 API that allows you to remove backgrounds from your images. We offer white background, transparent background, and custom color backgrounds.

To get started you need first to activate the API for your account and get your API key 

Remove the background of any image by running the following code in your terminal:

curl -H 'x-api-key: abc123def456' \
  -f https://sdk.photoroom.com/v1/segment \
  -F 'image_file=@/absolute/path/to/image.jpg' \
  -o photoroom-result.png

 to experiment with all the available parameters (

Ask our engineers in our community forum about how to use the PhotoRoom API:

Getting Started

In order to use the PhotoRoom Remove Background API, you'll first need to activate the API for your account and obtain your unique API key. Here's how to do it:

Keep in mind that your API key is tied to your account and should be kept secret. It should not be shared publicly or with others. If you believe your API key has been compromised, you should contact our support for assistance​.

About your API Key

How to get your API Key

With our API, you can effortlessly separate the subject from the background, creating stunning images that will captivate your audience.

But what sets PhotoRoom's API apart from the competition? Read on to discover why our background removal API is the best choice for all your image editing needs.

At the core of PhotoRoom's background removal API is our cutting-edge, AI-powered technology. Trained on a large dataset of images, our API delivers exceptional results in removing backgrounds from various types of images. This advanced technology ensures a precise and smooth extraction of your subject, producing professional-quality results that outshine our competitors.

Here's an example of how our technology can handle the most tricky images:

Don't just take our word for it, check out this 

independent benchmark of background removal technologies

We understand that time is of the essence for developers, which is why our API is designed with ease of integration in mind. With just a few lines of code, you can quickly integrate PhotoRoom's background removal API into your app or website. 

 and dedicated support team make the process hassle-free, allowing you to focus on what matters most: enhancing your product.

PhotoRoom's background removal API offers lightning-fast processing times, delivering impressive results with a median latency below 250ms worldwide.

Visualisation of API calls happening worldwide

Our API's high-performance capabilities ensure that your users never have to wait long for stunning visuals, giving you the competitive edge.

, our API has already been battle tested at scale!

We believe in offering our customers the best value for their money. Our background removal API is 

, ensuring that you receive the highest quality product without breaking the bank. 

For consumer-facing apps, we offer flexible pricing options in exchange of attribution, so that you can enjoy the benefits of our cutting-edge technology while staying within your budget.

Our team of engineers is available to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have about our background removal API. Our support team works to ensure that you have a smooth and enjoyable experience using our API.

In conclusion, we think that PhotoRoom's background removal API stands out as the best-in-class choice for your image editing needs. 

With our state-of-the-art technology, seamless integration, impressive speed, competitive pricing, and dedicated customer support, we're confident that you'll find our API to be an invaluable asset for your business!

Why Choose PhotoRoom's API?

Why PhotoRoom API?

Q: What is the latency to return the processed image? Is there a rate limit?

The median latency (number of seconds it will take to remove the background) to return the processed image is 350 ms for PhotoRoom Remove Background API.

The default rate limit is 500 images per minute. For special use cases, it can be updated.

Q: Are the images sent to the API stored by PhotoRoom? Can I ask to delete them?

A: PhotoRoom doesn’t save the images that are processed through PhotoRoom API.

A: Preview images are small resolution images, up to 0.25 megapixels (e.g. 625 × 400 pixels). They require 0.25 credit to be processed through PhotoRoom API instead of 1 credit for higher resolution.

 should be set to preview to be charged 0.25 credit.

Q: What is the max resolution of the image?

A: We recommend limiting to 25MP, although there is no specific limitation. If the file is too large and your connection is too slow, it might time out.

Q: Can I train a machine learning model using images edited with the API or PhotoRoom?

, you can’t train a machine learning model using the PhotoRoom API.

A: The default rate limit is 500 images per minute. For special use cases, it can be updated.

Q: What should the PhotoRoom logo look like within your app with the API partner plan?

