Title: Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce
Author: micromax
Published: June 19, 2026
Last modified: September 25, 2026
---
Search plugins
# Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce
By [micromax](https://profiles.wordpress.org/micromax2/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce.1.6.0.zip)
* [Details](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/#description)
* [Reviews](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/#installation)
* [Development](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/)
## Description
Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce brings visual search to your online store.
Shoppers can upload an image from desktop or mobile devices to find matching and
visually similar products in seconds.
The free version provides full, unrestricted visual search functionality: unlimited
catalog indexing, high-accuracy multimodal vector search via OpenRouter, interactive
client-side image cropping, real-time auto-indexing on save, customizable camera
triggers, scanner glow accent colors, and an interactive live preview stage.
The settings forms in the free version are 100% clean and fully functional, adhering
strictly to WordPress.org guidelines with zero disabled form fields, locked checkboxes,
or trialware nag traps.
The plugin powers visual search using Multimodal Vector Embeddings: matches visual
features using advanced machine learning models (Strategy 1).
### External Services
This plugin connects to external AI services to perform image-based searches and
catalog indexing using artificial intelligence models:
1. OpenRouter (https://openrouter.ai):
– What the service is and what it is used for: OpenRouter is an API gateway used
to generate multimodal vector embeddings from product and query images.
– What
data is sent and when: Base64-encoded image data and model configuration parameters
are sent to OpenRouter when products are indexed or when customers submit a visual
search query. – Terms of Service: https://openrouter.ai/terms – Privacy Policy:
https://openrouter.ai/privacy
### Copyright and Third-Party Assets
This plugin bundles and relies on the following third-party software:
* Cropper.js (v2.1.1)
Source: https://github.com/fengyuanchen/cropperjs License:
MIT License URI: https://github.com/fengyuanchen/cropperjs/blob/main/LICENSE
Copyright: (c) 2015-present Chen Fengyuan
### Features
* **Multimodal Vector Search**: Fast and accurate visual similarity matching powered
by AI embeddings.
* **Unlimited Product Indexing**: Asynchronous AJAX indexer processes catalogs
of any size with pause and stop controls.
* **Instant Auto-Indexing**: Automatically indexes or re-indexes products immediately
upon publishing or updating images.
* **Interactive Image Cropping**: Integrated Cropper.js allows shoppers to crop
and focus on specific image details.
* **Visual Scanning Animation & Live Preview**: Classic Laser Line neon scanning
effect with customizable accent glow color and real-time live preview stage in
settings.
* **OpenRouter AI Gateway**: Seamless connectivity to OpenRouter for multimodal
image embeddings.
* **Frontend Camera Trigger**: Automatically placed inside search forms or displayed
with the `[tsbifw_search_bar]` shortcode.
* **Full Styling Customization**: Live color picker, custom icon dimensions, and
left/right offsets.
* **WordPress Reading Settings Integration**: Frontend search result count automatically
adheres to WordPress archive post limits (`posts_per_page`).
* **Dedicated System Logs Tab**: View recorded events, copy logs, clear history,
and configure retention and logging preferences.
* **High-Performance Architecture**: Bulk pre-primed post caches (`_prime_post_caches`),
cursor-based streaming, and transient query caching.
### Upgrade
For stores requiring advanced capabilities, Searchips Pro Addon is available:
* **Visual Search Analytics Dashboard**: Review shopper photo queries with high-
resolution 150×150 thumbnails and track unfulfilled demand with zero-result filtering.
* **Click-Through Rate (CTR) Tracking**: Non-blocking telemetry beacons record
customer conversions.
* **Product Variation Images Matching**: Index variation images and deep-link shoppers
directly to matching color or style variations.
* **Smart Image Hashing (MD5)**: Skips remote AI API calls when saving products
if image files have not changed, saving API costs.
* **Direct AI Gateways**: Connect directly to your own OpenAI and Google Gemini
API keys.
* **Native Mobile Camera Photo Capture**: Mobile shoppers can snap photos directly
from their smartphone camera.
