imgemb 0.2.8

A lightweight Python library for generating image embeddings with semantic search

imgemb: Image Embeddings and Semantic Search Library

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Overview

imgemb is a Python library designed for generating image embeddings and performing efficient similarity search operations. It provides multiple embedding methods ranging from simple color-based approaches to advanced semantic understanding using CLIP models.

Installation

Basic Installation

pip install imgemb

Development Installation

git clone https://github.com/aryanraj2713/image_embeddings
cd image_embeddings
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Core Components

1. Embedding Generation

The library supports four distinct embedding methods:

a. Average Color Method

• Fastest method for basic color-based similarity
• Generates a compact 3-dimensional embedding (RGB values)
• Suitable for simple color-matching tasks

from imgemb import ImageEmbedder

embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="average")
embedding = embedder.generate_embedding("path/to/image.jpg")

b. Grid Method

• Captures spatial color distribution
• Configurable grid size (default: 4x4)
• Returns flattened grid of RGB values

embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="grid", grid_size=(4, 4))
embedding = embedder.generate_embedding("path/to/image.jpg")

c. Edge Detection Method

• Focuses on image structure and shapes
• Uses Canny edge detection
• Returns edge intensity histogram

embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="edge")
embedding = embedder.generate_embedding("path/to/image.jpg")

d. Semantic Method (CLIP-based)

• Provides high-level semantic understanding
• Uses OpenAI's CLIP model
• Returns 512-dimensional embedding

embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="semantic")
embedding = embedder.generate_embedding("path/to/image.jpg")

2. Similarity Search

Basic Search

from imgemb import ImageEmbedder

# Initialize embedder
embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="semantic")

# Find similar images
results = embedder.find_similar_images(
    query_image="query.jpg",
    image_directory="path/to/images/",
    top_k=5,
    distance_metric="cosine"
)

# Results format: List[Tuple[str, float]]
# [(image_path, similarity_score), ...]

Batch Processing

# Process multiple queries efficiently
query_images = ["query1.jpg", "query2.jpg", "query3.jpg"]
batch_results = embedder.batch_find_similar_images(
    query_images=query_images,
    image_directory="path/to/images/",
    top_k=5
)

3. Visualization

Basic Visualization

from imgemb import plot_similar_images

# Create interactive plot
fig = plot_similar_images(
    query_image="query.jpg",
    similar_images=results,
    plot_title="Similar Images"
)

# Display in browser
fig.show()

# Save as HTML
fig.write_html("similar_images.html")

Customized Visualization

fig = plot_similar_images(
    query_image="query.jpg",
    similar_images=results,
    plot_title="Custom Visualization",
    width=1200,
    height=800,
    images_per_row=3
)

4. Command Line Interface

The library provides a comprehensive CLI for common operations:

# Generate embeddings for a directory of images
imgemb generate images/ --output embeddings.json --method semantic

# Find similar images
imgemb find-similar query.jpg images/ \
    --method semantic \
    --top-k 5 \
    --metric cosine \
    --output results.json

# Semantic text-to-image search
imgemb search "a photo of a mountain" images/ \
    --top-k 5 \
    --output results.json

Performance Considerations

1. Memory Usage

   • Semantic embeddings: ~2KB per image
   • Grid embeddings: Variable (depends on grid size)
   • Edge embeddings: ~1KB per image
   • Average color: 12 bytes per image

2. Processing Speed (approximate, on CPU)

   • Average color: ~0.01s per image
   • Grid method: ~0.05s per image
   • Edge detection: ~0.1s per image
   • Semantic (CLIP): ~0.5s per image

3. GPU Acceleration

   • Automatic GPU usage for semantic embeddings if available
   • Significant speed improvement (5-10x) for semantic method

Error Handling

from imgemb.exceptions import EmbeddingError, InvalidMethodError

try:
    embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="semantic")
    embedding = embedder.generate_embedding("image.jpg")
except InvalidMethodError:
    print("Invalid embedding method specified")
except EmbeddingError as e:
    print(f"Error generating embedding: {e}")

Advanced Usage

Custom Distance Metrics

from imgemb import ImageEmbedder
import numpy as np

def custom_distance(embedding1, embedding2):
    return np.sum(np.abs(embedding1 - embedding2))

embedder = ImageEmbedder(method="grid")
results = embedder.find_similar_images(
    "query.jpg",
    "images/",
    distance_metric=custom_distance
)

Embedding Persistence

# Save embeddings
embedder.save_embeddings("embeddings.json")

# Load embeddings
embedder.load_embeddings("embeddings.json")

Testing

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=imgemb

# Generate coverage report
pytest --cov=imgemb --cov-report=html

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Implement changes with tests
4. Submit a pull request

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE file for details.

Citation

@software{imgemb2024,
  author = {Aryan Raj},
  title = {imgemb: Efficient Image Embeddings and Similarity Search},
  year = {2025},
  publisher = {Aryan Raj},
  url = {https://github.com/aryanraj2713/image_embeddings}
}