The latest articles on DEV Community by Merkaba Studio (@merkabastudio). https://dev.to/merkabastudio https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4206690%2F27d9708b-720f-489c-8461-602ed3b79d4a.png https://dev.to/merkabastudio en Merkaba Studio Sun, 25 Oct 2026 13:45:55 +0000 https://dev.to/merkabastudio/building-vanishtext-a-local-first-windows-app-that-removes-text-from-your-own-images-bkn https://dev.to/merkabastudio/building-vanishtext-a-local-first-windows-app-that-removes-text-from-your-own-images-bkn <p>I kept finding nice photos ruined by text stamped right over them. Cropping doesn't help when the text sits in the middle of the picture. So I built VanishText, a Windows app that removes text from images you own or have the rights to edit.</p> <h2> The pipeline </h2> <p>It works in three steps.</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Text detection.</strong> The app finds the text in the image, including rotated lines, not only straight horizontal ones.</li> <li> <strong>Masking.</strong> It builds a mask that follows the lettering closely, so only the text area gets replaced and the rest of the image stays untouched.</li> <li> <strong>Inpainting.</strong> An AI inpainting model fills the masked area with pixels that match the surrounding background.</li> </ol> <h2> Why local-first </h2> <p>I didn't want anyone's photos going to a server. Everything runs on your PC. There's no account and no telemetry. After a one-time model download of about 0.7 GB, it works offline.</p> <p>It also runs on ordinary hardware. No graphics card is needed. Batch mode lets you point it at a folder and leave it to work through the images.</p> <h2> Honest limits </h2> <ul> <li>It runs on the CPU, so expect a minute or two per image.</li> <li>Very faint text on busy patterns can need a second pass.</li> <li>Transparency isn't kept.</li> <li>Windows only.</li> <li>The installer isn't code signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn you on first launch.</li> </ul> <h2> Use it on your own images </h2> <p>It's meant for images you own or have the rights to edit. Please don't use it on other people's photos or copyrighted material without permission.</p> <h2> Price </h2> <p>One-time €19.99, no subscription: <a href="https://ko-fi.com/s/0354d9a8db" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://ko-fi.com/s/0354d9a8db</a></p> <h2> A question for you </h2> <p>If you've built local-first desktop tools, how did you handle the first-run model download? And what kinds of images would you try this on?</p> python ai windows privacy