Google Custom Search image search: enable it on the engine and count every query

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Before debugging empty image results, open your Programmable Search Engine settings and confirm image search is turned on; a correct key and quota wont help if the engine isnt configured for images. Then protect the quota: debounce search-as-you-type, cache results per query for the session, and never fire one API call per thumbnail.

Fix

1. Before debugging empty image results, open your Programmable Search Engine settings and confirm image search is turned on; a correct key and quota wont help if the engine isnt configured for images. Expected: You see the expected output instead of the problem.

When to use

• You are setting up or using this Google Custom Search image search feature.
• The symptom matches: enable it on the engine and count every query.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated Google Custom Search image search issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against Google Custom Search image search.

Variant phrasings

enable it on the engine and count every query

Why it happens

Web: an image-search setup guide documents the two image-search gotchas. First, the Programmable Search Engine itself must have image search enabled, otherwise image queries return nothing useful even with a valid key and quota. Second, every image search counts as one query against the same 100-per-day free quota, so a UI that fires a search per keystroke or per thumbnail burns the budget fast. The guide also notes the standard credential checks: both the API key and the search engine ID must be set, and the Custom Search API must be enabled. Source: https://github.com/otro34/the-collector/blob/HEAD/docs/phase-1/IMAGESEARCHSETUP.md

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Web: an image-search setup guide documents the two image-search gotchas. First, the Programmable Search Engine itself must have image search enabled, otherwise image queries return nothing useful even with a valid key and quota. Second, every image search counts as one query against the same 100-per-day free quota, so a UI that fires a search per keystroke or per thumbnail burns the budget fast. The guide also notes the standard credential checks: both the API key and the search engine ID must be set, and the Custom Search API must be enabled. Source: https://github.com/otro34/the-collector/blob/HEAD/docs/phase-1/IMAGESEARCHSETUP.md Resolved: before debugging empty image results, open your Programmable Search Engine settings and confirm image search is turned on; a correct key and quota wont help if the engine isnt configured for images. Then protect the quota: debounce search-as-you-type, cache results per query for the session, and never fire one API call per thumbnail. Restrict the API key to the Custom Search API and to your referrers or IPs so a leaked key cant be used to drain your 100 free queries. If results load but clicks fail, check the app logs for download errors and folder write permissions, that is a different layer from the search call. Source: https://github.com/otro34/the-collector/blob/HEAD/docs/phase-1/IMAGESEARCHSETUP.md