# MemeStack

> Visual search engine for memes, infographics, charts, and screenshots. Find images by meaning, the text inside them, or visual similarity. AI-captioned, OCR-indexed, Lightning-ranked.

## What This Is

MemeStack is a visual search engine for memes, infographics, charts, and screenshots — find "that one image that explains X" by describing its meaning, the words inside it, or what it looks like. Every image is AI-captioned, OCR-indexed, and ranked by Lightning zaps.

No MemeStack token, no NFTs, nothing you have to buy: MemeStack is a search engine, not a crypto project. Bitcoin's Lightning Network powers the optional parts — signing in with a Lightning wallet and tipping images with sats — and an email sign-up never touches a wallet. AI agents calling the paid API can settle a call in sats or USDC; nothing else on MemeStack accepts USDC. People pay only for optional extras, such as AI image generation or the Supporter plan: Lightning works for all of them, and a card works for the Supporter plan and API packs.

## When To Use

Use MemeStack when the user asks to find a meme, chart, infographic, screenshot, diagram, visual analogy, or an image containing text they partly remember. It is also the right tool when an answer would land better with a supporting visual that carries a ready-to-paste citation.

Do NOT use MemeStack for: stock photography, personal photos, generating an image from scratch when an existing one would not do, or whole-web reverse image search (results are limited to this catalog).

## API

Base URL: https://api.memestack.ai

- [OpenAPI spec](https://api.memestack.ai/openapi.json)
- [Full API docs](https://memestack.ai/llms-full.txt)
- [Developer docs](https://memestack.ai/developers)

The Open API (/v1) needs no key: the read endpoints the website itself uses, rate-limited. The Search API (/v2) takes a free key — see "Developer API (keys)" below.

## Developer API (keys)
Tenor v2-compatible search for still images: https://api.memestack.ai/v2/search?q=…&key=YOUR_KEY
Free: 100 calls a day with attribution. Plans: Builder $19.00 (10,000 calls), Growth $49.00 (50,000), Scale $199.00 (300,000), each for 30 days; a top-up adds 10,000 calls for $10.00. Pay by card or Lightning.
- [Keys and docs](https://memestack.ai/developers)

## Quick Start

Search for images about a topic:
  GET https://api.memestack.ai/v1/images/search?q=bitcoin+halving

Get image metadata (caption, tags, OCR text):
  GET https://api.memestack.ai/v1/images/{id}/meta

Get the image file:
  GET https://api.memestack.ai/v1/images/{id}/canonical

## Search

Search is unified — every query runs semantic similarity (vector embeddings) combined with keyword matching. No mode toggle needed. Best for any query, conceptual ("inflation explained") or literal ("21 million").

## Endpoints

### Search & Browse (no auth)
- GET /v1/images/search?q={query}                — unified search (semantic + keyword, any language). When results carry `match` (`strong` or `closest`), strong matches come first, `total` counts them and `has_more` says whether to page on; without `has_more`, a page shorter than `limit` is the last. `closest=none` drops the closest matches.
- GET /v1/images/search?tag={slug}               — browse by single tag
- GET /v1/images/search?tags={slug1},{slug2}     — filter by multiple tags (AND)
- GET /v1/images/search?sort_by=zap_total_sats&sort_order=desc — browse by popularity
- GET /v1/images/search?sort_by=trending&sort_order=desc  — browse by trending score
- GET /v1/images/search?q={query}&in_text_only=true — search ONLY the OCR text inside images
- GET /v1/images/search?q={query}&content=all    — include images classified controversial (excluded by default; each carries controversial: true). Same switch on every browse route; over MCP it is include_controversial
- POST /v1/images/reverse-search                 — find visually similar images from a URL or data: URL (10/min/IP)

### Image Details (no auth)
- GET /v1/images/{id}/meta       — full metadata (caption, tags, alt text, OCR text, dimensions, zap stats)
- GET /v1/images/{id}/canonical  — web-optimized image (max 2500px, original format)
- GET /v1/images/{id}/thumbnail  — thumbnail (max 768px)
- GET /v1/images/{id}/similar    — perceptually similar images (phash)
- GET /v1/images/{id}/related    — semantically related images (embedding cosine similarity)