Below are a few examples of a well-done partnership on an upload image interface. Typically users benefiting from the background removal must see the PhotoRoom logo and be able to click on it.

https://www.loom.com/share/fe97c7e645d94e0586465d98c7326042

A: For any other questions, please check our 

Frequently Asked Questions

 which provides detailed information about the current state of your account. This includes your current credit consumption and the total monthly credits available for your subscription.

This new endpoint is aimed at giving users a better understanding of their account status and managing their credit usage effectively. The response from the endpoint will be in JSON format, as shown in the example below:

{ "credits": { "available": 9912, "subscription": 10000 } }

In this sample, "available" denotes the remaining credits for the current month and "subscription" indicates the total monthly credits associated with the user's subscription.

Detailed specifications and usage instructions are available on our 

 We have made improvements to our API's image upload functionality to offer a more flexible experience. In addition to passing an 

 as a URL parameter, users are now also able to send the image binary directly in a 

 field. This added capability simplifies the process of uploading images, especially for those who have the images available locally and not hosted online.

 remains functional and backward compatibility is maintained. Users are free to choose the method most convenient to their needs. 

Please refer to our updated documentation for detailed instructions on using the new 

Add a Changelog page on the documentation

Changelog

History of the changes made to the PhotoRoom API

 you might encounter when integrating the PhotoRoom API, along with their answer.

A: Yes, sending your image in Base64 format is possible!

Q: PhotoRoom API has stopped working/answering

A: PhotoRoom API is used by PhotoRoom iOS, Android, and Web apps. Timeouts are unlikely to happen or would impact our own products in a critical way.

If PhotoRoom API has stopped working on your side, please check the following points:

Q: I have a technical issue/bug with PhotoRoom API

We currently don't provide technical support for implementing the API over email. 

 for tips and direct help from our best engineers.

In case of correct integration or bug on PhotoRoom's side, please 

We will be able to investigate the issue and come back to you shortly.

Ask our engineers in our community forum about how to use the PhotoRoom API

Troubleshooting

The PhotoRoom Generate Background API allows you to easily create new backgrounds for your images.

This API works by using Generative AI to dynamically create new backgrounds, that match the subject of the original picture.

As you can see, you need to provide 3 arguments:

The API has been designed so that it is very easy to integrate into an existing website.

Below you will find more details on the values you need to pass for the arguments 

, along with detailed steps to make your first call

First, you need an API key to use this API. To do so:

 is a textual description of what the new background should look like.

However, we have a way to provide you with good examples:

, you're ready to generate your background!

, where you'll find code samples to implement the API call in several programming languages.

, the Generate Background API provides two optional parameters that give you additional control over how the new background will be generated: 

 allows you to refine your generated background by specifying elements our AI won’t include in the final image.

For example, if you'd like a wedding-themed background without any flowers in view, consider a negative prompt such as "flowers":

If you make several calls to the Generate Background API with the same image and the same prompt, you will notice that it will generate a different background each time.

This is great when you're looking for inspiration, but it might become an issue when you need consistency.

In order to reduce the randomness, you can set a fixed value for the 

 that the API's random generator will use. The value of the 

, the API should produce similar-looking backgrounds for the same 

We'd love to learn about your use case for the API, bugs, and any feature requests you might have!

Generate Background API [Beta]

The PhotoRoom Edit Image API allows you to easily generate high-quality images.

This API works by automatically applying a pre-defined template to an existing image.

The API has been designed so that it is very easy to integrate into an existing website. 

You can notice that the last argument of the call is the 

. This means that you can integrate the API simply by prefixing your existing image URL with the API call:

Here are a few before/after examples of the results the API can achieve:

To quickly get started, we recommend that you use one of our 

If you need more control, you can create your own personalized template:

Here's a video that will walk you through these steps:

Below are some examples of templates that you can use at your convenience, click on the hyperlink to try one! Please note that these templates are fully customizable to your own use case using the 

Edit Image API [Beta]

 into a Python codebase in just a few minutes.

