Verify it's actually an image
file photo.jpg  # Should show: JPEG image data

Source-Specific Extraction Patterns

bash

# Reuters
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://www\.reuters\.com/resizer/v2/[^"]+\.jpg[^"]*' | head -3

# TechCrunch
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://techcrunch\.com/wp-content/uploads/[^"]+\.(jpg|png)' | head -3

# Bloomberg
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://assets\.bwbx\.io/images/[^"]+\.(jpg|webp)' | head -3

# BBC
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://ichef\.bbci\.co\.uk/news/[0-9]+/[^"]+\.jpg' | head -3

# France24
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://s\.france24\.com/media/display/[^"]+\.jpg' | head -3

# Spaceflight Now (WordPress)
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://spaceflightnow\.com/wp-content/uploads/[^"]+\.jpg' | head -3

# ThePaper (澎湃)
curl -sL "$URL" | grep -oE 'https://imagepphcloud\.thepaper\.cn/pph/image/[^"]+\.jpg' | head -3

Verified Sources (Direct Download Works)

Tech/AI Category

Source	CDN Pattern	HD Parameters	Notes
TechCrunch	techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/	?w=2048	Most stable ✅
Bloomberg	assets.bwbx.io/images/	Direct HD	WebP format

Politics/International Category

Source	CDN Pattern	HD Parameters	Notes
Reuters	reuters.com/resizer/v2/	?width=3000&quality=100	Most stable ✅
BBC	ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/	/1024/ max	Limited to 1024px
NBC News	media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/	Direct download	Medium size
France24	s.france24.com/media/display/	w:1920	Adjustable ✅

Space/Science Category

Source	CDN Pattern	HD Parameters	Notes
Spaceflight Now	spaceflightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/	Remove size suffix	WordPress standard

Chinese Sources

Source	CDN Pattern	Notes
ThePaper (澎湃)	imagepphcloud.thepaper.cn/pph/image/	Direct download ✅

Sources Requiring Manual Save

Source	Issue	Workaround
Guardian	URL signature validation	Right-click save
The Verge	Complex CDN format	Use Brave search instead
Wired	Page protection	Manual save
CNN	URL extraction difficult	Use Brave search instead
AP News	Parameter adjustment fails	Save original manually

HD Parameter Quick Reference

bash

# Reuters
?width=3000&quality=100

# TechCrunch
?w=2048

# BBC (replace number in URL)
/1024/  # Max available

# France24
w:1920

# NBC News (URL parameter)
t_fit-1500w

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Method 2: Brave Image Search (No Browser)

Best for: Quick general-purpose images, automated workflows.

Basic Usage

bash

# Set API Key (first time)
export BRAVE_API_KEY="your_api_key"

# Search images
curl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=keyword&count=10" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY" | jq '.results[] | {title, url: .properties.url, width: .properties.width}'

# Get first image URL directly
curl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=SpaceX%20Starship&count=1" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY" | jq -r '.results[0].properties.url'

Rate Limiting ⚠️

Brave API has rate limits. When making multiple searches:

bash

# Add delay between requests (1-2 seconds recommended)
for query in "query1" "query2" "query3"; do
  curl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=$query&count=1" \
    -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY" | jq -r '.results[0].properties.url'
  sleep 2  # Wait 2 seconds between requests
done

Best practices:

• Free tier: ~1 request/second max
• Add sleep 1 or sleep 2 between batch requests
• If you get 429 (rate limited), wait 60 seconds before retrying

Search Tips

1. Add year: SpaceX Starship 2025 is more precise than SpaceX Starship
2. Add event terms: Keir Starmer Xi Jinping Beijing handshake beats UK China meeting
3. Site restriction: site:reuters.com Trump tariff limits to specific source

One-liner: Search and Download

bash

# Search, get first result URL, download
IMG_URL=$(curl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=SpaceX%20launch%202025&count=1" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY" | jq -r '.results[0].properties.url')
curl -sL -o spacex.jpg "$IMG_URL"
file spacex.jpg

Verify Image Accessibility

bash

# Check if URL returns 200
curl -sI "$IMAGE_URL" | head -1
# Should return: HTTP/2 200

# Check content type
curl -sI "$IMAGE_URL" | grep -i content-type
# Should return: content-type: image/jpeg or image/png

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Method 3: AI Image Generation (No Browser)

Best for: Concept images, creative illustrations, when real photos unavailable.

Free Option: Pollinations

bash

# Generate image (completely free, no API key needed)
curl -sL -o output.jpg "https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/description?width=1920&height=1080&nologo=true"

# Example: Tech-style AI concept image
curl -sL -o ai-concept.jpg "https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/futuristic%20AI%20chip%20glowing%20blue%20on%20dark%20background%20minimalist%20tech%20style?width=1920&height=1080&nologo=true"

Prompt Best Practices

text

# Good prompt structure
{subject} + {style} + {color tone} + {composition} + {exclusions}

# Example
"Sam Altman speaking at conference, professional photo, warm lighting, 
 shallow depth of field, high resolution, no text no watermark"

# 16:9 cover image
"... 16:9 aspect ratio, horizontal composition, clean space on right for text overlay"

# Avoid garbled text
"... no text, no letters, no words, no watermarks"

Platform Comparison

Platform	Prompt Language	Size Params	Notes
Pollinations	English	width/height	Free unlimited
Jimeng (即梦)	Chinese	16:9/1:1	Best for Chinese scenes
DALL-E	English	1792x1024	Highest quality

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Complete Workflow Example (All CLI, No Browser)

Scenario: Find image for "UK PM visits China" article

bash

# Option A: Extract from Reuters (no browser)
# 1. Find article URL via web search or known URL
# 2. Extract image URL from HTML
IMG_URL=$(curl -sL "https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-pm-china-visit/" | \
  grep -oE 'https://www\.reuters\.com/resizer/v2/[^"]+\.jpg' | head -1)
# 3. Download with HD params
curl -sL -o starmer-xi.jpg "${IMG_URL}?width=3000&quality=100"

# Option B: Brave search (no browser)
IMG_URL=$(curl -s "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/images/search?q=Keir%20Starmer%20Xi%20Jinping%202025&count=1" \
  -H "X-Subscription-Token: $BRAVE_API_KEY" | jq -r '.results[0].properties.url')
curl -sL -o starmer-xi.jpg "$IMG_URL"

# Option C: AI generate (no browser)
curl -sL -o uk-china.jpg "https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/British%20and%20Chinese%20flags%20diplomatic%20meeting%20minimalist?width=1920&height=1080&nologo=true"

# Verify result
file starmer-xi.jpg
ls -lh starmer-xi.jpg

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Quick Reference Card

Choose Method by Scenario

Need	Recommended Method	Reason
Specific news event	News site extraction	Authentic, authoritative
General concept image	Brave search	Fast, free
No suitable real photo	AI generation	Fully customizable
Article cover	AI generation	Controllable text space
Dashboard news	Brave search	Automation-friendly

Image Quality Checklist

• Resolution ≥ 1200px width
• File size > 50KB (smaller likely thumbnail)
• file command confirms image (not HTML)
• No watermarks
• No copyright issues (news images for commentary/citation)

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
curl returns HTML	Hotlink protection/signature	Try different source or Brave search
Image 403	URL expired	Re-fetch URL
Blurry image	Downloaded thumbnail	Adjust HD parameters
Brave no results	Keywords too specific	Simplify keywords
grep returns empty	Page uses JavaScript rendering	Use Brave search instead