What is Trace.moe used for?

trace.moe is an anime scene search engine that identifies the show, episode and exact timestamp from a screenshot. It is a good fit for finding the source episode of an anime screenshot and building anime-identification chat bots.

Is Trace.moe open source?

Yes. Trace.moe is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at soruly/trace.moe.

Yes. Trace.moe is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host Trace.moe?

Yes. Trace.moe can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What are some alternatives to Trace.moe?

Similar open-source tools in the Search category include SIS, SearchJumper and SearXNG. SaaS products in the same category include Bing, Yandex Search and You.com.

Is Trace.moe actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Trace.moe was on 23 September 2026. The project has 5k stars on GitHub.

Trace.moe: open-source search

About Trace.moe

trace.moe is a search engine for anime screenshots. You provide an image captured from an anime, and it identifies which series it came from, which episode and the moment the scene appears. The service is available on the web, and images can be linked in through a query string from other websites.

The system is split into several parts, including an API server for image search and database updates and a web server for the site, and the repository acts as an index page tying them together. A separate API documentation site helps developers build bots and apps on top of it. Topics mention content-based image retrieval, visual search and Milvus.

The code is MIT-licensed. Most people use the hosted site, while developers can integrate through the API or study the open components. It suits anime fans looking for the source of a clip and developers building Discord or chat bots.

Key features

Screenshot-based anime scene search
Returns title, episode and timestamp
Web interface and image URL linking
HTTP API for bots and apps
Separate API, web and indexing components
Content-based image retrieval

Good fit for

→Finding the source episode of an anime screenshot
→Building anime-identification chat bots

Tags: anime; image-search; search-engine; visual-search; api; milvus; image-retrieval

Trace.moe: questions and answers

What is Trace.moe used for?: trace.moe is an anime scene search engine that identifies the show, episode and exact timestamp from a screenshot. It is a good fit for finding the source episode of an anime screenshot and building anime-identification chat bots.
Is Trace.moe open source?: Yes. Trace.moe is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at soruly/trace.moe.
Is Trace.moe free?: Yes. Trace.moe is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host Trace.moe?: Yes. Trace.moe can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What are some alternatives to Trace.moe?: Similar open-source tools in the Search category include SIS, SearchJumper and SearXNG. SaaS products in the same category include Bing, Yandex Search and You.com.
Is Trace.moe actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Trace.moe was on 23 September 2026. The project has 5k stars on GitHub.