Remove Background from Google Drive Images with Photoroom API

Overview

This workflow automatically removes the background from images stored in a specific Google Drive folder using the Photoroom API. It watches for new image uploads, downloads them, processes them through Photoroom's background removal service, and uploads the result back to a designated Google Drive folder. You can customize the background color, padding, and output size. The workflow supports two modes: keeping the original image size or using a fixed output size.

Node-by-Node Breakdown

1. Watch for new images (Google Drive Trigger) — OAuth2 authentication. Watches a specific Google Drive folder for newly created files. Polls every minute.
2. Config (Set) — No auth. Defines configurable parameters:
   • bg_color: Background color (e.g., "white", "transparent", or HEX)
   • padding: Padding around the subject (e.g., "5%")
   • keepInputSize: Boolean; if true, uses original image dimensions; if false, uses outputSize
   • outputSize: Fixed output dimensions (e.g., "1600x1600")
   • inputFileName: Dynamically set from the original file name
   • OutputDriveFolder: Google Drive folder URL where processed images are saved
   • api-key: Your Photoroom API key
3. Download Image (Google Drive) — OAuth2. Downloads the newly detected image file using its file ID.
4. Get Image Size (Edit Image) — No auth. Extracts image metadata (dimensions) to be used later for size-based routing.
5. Split Out (SplitOut) — No auth. Splits the image dimensions into separate fields (e.g., Geometry).
6. Merge (Merge) — No auth. Combines the config data with the image data stream.
7. loop all over your images (SplitInBatches) — No auth. Processes images one by one in batches (default batch size 1).
8. check which output size method is used (If) — No auth. Checks the keepInputSize boolean:
   • If false → goes to remove background fixed size
   • If true → goes to remove background
9. remove background fixed size (HTTP Request) — API Key auth (header x-api-key). Sends a POST request to Photoroom's /v2/edit endpoint with:
   • background.color (from config)
   • imageFile (binary data from the downloaded image)
   • padding (from config)
   • outputSize (from config, e.g., "1600x1600")
10. remove background (HTTP Request) — API Key auth. Same as above but uses the original image size (Geometry from Split Out) as outputSize.
11. Upload Picture to Google Drive (Google Drive) — OAuth2. Uploads the processed image (PNG) to the specified Google Drive folder with a filename prefixed "BG-Removed-".
12. Upload Picture to Google Drive1 (Google Drive) — OAuth2. Same as above, for the other branch.

Setup Instructions

1. Google Drive Credentials: You need a Google Drive OAuth2 credential in n8n. Create one by going to Credentials > New > Google Drive OAuth2 API. Follow the OAuth consent screen setup and authorize access to your Drive.
2. Photoroom API Key: Sign up at Photoroom and obtain an API key from their documentation.
3. Configure the workflow:
   • In the Watch for new images node, select the Google Drive folder you want to monitor.
   • In the Config node, fill in:
     • api-key: Your Photoroom API key
     • OutputDriveFolder: The URL of the Google Drive folder where processed images should be saved (e.g., https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/abc123)
     • Adjust bg_color, padding, keepInputSize, and outputSize as needed.
4. Activate the workflow. It will start polling the folder every minute and process new images automatically.

Use Cases & Variations

• E-commerce product images: Remove backgrounds from product photos and replace with a consistent white background.
• Profile picture processing: Automatically clean up user-uploaded profile images.
• Integration with other services: After uploading to Drive, you could add nodes to send the image to Slack, email, or a CMS.
• Batch processing: The workflow already loops over multiple images; you can increase the batch size in the loop all over your images node.
• Add text or overlays: Use the Edit Image node to add watermarks or text after background removal.
• Use with AI analysis: Connect the processed image to an AI node (e.g., OpenAI Vision) to generate product descriptions or tags.

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