diff --git a/.changeset/clean-spies-stare.md b/.changeset/clean-spies-stare.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3ecf32f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/clean-spies-stare.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+"create-hypergraph": patch
+---
+
+improve projects listing in both templates
+  
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/GraphImage.tsx b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/GraphImage.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0e51364d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/GraphImage.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+function getImageUrl(src: string | undefined | Blob) {
+  if (!src || typeof src !== 'string') return src;
+  const image = src.split('ipfs://');
+  if (image.length === 2) {
+    return `https://gateway.lighthouse.storage/ipfs/${image[1]}`;
+  }
+  return src;
+}
+
+export function GraphImage(
+  props: React.DetailedHTMLProps<React.ImgHTMLAttributes<HTMLImageElement>, HTMLImageElement>,
+) {
+  return <img {...props} src={getImageUrl(props.src)} />;
+}
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/PublicKnowledge/Explore.tsx b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/PublicKnowledge/Explore.tsx
index 01a157b5..cd7ff595 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/PublicKnowledge/Explore.tsx
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/Components/PublicKnowledge/Explore.tsx
@@ -1,62 +1,127 @@
 'use client';
 
 import { useQuery } from '@graphprotocol/hypergraph-react';
+import { useState } from 'react';
 import { Project } from '../../app/schema';
+import { GraphImage } from '../GraphImage';
 
 export function PublicKnowledgeExplorer() {
+  const [searchTerm, setSearchTerm] = useState('');
+
   const { data: projects, isPending } = useQuery(Project, {
     mode: 'public',
     space: 'b2565802-3118-47be-91f2-e59170735bac',
     first: 40,
+    include: { avatar: {} },
+    filter: {
+      name: {
+        // contains is case sensitive
+        contains: searchTerm,
+      },
+    },
   });
 
-  // empty state
-  if (isPending === false && projects.length === 0) {
-    return (
-      <div className="text-center py-16">
-        <div className="w-24 h-24 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-100 to-purple-100 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center mx-auto mb-6">
-          <svg className="w-12 h-12 text-blue-400" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
-            <path
-              strokeLinecap="round"
-              strokeLinejoin="round"
-              strokeWidth={2}
-              d="M19 11H5m14 0a2 2 0 012 2v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2v-6a2 2 0 012-2m14 0V9a2 2 0 00-2-2M5 11V9a2 2 0 012-2m0 0V5a2 2 0 012-2h6a2 2 0 012 2v2M7 7h10"
-            />
-          </svg>
+  return (
+    <>
+      {/* Search UI */}
+      <div className="max-w-md mx-auto mb-8">
+        <div className="relative">
+          <div className="absolute inset-y-0 left-0 pl-3 flex items-center pointer-events-none">
+            <svg className="h-5 w-5 text-gray-400" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path
+                strokeLinecap="round"
+                strokeLinejoin="round"
+                strokeWidth={2}
+                d="M21 21l-6-6m2-5a7 7 0 11-14 0 7 7 0 0114 0z"
+              />
+            </svg>
+          </div>
+          <input
+            type="text"
+            value={searchTerm}
+            onChange={(e) => setSearchTerm(e.target.value)}
+            placeholder="Search projects..."
+            className="block w-full pl-10 pr-3 py-3 border border-gray-300 rounded-xl leading-5 bg-white placeholder-gray-500 focus:outline-none focus:placeholder-gray-400 focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 focus:border-blue-500 transition-all duration-200"
+          />
         </div>
-        <h3 className="text-xl font-semibold text-gray-900 mb-2">No Projects Found</h3>
-        <p className="text-gray-500">There are currently no public projects available to explore.</p>
       </div>
-    );
-  }
 