### Tags & Categories (no auth)
- GET /v1/tag-pages              — all categories with top tags, descriptions, image counts
- GET /v1/tag-pages/{slug}       — one tag: profile, images, and for a topic hub its facts and sections

### Users (no auth)
- GET /v1/users/{pubkey}         — user profile and stats
- GET /v1/users/{pubkey}/images  — user's images (paginated)
- GET /v1/users/{pubkey}/tags    — user's tags by frequency

### Leaderboard (no auth)
- GET /v1/leaderboard/images?period=week   — top zapped images (day/week/month/all)
- GET /v1/leaderboard/zappers?period=week  — top zappers (day/week/month/all)

## Content Categories

cryptocurrency, economics, finance, data visualization, geography, politics, technology, memes, science, history, health, environment, education, culture, social media, art

## Content Taxonomy

Note: counts overlap — an image can belong to multiple categories, so these per-category counts sum above the site total.

- [Cryptocurrency](https://memestack.ai/categories/cryptocurrency): 898 images. Bitcoin, altcoins, blockchain, wallets, mining, and crypto markets. Top tags: Bitcoin, River Financial, Cryptocurrency, HODL, Financial Advice, Institutional Adoption, Wallet, Satoshi
- [Economics](https://memestack.ai/categories/economics): 14,924 images. Markets, trade, GDP, inflation, monetary policy, and economic systems. Top tags: Economics, Usda, Our World in Data, Agriculture, Eurostat, Demographics, World Map, Economic Research Service
- [Finance](https://memestack.ai/categories/finance): 4,991 images. Banking, investing, stocks, personal finance, and financial markets. Top tags: Money, Bitcoin, Fiat, Commodity, Financial Data, Quantitative Data, Inflation, Price
- [Data Visualization](https://memestack.ai/categories/data-visualization): 15,859 images. Charts, graphs, maps, infographics, and statistical displays. Top tags: Chart, Statistics, Economics, Infographic, Usda, News, Our World in Data, Agriculture
- [Geography](https://memestack.ai/categories/geography): 9,527 images. Maps, countries, regions, continents, and geospatial data. Top tags: World Map, Europe, Geography, United States, European Union, Country, Global Data, Choropleth Map
- [Politics](https://memestack.ai/categories/politics): 6,012 images. Government, elections, policy, geopolitics, and political commentary. Top tags: Policy, Government, Political Commentary, Political Science, Politics, Government Spending, International Relations, Conspiracy Theory
- [Technology](https://memestack.ai/categories/technology): 6,096 images. Software, hardware, AI, internet, and tech industry. Top tags: Eurostat, 2023, Internet Culture, Bitcoin, Eu, 2025, Social Media, Technology
- [Memes](https://memestack.ai/categories/memes): 8,021 images. Internet memes, reaction images, humor, satire, and viral content. Top tags: White Background, Meme, Personalities, Screenshot, Satire, 4chan, Social Commentary, Artwork
- [Science](https://memestack.ai/categories/science): 10,909 images. Research, biology, physics, chemistry, and scientific discoveries. Top tags: Infographic, Our World in Data, Research, Global Health, Comparison, Educational, Informational, Epidemiology
- [History](https://memestack.ai/categories/history): 10,395 images. Historical events, timelines, eras, and historical data. Top tags: History, Demographics, Personalities, Historical Data, United States, Money, Fiat, China
- [Health](https://memestack.ai/categories/health): 10,577 images. Medicine, public health, epidemiology, and wellness. Top tags: Our World in Data, Public Health, European Union, Research, 2023, Education, Percentage, 2024
- [Environment](https://memestack.ai/categories/environment): 12,395 images. Climate, energy, pollution, conservation, and sustainability. Top tags: Our World in Data, Agriculture, Eurostat, Economic Research Service, Geography, United States, European Union, Red
- [Education](https://memestack.ai/categories/education): 15,386 images. Learning, literacy, schools, and educational resources. Top tags: Chart, Statistics, Economics, Infographic, Our World in Data, Diagram, Government Data, Geography
- [Culture](https://memestack.ai/categories/culture): 14,437 images. Society, demographics, religion, language, and cultural trends. Top tags: Infographic, News, History, Meme, Demographics, Personalities, Screenshot, Satire
- [Social Media](https://memestack.ai/categories/social-media): 4,569 images. Platforms, viral content, online communities, and digital culture. Top tags: Screenshot, 4chan, Social Commentary, Greentext, Internet Culture, Reaction, Humor, Political Commentary
- [Art](https://memestack.ai/categories/art): 5,702 images. Visual art, design, illustration, and creative works. Top tags: White Background, Orange, Red, Artwork, Cartoon, Purple, Brown, Gradient

