- name
- photochat-search
- description
- Search for photos in PhotoCHAT using natural language via the CLI. Use when the user asks to find, search for, or locate photos/pictures/images using PhotoCHAT. Triggers include phrases like 'find me a photo of...', 'search photochat for...', 'use photochat to find...', or simply 'find me a picture of...'. NOT for browsing the PhotoCHAT GUI, managing albums, or face profile editing.
PhotoCHAT CLI Search
Search the user's photo library using PhotoCHAT's natural language search CLI.
Command
photochat search [options] <natural language query>Uses the MSIX-packaged photochat app execution alias (v0.6.0+).
Options
| Flag | Purpose | Default |
|---|---|---|
--json | Machine-readable JSON output | off |
--limit N | Max results | 5 |
--show-filters | Print parsed face/date/exclusion filters | off |
--show-scores | Include similarity scores in plain text | off |
--profile NAME | Force-include a face profile | none |
--day-first | Parse ambiguous dates as DD/MM | off |
--dry-run | Parse query only, skip retrieval | off |
Workflow
- Run search with
--json,--day-first, and a reasonable--limit:
photochat search --json --day-first --limit 10 show me a photo of sarah at the beach- Parse JSON output:
{
"query": "original query text",
"intent": {
"cleaned_query": "processed query",
"face_filters": ["sarah"],
"date_range": null,
"exclude_terms": []
},
"total_results": 25,
"returned_results": 5,
"results": [
{ "rank": 1, "path": "I:/Pictures/.../photo.JPG", "score": 0.55 }
]
}- Present results:
- Show file paths and match count (returned vs total) - To display a photo, use the image tool with the path from results - Scores above 0.4 are decent; above 0.5 is a strong match - If zero results, suggest simplifying the query or check filters with --show-filters
Query Capabilities
The parser handles rich natural language:
- Faces: "Sarah at the beach" auto-filters face profile "Sarah"
- Dates: "from 2021", "in March", "before 2015", "from Mar 21"
- Exclusions: "without Matt" excludes face or concept
- Mood/style: "photos that feel cozy and warm", "vintage film look"
- Combos: "Bella standing next to a tall building from Mar 21"
For more examples, read references/search-examples.txt.
Important
- Always use
--day-first(Australian date format DD/MM) - Always use
--jsonfor parseable output - Default
--limit 5unless user asks for more - First search takes 10-30s (model loading); use 60s timeout on first call
- Result paths are absolute file paths; pass directly to the
imagetool
Exit Codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success (includes zero-result searches) |
| 2 | Argument/usage error |
| 3 | Runtime/model init failure |
| 4 | Storage init/access failure |
| 5 | Unexpected failure |