Remove Background: Image Reuse
Generate new variants from a previously uploaded image without re-uploading it.
How it works:
- First request returns a
unique_filenamein the response. - Pass
unique_filenamein subsequent token requests to skip the upload. - Send only the token to the processing API — no image file needed.
import requests
import json
API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
TOKEN_URL = "https://backgroundcut.co/api/v3/remove-bg/token/"
PROCESS_URL = "https://api.backgroundcut.co/v3/remove-bg/"
HEADERS = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
# =============================================
# FIRST REQUEST — upload image
# =============================================
token1 = requests.post(
TOKEN_URL, headers=HEADERS,
json={"output_variants": [{"variant_name": "initial", "quality": "low"}]},
timeout=60
).json()["access_token"]
with open("photo.jpg", "rb") as f:
result1 = requests.post(
PROCESS_URL,
files={"image": f},
data={"token": token1},
timeout=300
).json()
unique_filename = result1["unique_filename"]
print("Unique filename:", unique_filename)
print("Initial result:", result1["output_urls"]["initial"])
# =============================================
# LATER — new variants, NO upload
# =============================================
token2 = requests.post(
TOKEN_URL, headers=HEADERS,
json={
"unique_filename": unique_filename,
"output_variants": [
{
"variant_name": "high_res",
"max_resolution": 4000000,
"quality": "high",
"autocrop": True
},
{
"variant_name": "red_bg",
"background_color": "#FF5733",
"format": "jpg"
}
]
},
timeout=60
).json()["access_token"]
# No image file — just the token
result2 = requests.post(
PROCESS_URL,
data={"token": token2},
timeout=300
).json()
print("High res:", result2["output_urls"]["high_res"])
print("Red BG:", result2["output_urls"]["red_bg"])Use cases
- E-commerce: Upload once, generate marketplace-specific variants (Amazon, Shopify, eBay) later.
- A/B testing: Try different background colors or quality settings on the same image.
- Responsive images: Generate additional sizes on demand.