## Topic hubs

Each hub page defines its topic and lists live facts (image counts, formats, chart sources and licences, the period the charts show) with the top, chart and newest images.

- [Economics](https://memestack.ai/tags/economics): 8,496 images
- [News](https://memestack.ai/tags/news): 3,696 images
- [History](https://memestack.ai/tags/history): 3,626 images
- [Agriculture](https://memestack.ai/tags/agriculture): 3,272 images
- [Meme](https://memestack.ai/tags/meme): 2,885 images
- [Demographics](https://memestack.ai/tags/demographics): 2,537 images
- [Public Health](https://memestack.ai/tags/public+health): 2,040 images
- [Personalities](https://memestack.ai/tags/personalities): 1,987 images
- [World Map](https://memestack.ai/tags/world+map): 1,978 images
- [Europe](https://memestack.ai/tags/europe): 1,775 images
- [Time Series](https://memestack.ai/tags/time+series): 1,357 images
- [Geography](https://memestack.ai/tags/geography): 1,329 images
- [United States](https://memestack.ai/tags/united+states): 1,211 images
- [European Union](https://memestack.ai/tags/european+union): 1,171 images
- [Country](https://memestack.ai/tags/country): 1,129 images
- [Research](https://memestack.ai/tags/research): 1,084 images
- [Education](https://memestack.ai/tags/education): 905 images
- [Social Commentary](https://memestack.ai/tags/social+commentary): 793 images
- [Economic Data](https://memestack.ai/tags/economic+data): 765 images
- [Global Health](https://memestack.ai/tags/global+health): 764 images
- [Money](https://memestack.ai/tags/money): 728 images
- [Sustainability](https://memestack.ai/tags/sustainability): 719 images
- [Environmental Data](https://memestack.ai/tags/environmental+data): 700 images
- [Farming](https://memestack.ai/tags/farming): 666 images
- [Internet Culture](https://memestack.ai/tags/internet+culture): 657 images
- [Epidemiology](https://memestack.ai/tags/epidemiology): 616 images
- [Bitcoin](https://memestack.ai/tags/bitcoin): 609 images
- [Development](https://memestack.ai/tags/development): 602 images
- [Social Science](https://memestack.ai/tags/social+science): 601 images
- [Health](https://memestack.ai/tags/health): 600 images
- [Population](https://memestack.ai/tags/population): 592 images
- [Commodity](https://memestack.ai/tags/commodity): 588 images
- [Social Issue](https://memestack.ai/tags/social+issue): 587 images
- [Financial Data](https://memestack.ai/tags/financial+data): 586 images
- [Fiat](https://memestack.ai/tags/fiat): 584 images
- [Climate Change](https://memestack.ai/tags/climate+change): 524 images
- [Healthcare](https://memestack.ai/tags/healthcare): 499 images
- [Mortality](https://memestack.ai/tags/mortality): 483 images
- [Employment](https://memestack.ai/tags/employment): 478 images
- [Policy](https://memestack.ai/tags/policy): 443 images