-  return (
-    <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 xl:grid-cols-4 gap-6">
-      {projects.map((project) => (
-        <div
-          key={project.id}
-          className="group relative bg-white rounded-2xl shadow-lg hover:shadow-2xl transition-all duration-300 overflow-hidden border border-gray-100 hover:border-blue-200 transform hover:-translate-y-1 z-10"
-        >
-          {/* Gradient overlay */}
-          <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-50 to-purple-50 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity duration-300" />
-
-          {/* Content */}
-          <div className="relative p-6">
-            {/* Project icon/avatar */}
-            <div className="w-12 h-12 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-500 to-purple-600 rounded-xl flex items-center justify-center mb-4 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300">
-              <span className="text-white font-bold text-lg">{project.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase()}</span>
+      <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 xl:grid-cols-4 gap-6">
+        {projects.map((project) => (
+          <div
+            key={project.id}
+            className="group relative bg-white rounded-2xl shadow-lg hover:shadow-2xl transition-all duration-300 overflow-hidden border border-gray-100 hover:border-blue-200 transform hover:-translate-y-1 z-10"
+          >
+            {/* Gradient overlay */}
+            <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-50 to-purple-50 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity duration-300" />
+
+            {/* Content */}
+            <div className="relative p-6">
+              {/* Project icon/avatar */}
+              <div className="w-12 h-12 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-500 to-purple-600 rounded-xl flex items-center justify-center mb-4 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300 overflow-hidden">
+                {project.avatar?.[0]?.url ? (
+                  <GraphImage
+                    src={project.avatar[0].url}
+                    alt={`${project.name} avatar`}
+                    className="w-full h-full object-cover"
+                    width={200}
+                    height={200}
+                  />
+                ) : (
+                  <span className="text-white font-bold text-lg">{project.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase()}</span>
+                )}
+              </div>
+
+              {/* Project name */}
+              <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-gray-900 mb-2 group-hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors duration-300">
+                {project.name}
+              </h3>
+
+              {/* Project ID */}
+              <p className="text-[10px] text-gray-500 mb-2 font-mono">{project.id}</p>
+
+              {/* Project description */}
+              {project.description && <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 mb-2 line-clamp-2">{project.description}</p>}
+
+              {/* Project xUrl */}
+              {project.xUrl && (
+                <a
+                  href={project.xUrl}
+                  target="_blank"
+                  rel="noopener noreferrer"
+                  className="text-sm text-blue-600 hover:text-blue-800 transition-colors duration-200 flex items-center gap-1"
+                >
+                  <svg className="w-4 h-4" fill="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+                    <path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z" />
+                  </svg>
+                  View on X
+                </a>
+              )}
             </div>
 
-            {/* Project name */}
-            <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-gray-900 mb-2 group-hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors duration-300">
-              {project.name}
-            </h3>
+            {/* Decorative corner accent */}
+            <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 w-16 h-16 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-400 to-purple-500 opacity-10 group-hover:opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300 transform rotate-45 translate-x-8 -translate-y-8" />
           </div>
+        ))}
+      </div>
 
-          {/* Decorative corner accent */}
-          <div className="absolute top-0 right-0 w-16 h-16 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-400 to-purple-500 opacity-10 group-hover:opacity-20 transition-opacity duration-300 transform rotate-45 translate-x-8 -translate-y-8" />
+      {/* Empty state */}
+      {isPending === false && projects.length === 0 && (
+        <div className="text-center py-16">
+          <div className="w-24 h-24 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-100 to-purple-100 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center mx-auto mb-6">
+            <svg className="w-12 h-12 text-blue-400" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path
+                strokeLinecap="round"
+                strokeLinejoin="round"
+                strokeWidth={2}
+                d="M19 11H5m14 0a2 2 0 012 2v6a2 2 0 01-2 2H5a2 2 0 01-2-2v-6a2 2 0 012-2m14 0V9a2 2 0 00-2-2M5 11V9a2 2 0 012-2m0 0V5a2 2 0 012-2h6a2 2 0 012 2v2M7 7h10"
+              />
+            </svg>
+          </div>
+          <h3 className="text-xl font-semibold text-gray-900 mb-2">No Projects Found</h3>
+          <p className="text-gray-500">There are currently no public projects available to explore.</p>
         </div>
-      ))}
-    </div>
+      )}
+    </>
   );
 }
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/mapping.ts b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/mapping.ts
index 6c0cf6a2..5a599dfb 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/mapping.ts
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/mapping.ts
@@ -9,10 +9,21 @@ export const mapping: Mapping.Mapping = {
       description: Id('9b1f76ff-9711-404c-861e-59dc3fa7d037'),
     },
   },
+  Image: {
+    typeIds: [Id('ba4e4146-0010-499d-a0a3-caaa7f579d0e')],
+    properties: {
+      url: Id('8a743832-c094-4a62-b665-0c3cc2f9c7bc'),
+    },
+  },
   Project: {
     typeIds: [Id('484a18c5-030a-499c-b0f2-ef588ff16d50')],
     properties: {
       name: Id('a126ca53-0c8e-48d5-b888-82c734c38935'),
+      description: Id('9b1f76ff-9711-404c-861e-59dc3fa7d037'),
+      xUrl: Id('0d625978-4b3c-4b57-a86f-de45c997c73c'),
+    },
+    relations: {
+      avatar: Id('1155beff-fad5-49b7-a2e0-da4777b8792c'),
     },
   },
 };
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/schema.ts b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/schema.ts
index d3805876..4e869b87 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/schema.ts
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-nextjs/app/schema.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ export class Address extends Entity.Class<Address>('Address')({
   description: Type.String,
 }) {}
 