* **Priority Similarity Boost**: Apply a configurable similarity bonus (+1% to
+30%) to on-sale and featured products.
* **Category Exclusion Filters**: Exclude non-physical, virtual, or gift card categories
from vector indexing.
* **Vision-to-Text Description Search**: Strategy 2 descriptive AI keyword queries
for broader catalog matches.
* **5 Additional Futuristic Scanning Animations**: AI Vision Reticle, Sonar Radar
Sweep, Digital Mesh Grid, Concentric Ripple, and Hologram Shimmer.
Learn more about [Searchips Pro](https://violo.ir/?p=707).
### How-To and Setup
#### 1. Setting Up the AI Connection
Go to WooCommerce -> Search by Image. Select your AI Provider Gateway (OpenRouter)
and paste your corresponding API key in the field. You can use the visibility toggle
to confirm the key is input correctly without trailing spaces.
#### 2. Running the Product Indexer
Navigate to the “Product Indexer” tab. Choose whether to index featured images,
gallery images, or both. Click “Start Indexing”. You can pause or stop the process
at any time, or enable “Auto-Index on Save” to automatically index products upon
saving.
#### 3. Adding the Search Bar via Shortcode
Insert the shortcode `[tsbifw_search_bar]` in any post, page, or widget template
to display the camera trigger search bar.
#### 4. Customizing Trigger Styles and Scanner Animation
Use the “Styling” settings tab to configure position properties, size, and background
colors using the WordPress color picker UI. You can also customize your preferred
scanning accent color and test the Laser Line animation with the real-time interactive
preview stage.
#### 5. Advanced Capabilities
For advanced enterprise tools including Visual Search Analytics, Variation Indexing,
Smart Hashing, and Mobile Camera Capture, see the Upgrade section.
#### 6. Viewing and Managing Logs
Navigate to the “System Logs” tab to toggle database logging, select log retention
periods, copy diagnostic logs to your clipboard, or clear log history.
### Help and Support
* **API Authentication Issues**: Ensure your API key is correct and active on your
chosen provider.
* **Skipped Products**: Products with missing or zero-byte image files are skipped
to avoid database error loops.
* **Cron Indexing**: Enable background cron indexing to process product updates
automatically in the background.
## Screenshots
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## Installation
1. Upload the plugin files to the `/wp-content/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-
woocommerce` directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen.
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
3. Configure your settings under WooCommerce -> Search by Image.
4. Run the Product Indexer to process product images.
## FAQ
### What is the difference between Free and Pro?
The Free version provides a complete, unrestricted visual search engine for your
catalog: unlimited vector indexing, OpenRouter multimodal embeddings, auto-indexing
on product save, crop tool, and camera trigger styling.
The Pro Addon unlocks advanced enterprise and conversion tools:
1. Visual Search
Analytics: See thumbnail photos shoppers upload, CTR metrics, and zero-result queries
to discover unfulfilled demand. 2. Product Variation Images: Index variation images
and link customers directly to matching color/style variations. 3. Smart Image Hashing(
MD5): Skips remote AI API calls when product images have not changed, dramatically
cutting API expenses. 4. Direct Gateways: Connect directly to OpenAI and Google
Gemini. 5. Mobile Camera Instant Capture: Let mobile shoppers take photos directly
with their device camera. 6. Similarity Score Boost: Algorithmic boost (+1% to +
30%) for on-sale and featured products. 7. Category Exclusions: Exclude non-physical
or service categories from indexing.
### How do I upgrade to the Pro Addon?
You can get the Pro Addon at [https://violo.ir/?p=707](https://violo.ir/?p=707).
After purchasing, upload and activate the Pro Addon plugin alongside the free plugin.
All your existing settings and indexed vectors remain intact.
### Does the free version have a product indexing limit?
No. The free version provides unlimited catalog indexing with no arbitrary product
count limits.
### Do I need an API key to use this plugin?
Yes. You need an API key from OpenRouter (free version), or an OpenAI or Google
Gemini API key if using direct connections with the Pro Addon.
