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Image Search:Activate Image Search

Last Updated:Jun 20, 2026

This topic describes how to activate Image Search.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Sign in to the Alibaba Cloud official website.

  2. Go to the Image Search product page and click Buy Now.

    image.png

  3. On the product purchase page, configure the parameters, enter an Instance Name, and then click Buy Now. Parameters include Region, Service Type, Queries per second (QPS), Maximum Image Capacity, Instance Name, Plan Type, Package, and Subscription Duration. The Instance Name is required and cannot be changed after creation. It must be 4 to 20 characters long, start with a lowercase letter, and consist of only lowercase letters and digits.image

    Parameter

    Description

    Region

    The region where the Image Search service is deployed. On the international site, Image Search is available in the Singapore, China (Hong Kong), Japan (Tokyo), and Germany (Frankfurt) regions.

    Important

    The region cannot be changed after it is selected. Proceed with caution.

    Service type

    Image Search provides two service types for different business scenarios. The following table describes the service types.

    • Product Search

      This service type is suitable for scenarios such as visual search and product recommendations on e-commerce platforms. You can upload a product image to find identical or similar products in your product database.

    • Generic Search

      This service type is suitable for scenarios such as image copyright protection and similar image recommendations. You can upload an image to find identical or similar images that contain the same elements or main subject in a large image database.

    Important

    The service type cannot be changed after it is selected. Proceed with caution.

    Queries per second (QPS)

    The maximum number of image query requests that you can send to the Image Search service per second. A higher QPS allows you to process a larger number of concurrent requests. For example, if you purchase an Image Search instance with a QPS of 5, you can perform five image query operations per second. The QPS for image deletion operations is fixed at 20. For more information, see Queries per second (QPS).

    Maximum image capacity

    The maximum number of images that you can index. For more information, see Maximum image capacity.

    Note

    For Product Search, this parameter specifies the number of images, not the number of products.

    Instance name

    The instance name is required. It must meet the following requirements:

    • Consist of only lowercase letters and digits.

    • Start with a lowercase letter.

    • Be 4 to 20 characters in length.

      If you receive an error about an invalid instance name format, make sure that you have entered a name and that the name meets all the specified requirements.image

    Important

    The instance name cannot be changed after the instance is created. Proceed with caution.

    Subscription duration

    The duration of your service subscription.

    Auto-renewal

    Enabling this feature automatically renews your instance nine days before it expires.

    Important

    If a renewal payment fails, the instance is not renewed and is automatically released upon expiration.

  4. On the payment page, confirm your order details, read and select the Terms of Service checkbox, and then click Pay.

  5. After your payment is successful, a confirmation message is displayed and the service begins activating. This process typically takes 1 to 5 minutes. After activation is complete, you can use the Image Search service. You can then click Console to go to the console and manage your instance, or click Documentation to view the user guides.