. It's a quick and easy process, and once you have your key, you're ready to move on to the next step.

Simply copy and paste the code into your project, and update the placeholder with your own API key.

import http.client
import mimetypes
import os
import uuid

# Please replace with your own apiKey
apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'

def remove_background(input_image_path, output_image_path):
    # Define multipart boundary
    boundary = '----------{}'.format(uuid.uuid4().hex)

    # Get mimetype of image
    content_type, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(input_image_path)
    if content_type is None:
        content_type = 'application/octet-stream'  # Default type if guessing fails

    # Prepare the POST data
    with open(input_image_path, 'rb') as f:
        image_data = f.read()
    filename = os.path.basename(input_image_path)

    body = (
    f"--{boundary}\r\n"
    f"Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"image_file\"; filename=\"{filename}\"\r\n"
    f"Content-Type: {content_type}\r\n\r\n"
    ).encode('utf-8') + image_data + f"\r\n--{boundary}--\r\n".encode('utf-8')
    
    # Set up the HTTP connection and headers
    conn = http.client.HTTPSConnection('sdk.photoroom.com')

    headers = {
        'Content-Type': f'multipart/form-data; boundary={boundary}',
        'x-api-key': apiKey
    }

    # Make the POST request
    conn.request('POST', '/v1/segment', body=body, headers=headers)
    response = conn.getresponse()

    # Handle the response
    if response.status == 200:
        response_data = response.read()
        with open(output_image_path, 'wb') as out_f:
            out_f.write(response_data)
        print("Image saved to", output_image_path)
    else:
        print(f"Error: {response.status} - {response.reason}")
        print(response.read())

    # Close the connection
    conn.close()

Now it's time to call the API in your code! Just use the function 

 pass as arguments both the path of the original image and the path where the result image should be saved

from remove_background import remove_background

# Example usage
input_path = "test.jpg"
output_path = "result.png"

remove_background(input_path, output_path)

hooray

integrate the PhotoRoom Background Removal API

 into your Python project and provide your users with 

high-quality images with clean backgrounds

According to resellers who use the PhotoRoom app, this feature can 

Python Tutorial

 into a Node.js codebase in just a few minutes.

 and pass as arguments both the path of the original image and the path where the result image should be saved.

const removeBackground = require('./remove-background');

const imagePath = './path/to/your/image.jpg';
const savePath = './path/where/you/want/to/save/response.jpg';

removeBackground(imagePath, savePath)
    .then(message => {
        console.log(message);
    })
    .catch(error => {
        console.error('Error:', error);
    });

 into your Node.js project and provide your users with 

Node.js Tutorial

 into a JavaScript or TypeScript codebase in just a few minutes.

 and pass in the file your user has selected. 

 containing a new image with the background removed.

import { removeBackground } from './remove-background.js';

const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput') as HTMLInputElement;
const displayImage = document.getElementById('displayImage') as HTMLImageElement;

fileInput.addEventListener('change', async () => {
    const files = fileInput.files;
    if (files && files.length > 0) {
        try {
            const imageBlob = await removeBackground(files[0]); // 👈 API call is here
            const objectURL = URL.createObjectURL(imageBlob);
            displayImage.src = objectURL;
        } catch (error) {
            console.error('Error:', error);
        }
    }
});

 into your web app and provide your users with 

Web Tutorial

 they want to sell. However, taking pictures with a clean background can be a challenge for many users. This is where the 

improving the overall quality of the pictures

 into your iOS app in just a few minutes.

. Simply copy and paste the code into your Xcode project, and update the placeholder with your own API key.

 as an argument. The function will return a new 

// with Swift Concurrency
Task { @MainActor in
    imageView.image = try await removeBackground(of: yourImage)
}

// without Swift Concurrency
removeBackground(of: yourImage) { result in
    switch result {
    case let .success(backgroundRemoved):
        imageView.image = backgroundRemoved
    case let .failure(error):
        // handle the `error`
    }
}

Articles About your API Key