# removebackground.dev

> removebackground.dev removes the background from images: people, products, animals, logos and objects. Agents can use it through a REST API (API key), a remote MCP server with OAuth sign-in for ChatGPT, Claude and other AI apps, or the drop-in remove.bg-compatible endpoint. 1 credit per successful image; failed images are free.

## Agent endpoints

- [API reference and guides](https://removebackground.dev/api): input methods, response handling, batches, retries and billing, limits, security, troubleshooting
- [MCP server](https://removebackground.dev/mcp-server): OAuth-enabled MCP (Streamable HTTP) at https://removebackground.dev/mcp, setup for ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and n8n
- [OpenAPI 3.1](https://removebackground.dev/openapi.json): machine-readable REST schema
- [Migrating from remove.bg](https://removebackground.dev/migrate-from-remove-bg): the drop-in /v1.0/removebg endpoint and its differences
- [OAuth discovery](https://removebackground.dev/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server): authorization server metadata (dynamic client registration, PKCE S256)

## Capability groups

- REST: POST /v1/remove (one image, file / URL / base64 / raw bytes), POST /v1/batch (up to 100 URLs), GET /v1/jobs/{id}, GET /v1/jobs/{id}/result, POST /v1.0/removebg and GET /v1.0/account (remove.bg-compatible)
- MCP tools: remove_background (uploaded file, image_url or image_base64; format, bg_color, size, crop), get_job, check_credits
- Output options: format png | jpg | webp, bg_color, size preview | medium | hd | full, crop, padding, channels rgba | rgb | alpha, width / height / fit, roi

## Important constraints

- Authenticate REST calls with an account API key in the x-api-key header (create one at https://removebackground.dev/account). MCP accepts OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, or the same API key as Authorization: Bearer.
- POST /v1/remove returns image bytes (200) or, when slow, JSON with a job id (202). Never save a 202 or an error body as an image. On 202, poll GET /v1/jobs/{id}/result (409 not_ready while running, honour Retry-After). Don't resend the image.
- Send an Idempotency-Key header (one per image) so retries return the same job instead of charging again.
- Up to 60 processing requests a minute per account; 429 rate_limited carries Retry-After. For many images use POST /v1/batch.
- Images up to 25 MB, JPG, PNG or WebP. Keep the API key on a server, never in browser code.
- Uploads and results are deleted after 48 hours; save the result when you get it.

## Optional

- [Pricing](https://removebackground.dev/pricing)
- [Privacy](https://removebackground.dev/privacy)
- [Terms](https://removebackground.dev/terms)