This example demonstrates how to use VLM Run MCP tools to perform template matching. A source “template” image is used to search for and locate all instances of that template across a batch of different “reference” images. This is ideal for tasks like brand monitoring, content verification, and visual search.

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Use Case Overview

Template matching is a powerful computer vision technique used to find small patches of an image (templates) in a larger image. In this workflow, the user provides an image of a logo and asks the agent to find that logo in three other news articles and photos, then return the images with the logo’s location highlighted.

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Workflow Steps

Try it out yourself with the following prompt (in Claude Desktop or Web):
Given a template image (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTC_ps_PWPSsQ0ZeX7Zsqvtu_30qfYpdmW-0g&s) check which of the following images contains this template in the provided 3 reference images below.
  1. https://newsvitran.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image144.jpg
  2. https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-YZ407_0920ip_M_20130920103617.jpg
  3. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/2024/09/apple-introduces-iphone-16-and-iphone-16-plus/article/Apple-iPhone-16-Apple-Intelligence-240909_big.jpg.large.jpg. Once the matches are found localize the object in the image and return the image with a bounding box drawn on the image. Finally, share a link to the images with bounding boxes overlayed of the template in each image where it is present.”*
The agent breaks this complex request down into a series of tool calls: I’ll help you find the template image in the reference images. Let me start by loading all the images and then use template matching to identify where the template appears.
1

Load all images

Use the put_image_url tool to load the template image and each of the three reference images into the system. This is done four times.
// Loading the template image
{
  "url": "[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTC_ps_PWPSsQ0ZeX7Zsqvtu_30qfYpdmW-0g&s](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTC_ps_PWPSsQ0ZeX7Zsqvtu_30qfYpdmW-0g&s)"
}
Response: Each call returns a unique image ID.
{
  "id": "img_6d04",
  "type": "image"
}
2

Find template in reference images

Use the find_template tool, providing the ID of the template and a list of the reference image IDs. A text prompt can be included to help guide the search.
{
  "template": { "id": "img_6d04", "type": "image" },
  "images": [
    { "id": "img_e6e7", "type": "image" },
    { "id": "img_f982", "type": "image" },
    { "id": "img_bc5c", "type": "image" }
  ],
  "prompt": "Apple logo"
}
Response: The tool returns a JSON object detailing the matches, confidence scores, and bounding box coordinates for each reference image.
3

Visualize bounding boxes

For each image where a match was found, use the visualize_bboxes tool with the coordinates from the find_template response to draw the red boxes on the images.
{
  "image": { "id": "img_e6e7", "type": "image" },
  "bboxes": [
    {"xywh": [0.12, 0.55, 0.08, 0.13]},
    ...
  ]
}
Response: Creates a new image with the bounding boxes rendered.
{
 "id": "img_a1b2",
 "type": "image"
}
4

Generate preview links

Use the preview_object_ref tool on the newly created annotated images to get shareable links.
{
  "obj": { "id": "img_a1b2", "type": "image" }
}
Response:
[https://mcp.vlm.run/files/img_a1b2](https://mcp.vlm.run/files/img_a1b2)

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Example Result

The final output clearly summarizes the findings and provides links to the annotated images, showing exactly where the Apple logo was found.

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Template Image

Apple logo template

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Result Image 1

First result with four instances of Apple logo detected

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Result Image 2

Second result with one instance of Apple logo detected

Template Matching Results

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Build Your Own Visual Search Workflow

This template matching capability can be adapted for many powerful applications that require finding specific visual information within larger sets of data.
  • 🏷️ Brand Management: Scan social media and news sites to find every instance of your company’s logo.
  • 🛍️ E-commerce: Allow users to upload a picture of a product they like and find visually similar items in your inventory.
  • 🏭 Industrial Automation: Use a template of a perfect product to automatically spot defects or missing components on an assembly line.
  • 📚 Digital Archiving: Find all documents or pages that contain a specific seal, stamp, or signature.

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