## Direct Links

- [All tags](https://memestack.ai/tags)
- [All categories](https://memestack.ai/categories)
- [Blog](https://memestack.ai/blog)
- Search: https://memestack.ai/?q={query}
- [Find a meme by describing it](https://memestack.ai/find-memes-by-description)
- [Search the text inside images](https://memestack.ai/search-text-in-images)
- [Search infographics and charts by topic](https://memestack.ai/infographic-search)
- [Reverse image search for memes](https://memestack.ai/reverse-image-search)
- [MemeStack MCP server](https://memestack.ai/mcp-server)
- [A Tenor API alternative for still memes and charts](https://memestack.ai/tenor-api-alternative)
- [Meme and GIF search APIs compared](https://memestack.ai/meme-api-comparison)
- [For creators (publish + get verified)](https://memestack.ai/creators)
- MCP endpoint (JSON-RPC, for clients): https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp
- [API catalog (RFC 9727)](https://memestack.ai/.well-known/api-catalog)
- [AI catalog (MCP server card)](https://memestack.ai/.well-known/ai-catalog.json)
- [Agent Skill (SKILL.md)](https://memestack.ai/.well-known/agent-skills/memestack/SKILL.md)

## Recommended Tools

Hardware wallets, privacy tools, and the exchange the MemeStack operator personally uses and recommends (affiliate links, disclosed on the page):
- [Gear page](https://memestack.ai/gear)
- Self-custody hardware wallets: Trezor, Ledger, BitBox
- Privacy & security: Proton VPN
- Buy Bitcoin: Kraken

## Website

- [MemeStack](https://memestack.ai)
Deep link to search: https://memestack.ai/?q={query}

## MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)

MemeStack provides a remote MCP server for AI agents:
  https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp

Available tools:
  (source of truth: apps/worker-mcp/src/tools.ts — pinned by llms-txt-tool-parity.test.ts)
  - search_images: Unified semantic + keyword image search (200 free calls/day/IP shared by the seven search and browse tools, then $0.005/call)
  - search_charts: Charts and infographics with stored source metadata (dataset, citation, unit, regions, displayed period); not every chart — search_images has wider coverage
  Chart sources (chart_source): owid (Our World in Data), usda_ers (USDA Economic Research Service), eurostat (Eurostat), eea (European Environment Agency), extracted (community charts whose title, source and period were read from the image itself, not from a publisher); every publisher chart's citation carries its publisher's licence and attribution.
  Publisher charts only: publisher_only=true (search_images, search_charts, GET /v1/images/search, /v2/search) keeps only charts imported from those four publishers. Every image carries rights (licence, attribution line, commercial_use yes/no/unknown, never a guess), and a labelled search carries match_quality (strong, closest_only or none).
  - search_text_in_image: Search ONLY the text printed inside images (OCR)
  - reverse_image_search: Find visually similar images from an HTTPS or data: image URL (10 free calls/day/IP, then $0.02/call)
  - get_image: Full metadata for one image
  - find_similar: Visually similar images (perceptual hash)
  - find_related: Semantically related images (AI embeddings)
  - find_meme_for_text: Find a meme matching a vibe or idea, with citation blocks
  - browse_images: Browse by tag, trending, or recent
  - browse_by_tag: Browse all images with a specific tag (paginated)
  - browse_by_category: Browse a category with its featured images
  - list_categories: List all content categories with descriptions and image counts
  - get_tag_profile: Tag profile — description, stats, related tags
  - popular_tags: Most-used tags by all-time usage count
  - tag_autocomplete: Suggest tag slugs matching a prefix
  - get_meme_variants: All tracked variants of a meme
  - get_user_profile: A user's public profile and stats
  - get_leaderboard: Top images or top zappers by period
  - cite_image: Canonical attribution blocks (markdown, HTML, plain text)
  - submit_image: Submit an image for review — PAID, $0.10 per call
  - generate_meme: Generate an image from a prompt with AI — PAID, $0.08 standard / $0.20 quality per call
  Paid calls settle in sats over Lightning at the current BTC/USD rate, or in USDC on Base (x402/L402); no account.

Claude Code / VS Code (.mcp.json):
  {"mcpServers":{"memestack":{"type":"http","url":"https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp"}}}

Cursor / LM Studio (mcp.json):
  {"mcpServers":{"memestack":{"url":"https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp"}}}

Claude, ChatGPT and other chat apps: add https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp/directory as a custom connector. Every client: [setup guide](https://memestack.ai/mcp-server)

Fallback for clients without remote MCP support:
  {"mcpServers": {"memestack": {"command": "npx", "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://mcp.memestack.ai/mcp"]}}}