remove_background

Remove the background from an image using @imgly/background-removal-node. The output is always a transparent PNG.

This tool does not require an API key, but it requires the optional peer dependency @imgly/background-removal-node, which is licensed under AGPL-3.0. See Configuration for installation instructions.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Required	Default	Description
image	string	Yes	—	Input image as a base64 string, data URI (data:image/png;base64,...), local file path, or URL.
output_path	string	No	—	If provided, saves the result to disk as a PNG and returns the file path. The extension is forced to .png.

Output behavior

• If output_path is omitted, the result is returned as a base64 PNG string.
• If output_path is provided, the image is saved as PNG and the path is returned.
• The output is always a transparent PNG, regardless of the input format.

Examples

Remove background from a data URI

{
  "image": "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo..."
}

Remove background from a file and save to disk

{
  "image": "/path/to/photo.jpg",
  "output_path": "/path/to/photo-transparent.png"
}

Remove background from a URL

{
  "image": "https://example.com/photo.png",
  "output_path": "/tmp/photo.png"
}

Best practices

• Use images where the subject is clearly separated from the background for best results.
• The first call may be slow because the model is downloaded on demand.
• Always use a .png extension in output_path to preserve transparency.