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The Background Remover API allows you to integrate AI-powered background removal into your applications. Remove backgrounds from images and videos programmatically with simple REST API calls.

To get started, sign up for an API key at the Developer Portal

Authorization: <api_key>

API Parameters Reference

The following parameters can be included in your API requests. All file uploads support large files with no practical size limit.

Image Processing Parameters

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
convert_tostringrequiredSet to image-backgroundremover
modelstringu2netAI model: u2net (general objects/humans/things), u2net_human_seg (optimized for people), u2netp (fast/lightweight)
alpha_mattingbooleanfalseEnable alpha matting for sharper edges on hair and fine details
alpha_fgint240Foreground threshold (0-255). Higher = stricter foreground detection
alpha_bgint10Background threshold (0-255). Lower = stricter background detection
alpha_erodeint10Edge erosion size (1-25). Controls edge sharpness
alpha_base_sizeint1000Base size for alpha matting processing. Higher = better quality but slower
only_maskbooleanfalseReturn black/white mask instead of transparent image
bg_typestringtransparentBackground type: transparent, color, or image
bg_color_valuestring#ffffffBackground color in hex format (when bg_type=color)

Video Processing Parameters

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
convert_tostringrequiredSet to video-backgroundremover
modelstringu2netAI model: u2net (general), u2net_human_seg (people), u2netp (fast)
video_formatstringmovOutput format: mov (transparent), mattekey (mp4 matte), gif (animated), video_over_image, video_over_video, gif_with_bg, mp4_with_color
alpha_mattingbooleanfalseEnable alpha matting for sharper edges
alpha_fgint240Foreground threshold (0-255)
alpha_bgint10Background threshold (0-255)
alpha_erodeint10Edge erosion size (1-25)
alpha_base_sizeint1000Base size for alpha matting processing
video_bg_color_enabledbooleanfalseEnable solid color background (for mp4_with_color format)
video_bg_colorstring#00ff00Background color in hex format
framerateintautoCustom output framerate (1-60 FPS). Leave empty to match input video
frame_limitintnoneLimit processing to first N frames. Useful for testing or creating clips

Remove image background

Remove image background

import requests
import time
import shutil
import json

headers = {'Authorization': 'YOUR_API_KEY'}
file_list = ['testfiles/image.jpeg']
params = {
    'lang': 'en',
    'convert_to': 'image-backgroundremover',
    'model': 'u2net',
    'alpha_matting': 'true',
    'alpha_fg': '240',
    'alpha_bg': '10',
    'alpha_erode': '10',
}
api_domain = "api.backgroundremoverai.com"
port = "https"
api_url = f"{port}://{api_domain}/v1/convert/"
results_url = f"{port}://{api_domain}/v1/results/"


def download_file(url, local_filename):
    with requests.get(f"{port}://{api_domain}{url}", stream=True) as r:
        with open(local_filename, 'wb') as f:
            shutil.copyfileobj(r.raw, f)
    return local_filename


def convert_files(api_url, params, headers):
    files = [eval(f'("files", open("{file}", "rb"))') for file in file_list]
    r = requests.post(
        url=api_url,
        files=files,
        data=params,
        headers=headers
    )
    if r.status_code != 200:
        print(r.status_code)
        print(r.content)
        return

    return r.json()


def get_results(params):
    if params.get('error'):
        return params.get('error')

    r = requests.post(
        url=results_url,
        data=params
    )
    data = r.json()
    finished = data.get('finished')

    while not finished:
        if int(data.get('queue_count')) > 0:
            print('queue: %s' % data.get('queue_count'))

        time.sleep(5)
        results = get_results(params)
        results = json.dumps(results)

        if results:
            break
    if finished:
        for f in data.get('files'):
            download_file("%s" % f.get('url'), "%s" % f.get('filename'))
        return {"finished": "files downloaded"}

    return r.json()


resp = convert_files(api_url, params, headers)
get_results(resp)

curl -F "lang=en" -F "convert_to=image-backgroundremover" -F "files=@image.jpeg" -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY" https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/

{"uuid": "conversion_uuid"}

curl -F "uuid=conversion_uuid" https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/

{"files": [{"url": "/path/to/file.png", "filename": "file.png"}], "failed": [], "finished": true, "queue_count": 0, "errors": []}