+export class Image extends Entity.Class<Image>('Image')({
+  url: Type.String,
+}) {}
+
 export class Project extends Entity.Class<Project>('Project')({
   name: Type.String,
+  description: Type.optional(Type.String),
+  xUrl: Type.optional(Type.String),
+  avatar: Type.Relation(Image),
 }) {}
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/components/graph-image.tsx b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/components/graph-image.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6113e394
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/components/graph-image.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+function getImageUrl(src: string | undefined) {
+  if (!src || typeof src !== 'string') return src;
+  const image = src.split('ipfs://');
+  if (image.length === 2) {
+    return `https://gateway.lighthouse.storage/ipfs/${image[1]}`;
+  }
+  return src;
+}
+
+export function GraphImage(
+  props: React.DetailedHTMLProps<React.ImgHTMLAttributes<HTMLImageElement>, HTMLImageElement>,
+) {
+  return <img {...props} src={getImageUrl(props.src)} />;
+}
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/mapping.ts b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/mapping.ts
index b6431a44..5a599dfb 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/mapping.ts
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/mapping.ts
@@ -9,10 +9,21 @@ export const mapping: Mapping.Mapping = {
       description: Id('9b1f76ff-9711-404c-861e-59dc3fa7d037'),
     },
   },
+  Image: {
+    typeIds: [Id('ba4e4146-0010-499d-a0a3-caaa7f579d0e')],
+    properties: {
+      url: Id('8a743832-c094-4a62-b665-0c3cc2f9c7bc'),
+    },
+  },
   Project: {
     typeIds: [Id('484a18c5-030a-499c-b0f2-ef588ff16d50')],
     properties: {
       name: Id('a126ca53-0c8e-48d5-b888-82c734c38935'),
+      description: Id('9b1f76ff-9711-404c-861e-59dc3fa7d037'),
+      xUrl: Id('0d625978-4b3c-4b57-a86f-de45c997c73c'),
+    },
+    relations: {
+      avatar: Id('1155beff-fad5-49b7-a2e0-da4777b8792c'),
     },
   },
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+};
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/routes/explore-public-knowledge.tsx b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/routes/explore-public-knowledge.tsx
index 86476fb7..6f37328c 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/routes/explore-public-knowledge.tsx
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/routes/explore-public-knowledge.tsx
@@ -1,16 +1,27 @@
+import { GraphImage } from '@/components/graph-image';
 import { Project } from '@/schema';
 import { useQuery } from '@graphprotocol/hypergraph-react';
 import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router';
+import { useState } from 'react';
 
 export const Route = createFileRoute('/explore-public-knowledge')({
   component: ExplorePublicKnowledge,
 });
 
 function ExplorePublicKnowledge() {
+  const [searchTerm, setSearchTerm] = useState('');
+
   const { data: projects, isPending } = useQuery(Project, {
     mode: 'public',
     space: 'b2565802-3118-47be-91f2-e59170735bac',
     first: 40,
+    include: { avatar: {} },
+    filter: {
+      name: {
+        // contains is case sensitive
+        contains: searchTerm,
+      },
+    },
   });
 
   return (
@@ -24,6 +35,29 @@ function ExplorePublicKnowledge() {
         </p>
       </div>
 
