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L402 API

Pay with Bitcoin, get AI results. Copy-paste the commands below.

Before You Start

Lightning Wallet

Phoenix, Muun, Wallet of Satoshi, Alby, or any LN wallet. Agents: CLW

Terminal or Tool

A command line, Postman, or lnget (recommended)

Private & No Signup

No account, no subscription, no personal data. Pay only when you use it

Want to try this without a terminal? Use Background Removal on the web — pay with any Lightning wallet, no setup needed.

Remove Background via L402

Remove the background from any image and get a transparent PNG back. Handles hair, fur, glass, transparency, and complex edges.

API Endpoint: https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background

Constraints

  • Image must be base64-encoded (with or without data: prefix)
  • Returns JSON with image URL
  • 5 sats per image

Step 1: Initial Request (get Invoice)

Send your base64 image. You will receive a 402 Payment Required response with a Lightning invoice.

Request body:

{
  "image": "<base64-encoded-image>"
}

Example curl command:

curl -X POST https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "image": "<base64-encoded-image>"
}' \
-i

Expected response headers:

www-authenticate: L402 macaroon="<YOUR_MACAROON>", invoice="<LIGHTNING_INVOICE>"

Step 2: Pay the Lightning Invoice

Pay the invoice with any Lightning wallet (Phoenix, Muun, Alby, Wallet of Satoshi, etc.). Save the preimage your wallet provides after payment.

Step 3: Re-send with Payment Proof

Send the exact same request again with the Authorization header.

The JSON payload must be identical to Step 1.

curl -X POST https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: L402 <YOUR_MACAROON>:<YOUR_PREIMAGE>" \
-d '{
  "image": "<base64-encoded-image>"
}'

Successful response includes image_url (URL to transparent PNG — download promptly).

Easier: Use lnget

lnget handles the full L402 flow automatically — invoice, payment, and re-request in one command.

IMAGE_B64=$(base64 -w0 photo.png)

lnget -X POST https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background \
  --json "{\"image\":\"$IMAGE_B64\"}"

Python Example

import requests, base64

# Encode image
with open("photo.png", "rb") as f:
    image_b64 = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()

payload = { "image": image_b64 }

# Step 1 — get invoice
r = requests.post("https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background",
    json=payload,
    headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"})
# r.status_code == 402
# Parse macaroon and invoice from r.headers["www-authenticate"]

# Step 2 — pay invoice with your Lightning wallet, get preimage

# Step 3 — re-send with auth
r2 = requests.post("https://sats4ai.com/api/l402/remove-background",
    json=payload,
    headers={
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Authorization": "L402 <macaroon>:<preimage>"
    })
result = r2.json()
print(result["image_url"])  # URL to transparent PNG (download promptly)

Request Parameters

image: string required

Base64-encoded image data. Can include the data:image/png;base64, prefix or just the raw base64 string.

modelId: number or string (optional)

Omit for the best default model.

Pricing

5 sats per image.

Use Cases

  • Create transparent product photos for e-commerce
  • Isolate subjects for compositing or design work
  • Batch-remove backgrounds via script or agent
  • Prepare images for stickers, overlays, or presentations