<?php
ini_set('display_errors', 1);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_PARSE);

$headers = array("Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY");
$file_list = ['/path/to/files/image.jpeg'];
$api_url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/";
$results_url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/";

function download_file($url, $filename){
    $curl = curl_init();
    $url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com" . $url;
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSLVERSION, 3);
    $data = curl_exec($curl);
    $error = curl_error($curl);
    curl_close ($curl);
    $destination_path = "/path/to/result/files/";
    $destination_file = fopen($destination_path . $filename, "w+");
    fwrite($destination_file, $data);
    fclose($destination_file);
}

function convert_files($file_list, $headers, $api_url) {
    $post_data['lang'] = 'en';
    $post_data['convert_to'] = 'image-backgroundremover';
    $post_data['model'] = 'u2net';
    $post_data['alpha_matting'] = 'true';

    foreach ($file_list as $index => $file) {
        $post_data['file[' . $index . ']'] = curl_file_create(
            realpath($file),
            mime_content_type($file),
            basename($file)
        );
    }

    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $api_url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $content = curl_exec($curl);
    curl_close($curl);

    return json_decode($content);
}

function get_results($params, $results_url, $headers) {
    if ($params->error) {
        print_r($params->error);
        return;
    }

    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $results_url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_decode(json_encode($params), true));
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $content = json_decode(curl_exec($curl));
    curl_close($curl);

    if ($content->finished == false) {
        if (intval($content->queue_count) > 0) {
            print_r("queue: $content->queue_count");
        }

        sleep(5);
        $results = get_results($params, $results_url, $headers);
        return;
    }

    foreach ($content->files as $f) {
        download_file($f->url, $f->filename);
    }
}

$resp = convert_files($file_list, $headers, $api_url);
get_results($resp, $results_url, $headers);
?>
const request = require('request');
const fs = require('fs');

let file_list = ['/testfiles/blah.jpeg']
const api_url = 'https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/'
const results_url = 'https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/'

function convertFiles(file_list) {
    let formData = {
        'lang': 'en',
        'convert_to': 'image-backgroundremover',
        'model': 'u2net',
        'alpha_matting': 'true'
    };

    for (var i = 0; i < file_list.length; i ++) {
        formData['files'] = fs.createReadStream(file_list[i]);
    }

    request({
        url: api_url,
        method: 'post',
        formData: formData,
        headers: {
            "Authorization": "YOUR_API_KEY",
            "Content-Type": "multipart/form-data",
        }
    }, function(err, res, body) {
        if (err) {
            console.error(err);
            return err;
        }
        getResults(JSON.parse(body));
    });
}

function getResults(data) {
    if (data.error) {
        console.error(data);
        return data.error;
    }
    request({
        url: results_url,
        method: 'post',
        formData: data
    }, function(e, r, body) {
        response = JSON.parse(body);
        console.log(response);
        if (!response.finished) {
            setTimeout(
                function() {
                    getResults(data);
                }, 1000
            );
        }

        console.log(response);
    })
}

convertFiles(file_list);

The API will return the path to the processed file.

/path/to/local/file_processed.png

To process multiple files, include multiple files in a single request. Each file will be processed and returned separately.

Remove video background

Remove video background

import requests
import time
import shutil
import json

headers = {'Authorization': 'YOUR_API_KEY'}
file_list = ['testfiles/video.mp4']
params = {
    'lang': 'en',
    'convert_to': 'video-backgroundremover',
    'model': 'u2net',
    'video_format': 'mov',
    'alpha_matting': 'true',
}
api_domain = "api.backgroundremoverai.com"
port = "https"
api_url = f"{port}://{api_domain}/v1/convert/"
results_url = f"{port}://{api_domain}/v1/results/"


def download_file(url, local_filename):
    with requests.get(f"{port}://{api_domain}{url}", stream=True) as r:
        with open(local_filename, 'wb') as f:
            shutil.copyfileobj(r.raw, f)
    return local_filename


def convert_files(api_url, params, headers):
    files = [eval(f'("files", open("{file}", "rb"))') for file in file_list]
    r = requests.post(
        url=api_url,
        files=files,
        data=params,
        headers=headers
    )
    if r.status_code != 200:
        print(r.status_code)
        print(r.content)
        return

