Background removal API

This API removes the background from a photo and returns a transparent PNG, a JPG on a color, a WebP, a ZIP or an alpha mask. It accepts remove.bg's request format, so an existing integration keeps working when you change two things: the host and the API key. remove.bg's FAQ says its self-service API stops accepting requests on December 1, 2026, and its successor, Leonardo.Ai, uses a different JSON-only API.

Requests go to https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg; https://backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg works too. Calls are paid with the same image credits as the website.

Get an API key

1. Open your account, enter your email address and type the code we send you. Keys need an email-verified account; a browser that only bought credits at checkout verifies with the same email.
2. Under API keys, name the key and choose Create key. Copy it straight away: it is shown once and we keep only a hash of it.
3. Keep the key on your server. Anyone with it can spend your credits, so revoke it from the account page if it leaks.

Sample code

These are remove.bg's own samples with the host and key changed. Replace INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your key.

cURL, with a file:

$ curl -H 'X-API-Key: INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE' \
  -F 'image_file=@/path/to/file.jpg' \
  -F 'size=auto' \
  -f https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg -o no-bg.png

Node.js, with a file:

import fs from "node:fs";

async function removeBg(blob) {
  const formData = new FormData();
  formData.append("size", "auto");
  formData.append("image_file", blob);

  const response = await fetch("https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "X-Api-Key": "INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" },
    body: formData,
  });

  if (response.ok) {
    return await response.arrayBuffer();
  } else {
    throw new Error(`${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
  }
}

const inputPath = "/path/to/file.jpg";
const fileBlob = await fs.openAsBlob(inputPath)
const rbgResultData = await removeBg(fileBlob);
fs.writeFileSync("no-bg.png", Buffer.from(rbgResultData));

Python, with a file:

# Requires "requests" to be installed (see python-requests.org)
import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg',
    files={'image_file': open('/path/to/file.jpg', 'rb')},
    data={'size': 'auto'},
    headers={'X-Api-Key': 'INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'},
)
if response.status_code == requests.codes.ok:
    with open('no-bg.png', 'wb') as out:
        out.write(response.content)
else:
    print("Error:", response.status_code, response.text)

With an image URL instead of a file, send image_url (this example uses one of our sample photos):

$ curl -H 'X-API-Key: INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE' \
  -F 'image_url=https://backgroundremoverpng.com/examples/dog-before.jpg' \
  -F 'size=auto' \
  -f https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg -o no-bg.png

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.backgroundremoverpng.com/v1.0/removebg',
    data={
        'image_url': 'https://backgroundremoverpng.com/examples/dog-before.jpg',
        'size': 'auto'
    },
    headers={'X-Api-Key': 'INSERT_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'},
)

Requests can be multipart/form-data, application/x-www-form-urlencoded or JSON (image_file_b64 or image_url plus options).

Sizes and credits

Any result of 0.25 megapixels or less is billed as a preview, whatever size you ask for. The X-Credits-Charged header reports what each call spent. Errors never use credits. Sending the same image again within 24 hours is not charged again, in any format or size up to what was paid for, so an interrupted download can simply be retried. GET /v1.0/account reports your balance.

Parameters

Responses and errors

A successful call returns the image with the same headers as remove.bg: X-Width, X-Height, X-Credits-Charged and the subject's position as X-Foreground-Top, X-Foreground-Left, X-Foreground-Width and X-Foreground-Height. Send Accept: application/json to get {"data": {"result_b64": ..., "foreground_top": ...}} instead of raw bytes. A ZIP holds color.jpg and alpha.png, as remove.bg's does.

Errors use remove.bg's format, {"errors": [{"title": ..., "code": ..., "detail": ...}]}, with the same status codes: 400 for a problem with the request or the image (for example missing_source, file_too_large, invalid_file_type or unknown_foreground), 402 when credits run out, 403 for a missing or wrong key, and 429 when the rate limit is reached. A 5xx means the failure was ours; retry later. None of them use credits.

Account and rate limits

GET /v1.0/account returns remove.bg's shape: data.attributes.credits with total, subscription, payg and enterprise, and data.attributes.api.free_calls, the free previews left this month. It also reports prepaid_previews.

Each key can process 300 output megapixels a minute; an image counts as its output size, at least one. Every response carries X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset, and a 429 adds Retry-After in seconds.

Migration checklist for December 1

1. Create your key in your account and buy credits on the pricing page. Packs do not expire.
2. Change the host in your code from api.remove.bg to api.backgroundremoverpng.com and swap in the new key.
3. Compare your parameters with the table above. Remove shadow, background image and classification options; everything else can stay.
4. Try size=preview on a handful of your usual images, which is free, and check the edges before switching production traffic.
5. Keep your existing handling for 402, 429 and Retry-After; the codes behave the same way.
6. Switch before 9:00 a.m. CET on December 1, 2026, when remove.bg says its self-service API stops.

What is different from remove.bg

The cutouts come from Cloudflare Images' background segmentation, which runs the open-source BiRefNet model; they are not remove.bg's results, and we have not measured them against remove.bg. Hair, fur, glass and busy backgrounds are the hardest cases for any remover, so test your own images. PNG goes up to 25 megapixels here rather than remove.bg's 10, but uploads stop at 20 MB instead of 22 MB, and there is no 50-megapixel option. See the remove.bg comparison for the website side.

Images sent to the API are processed by Cloudflare and are not stored by us; the privacy policy explains what the API records, and the terms cover keys and usage.