Openverse

Openverse
Type of site
Search engine
Available inMultilingual
OwnerWordPress Foundation[1]
URLopenverse.org Edit this at Wikidata
Current statusActive
Written inJavaScript, Python

Openverse is an open-source search engine for open content developed as part of the WordPress project.[2][3][4] It searches Creative Commons licensed and public domain content from dozens of different sources.[5] The software is licensed under the MIT License.[6]

Openverse indexes over 700 million items.[7]

History

In February 2017 Creative Commons announced CC Search, an open source search engine for open content, and released a beta version.[8][9] A stable version of CC Search appeared in April 2019.[10][9]

In December 2020, after Creative Commons staff changes, CC Search and a few other projects no longer had the necessary staff capacity. Those services went into maintenance mode, with the services remaining available while development was suspended.[11][9]

In April–May 2021, Catherine Stihler (Creative Commons) and Matt Mullenweg (WordPress Foundation, Automattic Inc.) announced that CC Search joined the WordPress project.[12][13][14] Automattic hired key members of the CC Search team and sponsors their contributions to the project as part of the Five for the Future initiative.[13] A new name was also introduced, Openverse.[15] Openverse is the successor to CC Search, and is developed from the same code base of CC Search. It aims to be a broader open content search engine, continue development work and expand features.[15] The WordPress Foundation owns the Openverse trademark and its other intellectual property rights.[16] In December 2020, the CC Search domain name was redirected to Openverse.[17]

In January 2022, Openverse launched a redesigned user interface and support for searching audio files.[18]

In February 2023, Openverse moved to the domain https://openverse.org and refreshed the user interface: adding a search history for recent searches.[19] In September 2023, Openverse won the OE Awards for Excellence in Open Infrastructure.[20]

Search engine sources

Openverse searches content from over 45 different media sources, including Wikimedia Commons, Europeana, and Flickr.[21][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Trademark Policy". WordPress Foundation. 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  2. ^ "About | Openverse". Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  3. ^ "Make Openverse – Openverse is a search tool for CC-licensed and public domain content across the internet. – WordPress.org". Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  4. ^ "Handbook – Make Openverse – WordPress.org". Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  5. ^ a b "Sources | Openverse". Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  6. ^ "Openverse, WordPress Git repository". GitHub. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  7. ^ "Post-iNaturalist Data Refresh Status – Make Openverse – WordPress.org". Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  8. ^ "Announcing the new CC Search, now in Beta". Creative Commons. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  9. ^ a b c "History of Openverse – Make Openverse – WordPress.org". Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  10. ^ "CC Search is out of beta with 300M images and easier attribution". Creative Commons. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  11. ^ "Upcoming Changes to the CC Open Source Community". Creative Commons. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  12. ^ "CC Search to Join WordPress". Creative Commons. 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  13. ^ a b "CC Search to join WordPress.org". Matt Mullenweg. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  14. ^ "Creative Commons Search to Relaunch on WordPress.org". WP Tavern. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  15. ^ a b "Welcome to Openverse". WordPress News. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  16. ^ "Trademark Policy". WordPress Foundation. 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  17. ^ "Dear Users of CC Search, Welcome to Openverse". Creative Commons. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  18. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Openverse and the WordPress Photo Directory – Make Openverse". Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  19. ^ "Openverse.org is live – Make Openverse – WordPress.org". Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  20. ^ "Openverse". OE Awards for Excellence. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  21. ^ "openverse/catalog/dags/providers/provider_api_scripts at main · WordPress/openverse". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Openverse.