    return r.json()


def get_results(params):
    if params.get('error'):
        return params.get('error')

    r = requests.post(
        url=results_url,
        data=params
    )
    data = r.json()
    finished = data.get('finished')

    while not finished:
        if int(data.get('queue_count')) > 0:
            print('queue: %s' % data.get('queue_count'))

        time.sleep(5)
        results = get_results(params)
        results = json.dumps(results)

        if results:
            break
    if finished:
        for f in data.get('files'):
            download_file("%s" % f.get('url'), "%s" % f.get('filename'))
        return {"finished": "files downloaded"}

    return r.json()


resp = convert_files(api_url, params, headers)
get_results(resp)

curl -F "lang=en" -F "convert_to=video-backgroundremover" \
     -F "files=@video.mp4" \
     -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY" https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/

{"uuid": "conversion_uuid"}

curl -F "uuid=conversion_uuid" https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/

{"files": [{"url": "/path/to/file.mov", "filename": "file.mov"}], "failed": [], "finished": true, "queue_count": 0, "errors": []}






<?php
ini_set('display_errors', 1);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_PARSE);

$headers = array("Authorization: api_key");
$file_list = ['/path/to/files/blah.mp4'];
$api_url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/";
$results_url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/";

function download_file($url, $filename){
    $curl = curl_init();
    $url = "https://api.backgroundremoverai.com" . $url;
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSLVERSION, 3);
    $data = curl_exec($curl);
    $error = curl_error($curl);
    curl_close ($curl);
    $destination_path = "/path/to/result/files/";
    $destination_file = fopen($destination_path . $filename, "w+");
    fwrite($destination_file, $data);
    fclose($destination_file);
}

function convert_files($file_list, $headers, $api_url) {
    $post_data['lang'] = 'en';
    $post_data['convert_to'] = 'video-backgroundremover';

    foreach ($file_list as $index => $file) {
        $post_data['file[' . $index . ']'] = curl_file_create(
            realpath($file),
            mime_content_type($file),
            basename($file)
        );
    }

    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $api_url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $content = curl_exec($curl);
    curl_close($curl);

    return json_decode($content);
}

function get_results($params, $results_url, $headers) {
    if ($params->error) {
        print_r($params->error);
        return;
    }

    $curl = curl_init();
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $results_url);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_decode(json_encode($params), true));
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    $content = json_decode(curl_exec($curl));
    curl_close($curl);

    if ($content->finished == false) {
        if (intval($content->queue_count) > 0) {
            print_r("queue: $content->queue_count");
        }

        sleep(5);
        $results = get_results($params, $results_url, $headers);
        return;
    }

    foreach ($content->files as $f) {
        download_file($f->url, $f->filename);
    }
}

$resp = convert_files($file_list, $headers, $api_url);
get_results($resp, $results_url, $headers);
?>
const request = require('request');
const fs = require('fs');

let file_list = ['/testfiles/blah.mp4']
const api_url = 'https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/convert/'
const results_url = 'https://api.backgroundremoverai.com/v1/results/'

function convertFiles(file_list) {
    let formData = {
        'lang': 'en',
        'convert_to': 'video-backgroundremover'
    };

    for (var i = 0; i < file_list.length; i ++) {
        formData['files'] = fs.createReadStream(file_list[i]);
    }

    request({
        url: api_url,
        method: 'post',
        formData: formData,
        headers: {
            "Authorization": "YOUR_API_KEY",
            "Content-Type": "multipart/form-data",
        }
    }, function(err, res, body) {
        if (err) {
            console.error(err);
            return err;
        }
        getResults(JSON.parse(body));
    });
}

function getResults(data) {
    if (data.error) {
        console.error(data);
        return data.error;
    }
    request({
        url: results_url,
        method: 'post',
        formData: data
    }, function(e, r, body) {
        response = JSON.parse(body);
        console.log(response);
        if (!response.finished) {
            setTimeout(
                function() {
                    getResults(data);
                }, 1000
            );
        }

        console.log(response);
    })
}

convertFiles(file_list);

The API will return the path to the processed file.

/path/to/local/file_processed.mov
/path/to/local/file_processed.gif

To process multiple files, include multiple files in a single request. Each file will be processed and returned separately.

shell python php javascript