### Which search strategy should I choose?
* Multimodal Vector Embeddings (Strategy 1): Measures visual similarity between
product image vectors directly. Fast, robust, and available across all versions.
* Vision-to-Text Description Search (Strategy 2): Converts uploaded images to descriptive
keywords and searches your store database using text search (unlocked with Pro
Addon).
### How does Visual Search Analytics help my store?
Visual Search Analytics tracks what your customers are searching for visually. By
reviewing customer-uploaded photos and zero-result searches, you gain unique market
intelligence on what styles, items, and trends your shoppers desire that are currently
missing from your catalog.
### Does visual search work on mobile devices?
Yes. Shoppers can upload photos from their mobile library in the Free version. With
the Pro Addon, mobile shoppers also get direct access to their smartphone camera
to snap and search live photos instantly.
### Are empty or zero-byte images processed?
No, the indexer automatically detects and skips empty, missing, or corrupt image
files to prevent API error cycles.
### How do I control the number of search results displayed?
Search results inherit your site’s WordPress Reading Settings (“Blog pages show
at most X posts” under Settings -> Reading), ensuring consistent archive page pagination.
## Reviews
### [Not bad](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/not-bad-227/)
[linders07](https://profiles.wordpress.org/linders07/) September 11, 2026 1 reply
This plugin is the most usable one I've found so far,
and I'm very grateful to the developer. However,
it has a serious issue: when you start indexing your products and the quantity reaches
around 300 or more, continuing to index will cause fatal errors in your media library.
This made me always think there was something
wrong with my operations. I had to clear everything
and re-index up to 300+ products, but the same error occurred again. I hope this can be improved in the next version.
### [Amazing](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/amazing-4265/)
[max001max](https://profiles.wordpress.org/max001max/) September 6, 2026
one of the best plugins to do what it should do many plugins doing the same thing
with many complications and alot of monthly sucbscriptions, this is very simple
and light weighted solved me a real problem, thanks for the plugin
### [Thank You](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/thank-you-3755/)
[xfard](https://profiles.wordpress.org/xfard/) June 20, 2026
Thank You for very good plugin
[ Read all 3 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/)
## Contributors & Developers
“Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce” is open source software. The following
people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ micromax ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/micromax2/)
[Translate “Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.5.0
* Architecture: Fully decoupled Strategy 2 (Vision-to-Text Description Search)
into the Pro Addon via clean action and filter hooks.
* Architecture: Removed all unused Strategy 2 methods and database queries from
the free core plugin.
* Settings: Streamlined settings registration and separated Pro Addon settings
into an isolated settings group.
* Compliance: Updated documentation and settings hooks in full compliance with
WordPress.org guidelines.
#### 1.4.0
* Architecture: Fully decoupled Free and Pro Addon integration using extensible
WordPress action and filter hooks.
* Architecture: Removed all gated settings and trialware checks from Free settings
UI and script bundles.
* Feature: Added public procedural helpers (tsbifw_index_product, tsbifw_get_indexing_stats)
and action listeners.
* Decoupling: Extracted Strategy 2 and Mobile Camera capture into pure hook-based
Pro extensions.
* Refactor: Standardized modal event listeners and modularized frontend scanning
initialization.
#### 1.3.0
* Complete WordPress.org Guideline 5 compliance and modular decoupled architecture.
* Decoupled Pro Addon into a clean extensible architecture via standard WordPress
action and filter hooks.
* Removed all conditional Pro checks, hardcoded addon dependencies, and trialware
elements from the free plugin.
* Added extension action hooks for add-ons and gateways: tsbifw_loaded, tsbifw_register_settings,
tsbifw_admin_settings_tabs, tsbifw_admin_settings_tab_content, tsbifw_admin_gateway_fields,
tsbifw_settings_general_after_images, tsbifw_settings_general_after_media_column,
tsbifw_settings_general_after_threshold, tsbifw_settings_general_after_auto_inject,
tsbifw_settings_general_advanced, tsbifw_settings_styling_effects, and tsbifw_uninstall.
