An explanation about the "new" image search parameters?

Pathduck

In the latest Snapshot we're able to specify parameters for image search, to maybe in theory make it possible to add our own searches to the image context menu directly.

However, in practice this is not so easy, as it seems to use some very opaque and (I assume) Google/Chromium-internal arguments in curly brackets:

https://www.bing.com/images/detail/search?iss=sbiupload&FORM=INCOH2{bing:Referral}#enterInsights

imageBin={google:imageThumbnailBase64}

https://www.google.com/searchbyimage/upload

encoded_image={google:imageThumbnail},image_url={google:imageURL},sbisrc={google:imageSearchSource},original_width={google:imageOriginalWidth},original_height={google:imageOriginalHeight}

So I was wondering if anyone (and hopefully someone on the team) are able to shed some light on how these arguments work in practice?

I know I've seen them before in the Chromium settings, but the only "documentation" I'm able to find is this:
https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/components/search_engines/prepopulated_engines.json

Would be cool if we could use TinEye directly from the context menu on an image for instance. I'm sure solutions will come over time as clever people figure stuff out

Pathduck

I've been experimenting with adding Tineye reverse search ~~but can't make it work~~. Maybe it's not such a good test case, as it seems to use some trickery - maybe they don't like people calling the search directly...

The URL I've found is: https://tineye.com/result_json/
(but from the name and findings it just returns a bunch of JSON...)

For POST parameters:

url=%s
This would be consistent with the other search stuff but it just sends an empty url payload.

url={google:imageURL}
Just returns a bunch of JSON as I expected.

url={google:imageSearchSource}
Apparently this just sends the client, also funny:
url: Vivaldi 100.0.4896.52 (Official) Windows

My regular TinEye search with keyword uses:
https://tineye.com/search?url=%s
Setting that as URL, POST blank - just redirects to the main page.

https://tineye.com/search?url={google:imageURL}
Score!

Anyone got other reverse image search engines?
I've heard the one from Yandex is decent, but nope...

derDay

before this update, if I wanted to search for a picture, I had recently a searchengine entry with
https://www.google.de/searchbyimage?image_url=%s&encoded_image=&image_content=&filename=&hl=de as search URL and that gave me the google picturesearch
worked with a little manual intervention (I had to get and copy the picture url first)

@pathduck said:

https://tineye.com/search?url={google:imageURL}
Score!

as I read in the snapshot thread, I can add this entry but now it doesn't work because of it's a ~~trap~~ bug?!

luetage

@derday Works for me, what did you input in all the fields? And what’s your default search engine?

derDay

@luetage

with my last sentence I rather meant that it is currently still a bug that the entry is not yet displayed in the context menu.
but in fact the setting as shown in my screenshot does not work either.
I only set https://tineye.com/search?url={google:imageURL} as searchURL (what obviously can't work ‍️)

luetage

@derday You need to input the URL as image search URL for it to work. In the normal URL field just put anything, e.g. https://tineye.com/search?q=%s, doesn’t matter.

derDay

@luetage
ok, but how can I test it? I though copy'n'paste the pictureURL in the adressbar and put the shortcut first shows me the results? I feel dumb

Pathduck

@derday

I have:
Nick: ti
URL: https://tineye.com/search?url=%s
Image Search URL: https://tineye.com/search?url={google:imageURL}

This works both as regular search with:
ti https://vivaldi.com/wp-content/themes/vivaldicom-theme/img/press/icons/viv_icon.png

And also just right-click any image > search for image - no need for making a separate engine

derDay

@pathduck
ok, works in my test profile but not with my main profile. probably a cookie or JS problem at my side, thank you

Pathduck

@derday Maybe a picture is better as explanation

And

derDay

@pathduck
I edited my post because I had a writing error in my URL (seems, that this have to be a valid URL)

luetage

@pathduck I get the feeling this wasn’t communicated all too well.

Pathduck

@luetage What wasn't?

Catweazle

In my stable version I use a multisearch (customizable, by default IQDB, Bing, Yandex, DDG) for images (FOSS) and with which I've seen, that the best image search engine, better than Google, Bing or TinEye, is Yandex, which not only shows the most and most relevant results, but in a side panel other similar images.

alt text

The extension is this one one, because OpenSource, it may serve for the needed source.

guigirl

@pathduck This. He even told you.

@luetage said in An explanation about the "new" image search parameters?:

this wasn’t communicated all too well

So presumably the missing info is: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/this

Ah, time for my next pill now...

luetage

@pathduck The default image search controlling the context menu action.

Pathduck

@luetage Yes, true - and that's what this topic was hoping to clear up a bit

Not that I had any real hope of anyone from the V team jumping in with documentation of these parameters. So I figured I just make it into a "working document" showing my trial+error experiment to add TinEye.

Documentation for users on adding search engines types has basically been non-existent as well of course, apart from a most excellent user-created collection - so this is basically down to users helping users at the moment.

And even then, figuring out how a SE works so it can be added requires knowledge of HTTP and using the Devtools, so nothing that can be expected a non-technical user to do anyway.

luetage

@pathduck Oh wait, the collection is not so excellent. I submitted the best engine and it was never added to OP

luetage

This works for Yandex, same as Tineye:

https://yandex.com/images/search?rpt=imageview&url={google:imageURL}

LongLife

@pathduck Thanks for this. I was trying to figure it out, looking in network log (Inspect) but I couldn't figure s#it

I'm using ImgOps for image search, I would recommend it:

It will bring you to a page where you can choose which image search engine to use or you can do one of many different operations...

If anyone wants to try it out here is the
Image search URL: https://imgops.com/start?url={google:imageURL}

edit: added "s" to http