diff --git a/api/search.ts b/api/search.ts
index 0f4e0fb3..cb4420e9 100644
--- a/api/search.ts
+++ b/api/search.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import type { VercelRequest, VercelResponse } from "@vercel/node";
 
 import exportedIndex from "../searchIndex";
+import unicornProfilePicMap from "../public/unicorn-profile-pic-map";
 import Fuse from "fuse.js";
+import type { PostInfo } from "../src/types/PostInfo";
 
 const myIndex = Fuse.parseIndex(exportedIndex.index);
 
@@ -18,11 +20,19 @@ const fuse = new Fuse(
 	myIndex
 );
 
+const unicornProfilePicObj = {};
+for (const picMapItem of unicornProfilePicMap) {
+	unicornProfilePicObj[picMapItem.id] = picMapItem;
+}
+
 export default async (req: VercelRequest, res: VercelResponse) => {
 	// TODO: `pickdeep` only required fields
 	const searchStr = req?.query?.query as string;
 	if (!searchStr) return [];
 	if (Array.isArray(searchStr)) return [];
-	const items = fuse.search(searchStr).map((item) => item.item);
-	res.send(items);
+	const posts = fuse.search(searchStr).map((item) => item.item as PostInfo);
+	const unicornProfilePicMap = posts.flatMap((post) =>
+		post.authorsMeta.map((authorMeta) => unicornProfilePicObj[authorMeta.id])
+	);
+	res.send({ posts, totalPosts: posts.length, unicornProfilePicMap });
 };
diff --git a/astro.config.ts b/astro.config.ts
index 5302d454..0ba25b9c 100644
--- a/astro.config.ts
+++ b/astro.config.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { rehypeExcerpt } from "./src/utils/markdown/rehype-excerpt";
 import { rehypeUnicornPopulatePost } from "./src/utils/markdown/rehype-unicorn-populate-post";
 import { rehypeWordCount } from "./src/utils/markdown/rehype-word-count";
 import { rehypeUnicornGetSuggestedPosts } from "./src/utils/markdown/rehype-unicorn-get-suggested-posts";
+import generateUnicornProfilePicMap from "./src/utils/rollup/generate-unicorn-profile-pic-map";
 import copy from "rollup-plugin-copy";
 import preact from "@astrojs/preact";
 
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ import behead from "remark-behead";
 import rehypeRaw from "rehype-raw";
 
 import image from "@astrojs/image";
+import path from "path";
 
 export default defineConfig({
 	integrations: [image(), preact()],
@@ -46,6 +48,12 @@ export default defineConfig({
 				}),
 				enforce: "pre",
 			},
+			{
+				...generateUnicornProfilePicMap({
+					output: path.resolve("./public/unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts"),
+				}),
+				enforce: "pre",
+			},
 		],
 	},
 	markdown: {
diff --git a/public/.gitignore b/public/.gitignore
index 404ed318..d343e4ae 100644
--- a/public/.gitignore
+++ b/public/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 content/**
+unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/components/filter-search-bar/filter-search-bar.astro b/src/components/filter-search-bar/filter-search-bar.astro
index cc22c804..ce7c3569 100644
--- a/src/components/filter-search-bar/filter-search-bar.astro
+++ b/src/components/filter-search-bar/filter-search-bar.astro
@@ -3,12 +3,6 @@ import { ProfilePictureMap } from "utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map";
 import styles from "./filter-search-bar.module.scss";
 import SearchField from "./search-field/search-field.astro";
 // import FilterListbox from "./filter-listbox/filter-listbox.astro";
-
-export interface FilterSearchBarProps {
-	unicornProfilePicMap: ProfilePictureMap;
-}
-
-const { unicornProfilePicMap } = Astro.props as FilterSearchBarProps;
 ---
 
 <div class={styles.iconContainer}>
@@ -18,14 +12,11 @@ const { unicornProfilePicMap } = Astro.props as FilterSearchBarProps;
 	</div>
 	<!-- <FilterListbox class={styles.filterField} /> -->
 </div>
-<script define:vars={{ unicornProfilePicMap }}>
-	window.unicornProfilePicMap =
-		window.unicornProfilePicMap || unicornProfilePicMap;
-</script>
 <script>
 	import { render, createElement, Fragment } from "preact";
 	import { PostInfo } from "types/PostInfo";
 	import { debounce } from "utils/debounce";
+	import { ProfilePictureMap } from "utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map";
 	import { PostCard } from "../../components/post-card/post-card";
 
 	const searchInput: HTMLElement = document.querySelector("#search-input");
@@ -46,7 +37,6 @@ const { unicornProfilePicMap } = Astro.props as FilterSearchBarProps;
 	let abortController: AbortController | undefined;
 
