Local, private background removal without uploads

#ai #webdev #tooling #programming

I wanted a background-removal workflow that did not depend on a cloud service.

No account. No upload. No API bill. No monthly limit. Just run it locally and process images on your own machine.

So I built Remove Background Local:

What it does

Drag and drop images in a web UI
Paste images from the clipboard
Process multiple files in a queue
Keep results in persistent local sessions
Download PNG, WEBP or JPG
Choose transparent or solid-color backgrounds
Run from the CLI with rm-bg
Open it as a small desktop app with Electron
Switch between several segmentation models
Use alpha matting for harder edges like hair, plants or semi-transparent details

The default model is ISNet, because it is fast and good enough for most cases. For higher quality, the app also includes BiRefNet models.

Background removal often involves product photos, client assets, design drafts or personal images.

For that kind of work, local processing is not only convenient. It is also a better default:

If you already have Node.js and Python 3.9+ installed:

npx -y remove-background-local

Then open:

http://127.0.0.1:7860

For a permanent install:

npm install -g remove-background-local
rm-bg web
rm-bg desktop

I would especially like feedback from people who work with:

If you try it, I would love to know which model gives you the best quality/speed tradeoff on your machine.