+      {/* Search UI */}
+      <div className="max-w-md mx-auto mb-8">
+        <div className="relative">
+          <div className="absolute inset-y-0 left-0 pl-3 flex items-center pointer-events-none">
+            <svg className="h-5 w-5 text-gray-400" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+              <path
+                strokeLinecap="round"
+                strokeLinejoin="round"
+                strokeWidth={2}
+                d="M21 21l-6-6m2-5a7 7 0 11-14 0 7 7 0 0114 0z"
+              />
+            </svg>
+          </div>
+          <input
+            type="text"
+            value={searchTerm}
+            onChange={(e) => setSearchTerm(e.target.value)}
+            placeholder="Search projects..."
+            className="block w-full pl-10 pr-3 py-3 border border-gray-300 rounded-xl leading-5 bg-white placeholder-gray-500 focus:outline-none focus:placeholder-gray-400 focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 focus:border-blue-500 transition-all duration-200"
+          />
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
       <div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 xl:grid-cols-4 gap-6">
         {projects.map((project) => (
           <div
@@ -36,14 +70,43 @@ function ExplorePublicKnowledge() {
             {/* Content */}
             <div className="relative p-6">
               {/* Project icon/avatar */}
-              <div className="w-12 h-12 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-500 to-purple-600 rounded-xl flex items-center justify-center mb-4 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300">
-                <span className="text-white font-bold text-lg">{project.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase()}</span>
+              <div className="w-12 h-12 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-500 to-purple-600 rounded-xl flex items-center justify-center mb-4 group-hover:scale-110 transition-transform duration-300 overflow-hidden">
+                {project.avatar?.[0]?.url ? (
+                  <GraphImage
+                    src={project.avatar[0].url}
+                    alt={`${project.name} avatar`}
+                    className="w-full h-full object-cover"
+                  />
+                ) : (
+                  <span className="text-white font-bold text-lg">{project.name.charAt(0).toUpperCase()}</span>
+                )}
               </div>
 
               {/* Project name */}
               <h3 className="text-xl font-bold text-gray-900 mb-2 group-hover:text-blue-600 transition-colors duration-300">
                 {project.name}
               </h3>
+
+              {/* Project ID */}
+              <p className="text-[10px] text-gray-500 mb-2 font-mono">{project.id}</p>
+
+              {/* Project description */}
+              {project.description && <p className="text-sm text-gray-600 mb-2 line-clamp-2">{project.description}</p>}
+
+              {/* Project xUrl */}
+              {project.xUrl && (
+                <a
+                  href={project.xUrl}
+                  target="_blank"
+                  rel="noopener noreferrer"
+                  className="text-sm text-blue-600 hover:text-blue-800 transition-colors duration-200 flex items-center gap-1"
+                >
+                  <svg className="w-4 h-4" fill="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
+                    <path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z" />
+                  </svg>
+                  View on X
+                </a>
+              )}
             </div>
 
             {/* Decorative corner accent */}
diff --git a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/schema.ts b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/schema.ts
index d3805876..4e869b87 100644
--- a/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/schema.ts
+++ b/apps/create-hypergraph/template-vite-react/src/schema.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ export class Address extends Entity.Class<Address>('Address')({
   description: Type.String,
 }) {}
 
+export class Image extends Entity.Class<Image>('Image')({
+  url: Type.String,
+}) {}
+
 export class Project extends Entity.Class<Project>('Project')({
   name: Type.String,
+  description: Type.optional(Type.String),
+  xUrl: Type.optional(Type.String),
+  avatar: Type.Relation(Image),
 }) {}