 	function doSearch(val) {
-		const unicornProfilePicMap = (window as any).unicornProfilePicMap || [];
 		if (abortController) {
 			abortController.abort();
 			abortController = undefined;
@@ -54,23 +44,28 @@ const { unicornProfilePicMap } = Astro.props as FilterSearchBarProps;
 		abortController = new AbortController();
 		fetch(`/api/search?query=${val}`, { signal: abortController.signal })
 			.then((res) => res.json())
-			.then((serverVal: PostInfo[]) => {
-				// TODO: Debounce to avoid server kill
-				const FilledPostCard = createElement(
-					Fragment,
-					{},
-					serverVal.map((post) =>
-						createElement(PostCard, {
-							unicornProfilePicMap,
-							post,
-						})
-					)
-				);
-				render(FilledPostCard, searchPostList);
-				loadingEl && loadingEl.remove();
-				loadingEl = undefined;
-				abortController = undefined;
-			});
+			.then(
+				(serverVal: {
+					posts: PostInfo[];
+					totalPosts: number;
+					unicornProfilePicMap: ProfilePictureMap;
+				}) => {
+					const FilledPostCard = createElement(
+						Fragment,
+						{},
+						serverVal.posts.map((post) =>
+							createElement(PostCard, {
+								unicornProfilePicMap: serverVal.unicornProfilePicMap,
+								post,
+							})
+						)
+					);
+					render(FilledPostCard, searchPostList);
+					loadingEl && loadingEl.remove();
+					loadingEl = undefined;
+					abortController = undefined;
+				}
+			);
 	}
 
 	const debounceDoSearch = debounce(doSearch, 1000, false);
diff --git a/src/page-components/post-list/post-list.astro b/src/page-components/post-list/post-list.astro
index ed6cd9c4..f929b9a1 100644
--- a/src/page-components/post-list/post-list.astro
+++ b/src/page-components/post-list/post-list.astro
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ const unicornProfilePicMap = await getUnicornProfilePicMap();
   > -->
 	<PostListHeader siteDescription={siteMetadata.description} />
 	<main>
-		<FilterSearchBar unicornProfilePicMap={unicornProfilePicMap} />
+		<FilterSearchBar />
 		<PostList
 			listAriaLabel="List of posts"
 			postsToDisplay={posts}
diff --git a/src/utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts b/src/utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
index 48e42346..2748736d 100644
--- a/src/utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
+++ b/src/utils/get-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
@@ -1,37 +1,6 @@
-import { getPicture } from "@astrojs/image";
-import { unicorns } from "utils/data";
+import unicornProfilePicMap from "../../public/unicorn-profile-pic-map";
 
-/**
- * TODO: THIS IS A MAJOR OPTIMIZATION (15KB on every page load), READ THIS
- *
- * Right now, we're storing an inlined script of `getPicture` into the HTML of the page because Astro cannot
- * 	use both `defer` external scripts, and `declare:vars`. This means that 15KB of this profile pic mapping is externalized currently.
- *
- * To fix this, instead of generating this at Astro build time, we should do this during an earlier compile step that simply runs
- *  this `getPicture` code and then outputs to a JS file, then the Astro build will read from this JS file
- */
 export const getUnicornProfilePicMap = async () => {
-	/**
-	 * We do it this was so that we only generate the list of images once
-	 *
-	 * This allows us to share the cached image format between multiple different pages
-	 */
-	globalThis.unicornProfilePicMap =
-		globalThis.unicornProfilePicMap ||
-		(await Promise.all(
-			unicorns.map(async (unicorn) => ({
-				...(await getPicture({
-					src: unicorn.profileImgMeta.relativeServerPath,
-					formats: ["webp", "png"],
-					widths: [72, 48],
-					aspectRatio: 1,
-				})),
-				id: unicorn.id,
-			}))
-		));
-	const unicornProfilePicMap: Array<
-		Awaited<ReturnType<typeof getPicture>> & { id: string }
-	> = globalThis.unicornProfilePicMap;
 	return unicornProfilePicMap;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/utils/rollup/generate-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts b/src/utils/rollup/generate-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8fd67a73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/rollup/generate-unicorn-profile-pic-map.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import fs from "fs";
+import { unicorns } from "../data";
+
+/**
+ * They need to be the same `getImage` with the same `globalThis` instance, thanks to the "hack" workaround.
+ */
+import { getPicture } from "../../../node_modules/@astrojs/image";
+import sharp_service from "../../../node_modules/@astrojs/image/dist/loaders/sharp.js";
+
+interface GenerateUnicornProfilePicMapProps {
+	output: string;
+}
+
+function generateUnicornProfilePicMap(
+	options: GenerateUnicornProfilePicMapProps
+) {
+	const { output } = options;
+	let copied = false;
+	return {
+		name: "generateUnicornProfilePicMap",
+		options: async () => {
+			// Only run once per dev HMR instance
+			if (copied) {
+				return;
+			}
+
+			// HACK: This is a hack that heavily relies on `getImage`'s internals :(
+			globalThis.astroImage = {
+				...(globalThis.astroImage || {}),
+				loader: sharp_service ?? globalThis.astroImage?.loader,
+			};
+
+			/**
+			 * We do it this was so that we only generate the list of images once
+			 *
+			 * This allows us to share the cached image format between multiple different pages
+			 */
+			const unicornProfilePicMap = await Promise.all(
+				unicorns.map(async (unicorn) => ({
+					...(await getPicture({
+						src: unicorn.profileImgMeta.relativeServerPath,
+						formats: ["webp", "png"],
+						widths: [72, 48],
+						aspectRatio: 1,
+					})),
+					id: unicorn.id,
+				}))
+			);
+
+			const js = `const data = ${JSON.stringify(unicornProfilePicMap)};
+			
+			export default data;`;
+
+			await fs.promises.writeFile(output, js);
+
+			copied = true;
+		},
+	};
+}
+
+export default generateUnicornProfilePicMap;