Background Removal CLI

A command-line tool for removing backgrounds and foregrounds from images using AI. Works with both Node.js and Bun.

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

Install globally using npm:

npm install -g background-removal-js-node-cli

Then use the CLI commands anywhere:

background-removal-cli rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png
# or use the shorter alias
rmbg-cli rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

Local Development

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/shpaw415/background-removal-js-node-cli.git
cd background-removal-js-node-cli
npm install

Build the CLI:

npm run build

Install locally for development:

npm link

Usage

Global Commands (after installing globally)

# Remove background
background-removal-cli rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

# Or use the shorter command
rmbg-cli rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

# Remove foreground
background-removal-cli rmfg -i input.jpg -o output.png

Direct Usage

# With Node.js
node dist/index.js rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

# With Bun (from TypeScript source)
bun run index.ts rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

# With Bun (from compiled JS)
bun run dist/index.js rmbg -i input.jpg -o output.png

Available Commands

Remove Background (rmbg)

background-removal-cli rmbg [options]

Options:
  -i, --input <path>       Input image path (required)
  -o, --output <path>      Output image path (required)
  -m, --model <model>      Model size: small, medium, large (default: medium)
  -f, --format <format>    Output format: png, jpeg, x-alpha8, x-rgba8, webp (default: png)
  -q, --quality <quality>  Quality for jpeg/webp: 0-100 (default: 80)
  -d, --debug              Enable debug mode
  -h, --help               Show help

Remove Foreground (rmfg)

background-removal-cli rmfg [options]
# Same options as rmbg

Examples

# Basic background removal
background-removal-cli rmbg -i photo.jpg -o photo-no-bg.png

# High quality with large model
background-removal-cli rmbg -i photo.jpg -o output.png -m large -q 95

# Output as JPEG
background-removal-cli rmbg -i photo.jpg -o output.jpg -f jpeg -q 90

# Remove foreground instead
background-removal-cli rmfg -i photo.jpg -o background-only.png

Development

# Run in development mode with Bun
bun run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start compiled version
npm start

Publishing to NPM

To publish this package to npm:

1. Login to npm (first time only):

   npm login

2. Update version (choose one):

   npm version patch  # 1.0.0 -> 1.0.1
   npm version minor  # 1.0.0 -> 1.1.0
   npm version major  # 1.0.0 -> 2.0.0

3. Publish the package:

   npm publish

The prepublishOnly script will automatically build the project before publishing.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18.0.0
• npm or Bun

Dependencies

• @imgly/background-removal-node - AI-powered background removal
• commander - Command-line interface framework
• log-update - Progress indicator
• sharp - Image processing

License

MIT © shpaw415

This project was created using bun init and supports both Bun and Node.js runtimes.