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2025-07-06 Web Development

Use rembg for image background removal

By O. Wolfson

What is rembg?

rembg is a popular Python package for automatically removing the background from images using deep learning. It’s fast, easy to use, and runs entirely on your local machine.


Key Features

  • Automatic Background Removal rembg detects the subject of an image and removes the background, making it fully transparent (outputs a PNG with alpha channel).

  • No Cloud Uploads—Runs Locally All processing happens on your computer. No need to upload images to an external server.

  • Versatile Works with people, products, animals, objects—almost any image with a clear foreground.

  • Fast Uses pre-trained ONNX models for efficient, reliable performance (CPU or GPU).

  • Scriptable and Programmable Use from the command line or directly in your Python scripts.


How to Install rembg

To install the CLI and all extras:

sh
pip install 'rembg[cli]'

Note: It may be necessary to install more dependencies to get rembg to work. Read the snippet below for more details.

Download requirements.txt

sh
pip install -r requirements.txt

How to Use rembg

1. As a CLI Tool:

Remove the background from a photo in one line:

sh
rembg i input.jpg output.png
  • input.jpg: Your original image (JPG, PNG, or WEBP)
  • output.png: Output with transparent background

2. As a Python Library:

Use in your own Python scripts:

python
from rembg import remove

with open("input.jpg", "rb") as i:
    result = remove(i.read())
    with open("output.png", "wb") as o:
        o.write(result)

Typical Use Cases

  • Preparing product photos for e-commerce
  • Creating profile images or avatars
  • Making collages or cutouts for design/art projects
  • Automating bulk background removal

Why Use rembg?

  • Open Source and Actively Maintained
  • Local Processing (privacy)
  • Works with Python and CLI
  • Great for automation and creative workflows

More Information

  • Official GitHub: https://github.com/danielgatis/rembg
  • Supported Formats: JPG, PNG, WEBP (input), PNG (output)

In summary: rembg is the easiest and most powerful way to automatically make cutouts from images, with just one command or line of code.