* Cleaned uninstall routine to only manage core options and transients.
#### 1.2.5
* Media Library Performance: Added a configurable setting (“Media Library Integration”)
in the Indexer settings tab allowing store owners to toggle the Media Library
list view status column and filter dropdown.
* Media Filter Query Safeguards: Hardened Media Library status filtering to safely
merge post inclusion and exclusion query parameters with third-party filters,
preventing query clashes and adding a defensive limit cap for high-volume catalogs.
#### 1.2.4
* Documentation: Converted the feature comparison table into structured subheadings
and bulleted lists to ensure clean, native typography on the WordPress.org Plugin
Directory.
#### 1.2.3
* Standards & Code Quality: Refined filesystem operations in uninstaller using
WP_Filesystem API and resolved PHPCS sniffs for dynamic query placeholders and
execution limits.
* Pro Addon Uninstall Integration: Added dedicated uninstaller for the Pro Addon
with automated table drops, directory cleanup, and Action Scheduler unscheduling.
* Enhanced Pro Tab Previews: Included interactive live animations for all five
futuristic scanner FX styles and a demo visual analytics dashboard for free tier
users.
#### 1.2.2
* WordPress.org Guideline 5 Compliance: Decoupled settings architecture using WordPress
action hooks (`searchips_after_provider_settings`, `searchips_after_indexing_settings`).
Completely eliminated locked or disabled form controls, upsell badges on active
input labels, and intrusive inline upgrade banners from free settings tabs.
* Dedicated Pro Interactive Preview Tab: Introduced an isolated, high-polish “Pro”
tab featuring interactive mockups and detailed breakdowns of Pro capabilities(
Analytics, Variations, Smart Hashing, Mobile Camera) while keeping free configuration
screens 100% operational and uncluttered.
* Visual Scanning Animations & Live Preview: Added four scanner animation options(
Laser Line, Radar Sweep, Grid Pulse, Corner Bracket) with a real-time admin preview
stage in the Styling tab.
* Visual Search Analytics Dashboard (Pro): Track shopper-uploaded photo queries
with 150×150 thumbnails, measure overall Click-Through Rate (CTR) via non-blocking
beacons, and spot unfulfilled customer demand with zero-result search filtering.
* Similarity Score Boost (Pro): Allows store owners to apply a configurable similarity
bonus (+1% to +30%) to featured products and on-sale inventory to boost their
ranking in visual search results.
* Mobile Camera Photo Capture (Pro): Allows mobile users to open their device camera
directly via HTML5 environment capture, snap a photo, and search instantly in
WooCommerce.
* Category Exclusion Filters (Pro): Exclude blacklisted WooCommerce product categories
from AI indexing, automatically marking them as skipped and saving API quota.
* Smart Image Hashing (Pro): Computes MD5 attachment hashes to bypass expensive
remote AI API calls when saving products or running cron tasks if image files
have not changed.
* Product Variation Images (Pro): Index WooCommerce variable product variation
images, automatically swap catalog result thumbnails, and link shoppers directly
to matching variations.
* Multi-Provider AI Gateway: Added gateway architecture supporting OpenRouter,
OpenAI Direct, and Google Gemini Direct.
* System Logs Tab: Relocated Enable Logging and Log Retention settings to a dedicated
System Logs tab with isolated options saving.
* Reading Settings Integration: Seamlessly synchronized visual search result volume
with WordPress core Reading Settings (posts_per_page).
* Styling Freedom: Made all camera trigger styling controls (offsets, sizes, colors)
completely free and unrestricted.
* Unlimited Free Indexer: Removed product count limitations from the free indexer,
allowing complete catalog indexing.
* Auto-Index on Save: Added free instant auto-indexing for products upon publishing
or updating catalog images.
* Implemented memory-efficient cursor-based batch streaming for visual vector and
description similarity matching, scaling effortlessly to catalogs with thousands
of products.
* Optimized fast cosine similarity computation using pre-normalized query vectors.
* Prevented database packet size (max_allowed_packet) and memory limit errors when
searching large catalogs.
