Search photos by text

Text search finds photos by meaning, not filenames. Type “red bicycle by the sea” and Kura-chan ranks your photos by how well they match what’s actually in the picture.

Before you start

• Build the AI index first. You can only search after the index has results — searching needs the embeddings the index creates.
• Search is a paid feature (Lite or Pro). On the Free plan the search bar shows “Semantic search is a paid feature — upgrade to enable.”

Search

1. Open Photos → Search.

2. Type a description into the “What are you looking for…” box — for example “beach at sunset,” “red car,” or “dog on the couch.”

3. Results are ranked by similarity. The closest matches appear under Photos; weaker matches fall under Less similar.

Write better queries

• Describe the scene, objects, and colours rather than guessing a filename.
• Mention a named person (see Recognize people) to surface their photos too.
• Start broad, then add detail — “cake” → “birthday cake with candles.”

Troubleshooting

• “Text search needs your AI index.” The index isn’t built yet. Open Photos → Settings and run Index all unindexed.
• “No photos match …” The index may still be catching up, or nothing matches closely. Try simpler, more general words. Remember videos aren’t indexed, so they never appear in results.
• The search box is greyed out / asks you to upgrade. Semantic search is a Lite/Pro feature — open View plans to enable it.