Blog · Batch processing

Batch background removal for 1,000 product photos

29 September 2026 · 6 min read · Jerome Aupin, LassoCut

A thousand photos is a normal catalogue, and too many to cut out by hand. Here is how to run them in one go with LassoCut: what to test first, which tool to pick, what it costs, how long to plan for, and what to do when a run stops halfway.

1. Before you start: sort, then test

Sort by settings. Every photo in a run gets the same settings. Put the photos for your main images on white in one folder, and the lifestyle shots that stay transparent in another. Subfolders are fine: the batch tool keeps them in the results.
Check the files. Input can be JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 22 MB and 50 MP each. Other files in the folder, such as RAW files or notes, are counted and skipped, not sent.
Test on your hardest photos. Pick 10 photos that worry you: hair, glass, a white product on a white table, thin straps. Run them as previews. Every account gets 50 free previews a month (up to 10 a day), so the test costs nothing.

2. Pick the tool that fits

If you…	Use	Why
have a folder on your computer and no code	Batch tool (browser)	Nothing to install; results in a folder (Chrome, Edge) or a ZIP
want it on a server, or overnight	LassoCut CLI	Keeps running without a browser; skips images already done
run a WooCommerce store	WordPress plugin	Replaces product images directly, 10 at a time; for 1,000, use the batch tool first
have your own pipeline	API	One call per image, from any language

3. In the browser: the batch tool

Open the batch tool and sign in with GitHub or Google.
Choose the folder. Tick Include subfolders if your shoot is organised by product.
Set Size to full size (up to 25 MP), Background to transparent, white or a colour, and Format to PNG, JPG or WebP. On white, JPG is smaller and needs no transparency. Full-size PNG results are limited to 10 MP; JPG and WebP go up to 25 MP.
Choose Save to: a folder on this computer (Chrome, Edge) or a ZIP.
Read the estimate, which shows photos, free previews, credits and your balance, then press Start.

The tool sends 3 photos at a time and retries by itself when the API answers 429 or 503. Keep the tab open until the run ends. Your originals are never changed.

shoot/                 results/
  shoes/boots.jpg        shoes/boots.png
  home/candle.png   →    home/candle.png
  notes.txt              (ignored: not an image)

4. On a server: the command line

The LassoCut CLI needs Node.js 18 or later. It uses the same flags as the remove.bg CLI, so existing scripts only need a new command name and key.

npm install -g lassocut-cli
lassocut login
lassocut --size full --bg-color ffffff --format jpg \
         --confirm-batch-over -1 \
         --output-directory out/ photos/

--confirm-batch-over asks before a run of more than 50 images by default; -1 never asks, which suits a script left running.
--concurrency sets how many images are processed at the same time (default 4). 429 and 503 answers are retried automatically.
On a server without a browser, create a key in your account and set LASSOCUT_API_KEY instead of running lassocut login.

5. What 1,000 photos cost

Run	Credits	Cheapest way to buy them
10 test previews	0 (free previews)	included in every account
1,000 previews, up to 0.25 MP	250	three packs of 100 ($27), or the 1,000 pack ($39) and keep the rest
1,000 full-size photos, up to 25 MP	1,000	one pack of 1,000: $39

Photos that fail, for example a file that is too large or not an image, cost nothing, and each error says why. Purchased credits do not expire, so a pack bought for this catalogue also covers next season's photos. Prices in US dollars from the pricing page.

6. How long to plan for

Two things set the pace: how long each photo takes to process, and the account rate limit of 500 megapixel-images per minute. A photo counts as its own size in megapixels, rounded up, whatever size you ask for. So a 12 MP phone photo counts 12, which caps a run of 12 MP photos at about 41 per minute: at least 24 minutes for 1,000, before processing time.

Measure instead of guessing: time the first 20 photos of the real run and multiply. After a quiet period the processing servers wake up first, so the very first photo can take up to a minute.
Smaller originals go further. If your store never shows more than 2,000 pixels, resizing to about 4 MP before the run lets more photos through per minute. The price stays 1 credit per full-size photo.

7. When a run stops halfway

Batch tool: if your credits run out, it stops. Buy credits and press Start again; finished photos are skipped.
CLI: run the same command again. Images whose result already exists are skipped, unless you add --reprocess-existing.
API: retries don't pay twice. A result is kept for up to 10 minutes, so the same request sent again (same image and settings, or the same Idempotency-Key header) gets it without a second charge. Retry 502, 503 and 504 after a short pause, and on a 429 wait for the Retry-After seconds.

8. Check before you upload

Open about 20 results at 100%, chosen from different product types, and look at the edges.
Photos that need a different setting (a colour background, a tighter crop) go into a second, smaller run.
Selling on Amazon? The white-background article lists its photo rules and the API settings that match them.

Try it on your own photos

Drop a product photo on the home page to see the cut-out, then create an account for 50 free previews a month and run your 10 hardest photos through the batch tool.

Try it on your image Open the batch tool

See also: batch processing · e-commerce · photographers.