* Streamlined Media Library indexed status checking to query attachment IDs directly
without loading vector blobs.
* Enhanced REST search error handling and diagnostics for admin test search.
#### 1.2.1
* Verified and confirmed compatibility with WooCommerce 11.1.0.
* Integrated WooCommerce 11.1.0 WC_Product::is_viewable() and catalog visibility
filtering for search results.
* Added HTML tag stripping for product names in search sandbox responses.
* Modernized jQuery file input click handlers to native DOM events.
#### 1.2.0
* Verified and confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.1.0 and WooCommerce 11.0.0.
* Declared official High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) and Cart/Checkout Blocks
compatibility.
#### 1.1.9
* Added size checks directly before initiating frontend/sandbox AJAX uploads.
#### 1.1.8
* Enforced client-side file size validation in frontend and admin Test Search sandboxes.
* Displayed maximum upload file size beneath the drag-and-drop zone.
#### 1.1.7
* Added a new configuration setting to customize maximum frontend upload file size(
defaults to 2MB).
* Optimized image resizing memory footprint to use intermediate image sizes (medium_large/
large) and prevent Out of Memory crashes.
* Enhanced REST API callback error mapping, preventing unexpected HTTP 500 status
codes.
* Optimized vector and description database fetching queries using an SQL INNER
JOIN, removing N+1 performance bottleneck.
* Added transient lock to throttling database log cleaning routines.
* Added defensive JavaScript safeguards preventing script breaks if localized parameter
injections are deferred.
#### 1.1.6
* Updated description terms to match standard guidelines.
* Adjusted External Services section heading casing.
#### 1.1.5
* Fixed frontend REST API “Forbidden: invalid security token” authorization issue
for logged-in users.
#### 1.1.4
* Adjusted crop selection area to cover exactly 90% of the loaded image instead
of 90% of the canvas.
#### 1.1.3
* Upgraded Cropper.js library to the latest stable v2.1.1 Web Component release.
* Added detailed privacy and terms of service documentation for OpenRouter.
* Fixed settings page sanitization callback for logging and indexing checkboxes.
* Implemented strict permission_callback checks for the frontend search REST endpoint.
#### 1.1.2
* Hardened input settings sanitization using custom CSS layout, color, and size
callbacks.
* Authenticated the REST API sandbox search route using nonces and capability checks.
* Removed obsolete/unused frontend variables and dead callback functions to unbloat
code.
* Enhanced query performance using WordPress object caching memory wrappers.
* Hardened uninstall database cleanup by ensuring all option keys and transients
are deleted.
#### 1.1.1
* Added a search cache expiry setting to database transients.
* Added frontend similarity percentage badges on default archive pages.
* Enhanced the frontend search popup uploader with modern UI effects.
#### 1.1.0
* Suppressed standard SQL keyword clauses when image search tokens are active to
prevent search conflicts.
#### 1.0.9
* Configured visual search results to load using theme default archive page layouts.
#### 1.0.8
* Added API key show/hide password toggle to prevent key corruption.
#### 1.0.7
* Added styling option to configure the camera search trigger icon size.
#### 1.0.6
* Separated styling and general options to resolve validation errors.
#### 1.0.5
* Implemented standard WordPress wp-color-picker component.
#### 1.0.0
* Initial release.
## Meta
* Version **1.6.0**
* Last updated **3 weeks ago**
* Active installations **10+**
* WordPress Version ** 5.6 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.1.3**
* PHP Version ** 7.4 or higher **
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/)
* Tags
* [image search](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/image-search/)[search](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/search/)
[vector search](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/vector-search/)[woocommerce](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/woocommerce/)
* [Advanced View](https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/advanced/)
## Ratings
4.7 out of 5 stars.
* [ 2 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/?filter=5)
* [ 1 4-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/?filter=4)
* [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/?filter=3)
* [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/?filter=2)
* [ 0 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/?filter=1)
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ micromax ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/micromax2/)
## Support
Issues resolved in last two months:
1 out of 1
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/searchips-search-by-image-for-woocommerce/)