← Atlas · Topics: inspiration, color
Cosmos
- Site
- cosmos.so
- Type
- design workspace
- Verdict
- Useful
- Licence
- Conditional licence, proprietary paid
proprietary-paidFree core plan; Premium is $8/month according to the site's llms.txt and structured data. Proprietary terms (Cosmos Entity, Inc., last updated 25 September 2025): automated access with bots, crawlers or data-mining tools is prohibited, the app licence is personal and non-commercial, and uploaders must own what they post. Saved images belong to their original creators - Agent channels
- none
- Pricing
- freemium
- Reviewed
What it is
Cosmos is an ad-free place to save and arrange visual references, built as a calmer Pinterest alternative for designers, photographers, architects and art directors. You save "elements" (images, videos, links, articles, text) into collections that can be private, public or shared. It was founded by Andy McCune in New York and, per its llms.txt, has raised about $21M, including a seed round from GV and Accel and a Series A led by Shine Capital and Matrix. It has no likes or public engagement counts. It also runs an editorial newsletter, Sequence, and a shop section.
When to open it
Open it when you are gathering a visual direction for a brand, product or campaign and want a clean board without ads or social noise, or when you want to search by feel, colour or visual similarity rather than keyword.
Most useful
- Search by hex colour or visual similarity: start from a colour or an image and find related references.
- AI-content filter: likely AI-generated images can be shown, blurred or hidden.
- Captions: the site uses AI to research an image and name its artist, studio or source, which helps you credit and follow up.
- Imports: bring in existing Pinterest boards, Are.na channels and Tumblr blogs.
- Save anywhere: Chrome and Safari extensions, plus native iOS and Android apps.
Using it with agents
No official API, MCP or data export for agents; the llms.txt only describes the product. An unofficial community MCP server exists, but it calls Cosmos's private web endpoint, which sits badly with the terms' ban on automated access. Keep it manual: build a board, then write the palette, type mood, texture and composition rules in your own words and give that brief to the agent.
Watch out for
- Sources differ on what is free: the llms.txt says collaboration is free for everyone, while the help centre lists collaboration, bulk ZIP export, grid sizes and short usernames under Premium.
- AI captions are a research aid, not proof of authorship. Check the source before crediting anyone.
- Everything you save is third-party work with no reuse rights attached.
Reusable ideas
- Let people search a visual library by hex colour and by "more like this", not only by words.
- Give viewers a show, blur or hide switch for AI-generated images instead of a single on/off rule.
- Attach source and author research to every saved image so references stay traceable.
- Offer one-click imports from rival boards to lower the cost of switching.