TinEye API error messages

Here is a list of possible error messages returned from the TinEye API and a brief explanation of their causes.

Error code 400

Invalid or missing URL.

The URL you searched with was missing or invalid, or was not publicly accessible. Check to confirm that the image is not hosted on an internal network, and that the site does not require a login.

If you want to search for an image that is on a site that is not publicly accessible, but which you have access to, you can download the image yourself and perform a POST /search/ with the image file.

Couldn’t identify/download image file.

The image file may have been removed or corrupted, or it may be in a format that is not supported. The supported image formats are: JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF or WEBP.

The image is too small or too simple.

If the query image is too small or too simple, the API cannot create a unique signature to search with.

Error code 401

Please provide a valid API key.

The server did not receive a valid API key, which must be included in the custom header - x-api-key - when making any requests.

The authentication method that you are using has been removed. Please update to use the new X-API-KEY header method.

The server received a request without an x-api-key header or a request that included a public_key or an api_key as a query parameter. For more information on how to transition authentication methods, click here.

Error code 402

You have no more searches available. Please purchase another bundle if you wish to make more searches.

You’ve run out of TinEye searches. This problem is easy to fix: buy another search bundle, and your searches will start working again. It’s also easy to prevent: select the auto top-up option when you buy your bundle, and a new search bundle will automatically be added to your account once you’ve used 75% of your searches.

Error code 429

Too many requests.

You may make multiple concurrent requests to the TinEye API. However, depending on the load being experienced by the TinEye servers, you may receive a “429 Too many requests” error when making many simultaneous searches. Please ensure that your code can either handle that error, or that it waits for the current search to complete before performing the next search. If you regularly need to perform a high number of concurrent searches please contact us with details about your requirements.