Remove image backgrounds via Stability AI, pay-per-call over MPP/Tempo.
What it does
This endpoint provides automated background removal powered by Stability AI, accessed through the Locus MPP (Micropayment Protocol) gateway. It accepts a source image and returns the image with the background removed, outputting in PNG or WebP format. Payment is handled per-call via the Tempo method on pathUSD at $0.057 per request.
The endpoint is part of a broader Stability AI suite available through the same MPP gateway, which includes image generation (Ultra, Core, SD3), editing tools (erase, inpaint, outpaint, search-and-replace, search-and-recolor), upscaling (fast, conservative, creative), sketch-to-image, structure-guided generation, style transfer, 3D model generation, and audio generation/editing. Each capability is exposed as a separate path with its own per-call pricing.
The remove-background endpoint requires only the source image as a required field, with an optional output_format parameter (png or webp, defaulting to png). The API uses POST with a JSON body. Settlement occurs in pathUSD on the Tempo L2 network. Note that the probe did not capture a live 402 challenge on HEAD/GET — the endpoint is POST-only, which is expected for an image-processing API. The OpenAPI spec is well-documented with full request schemas.
Capabilities
Use cases
- —Removing backgrounds from product photos for e-commerce listings
- —Creating transparent PNGs of subjects for compositing into new scenes
- —Automating batch background removal in content pipelines
- —Preparing images for graphic design or marketing materials
- —Agent-driven image processing workflows with per-call micropayments
Fit
Best for
- —Developers needing API-based background removal without subscription commitments
- —AI agents that need to programmatically remove backgrounds with pay-per-use pricing
- —Workflows requiring transparent PNG output from arbitrary images
- —Teams already using Tempo/pathUSD for micropayment settlement
Not for
- —High-volume batch processing where per-call pricing at $0.057 may be expensive compared to self-hosted solutions
- —Users who need real-time video background removal
- —Applications requiring fine-grained manual mask control (this is fully automatic)
Quick start
curl -X POST https://stability-ai.mpp.paywithlocus.com/stability-ai/remove-background \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: <MPP-Tempo-Payment-Header>" \
-d '{"image": "<base64-encoded-image>", "output_format": "png"}'Example
Request
{
"image": "<base64-encoded-source-image>",
"output_format": "png"
}Endpoint
Quality
Full OpenAPI schema with request body details and pricing is available. However, the probe did not capture a live 402 challenge (endpoint is POST-only, probed with HEAD/GET), no response schema or example response is documented, and crawled pages returned only 404 JSON errors. Pricing is clear from the spec but response format is undocumented.
Warnings
- —Probe returned 404 on HEAD/GET — endpoint is POST-only; liveness not confirmed via 402 challenge
- —No response schema documented — output format (base64 image, binary, URL) is unknown
- —Currency address 0x20c000000000000000000000b9537d11c60e8b50 assumed to be pathUSD with 6 decimals based on Tempo convention; not independently verified
- —All crawled documentation pages returned 404; external docs at https://platform.stability.ai/docs/api-reference and https://beta.paywithlocus.com/mpp/stability-ai.md were not crawled
Citations
- —Remove Background endpoint charges 57000 base units via Tempo method with intent 'charge'https://stability-ai.mpp.paywithlocus.com
- —Required field is 'image'; optional field is 'output_format' (png|webp, default png)https://stability-ai.mpp.paywithlocus.com
- —API reference available at platform.stability.aihttps://platform.stability.ai/docs/api-reference
- —LLM-specific docs referenced at beta.paywithlocus.comhttps://beta.paywithlocus.com/mpp/stability-ai.md