Photoroom background removal for new Google Drive images

Photoroom background removal for new Google Drive images

An n8n workflow that cuts the background out of photos you drop in a Google Drive folder. Every minute it looks for new
files. Each new image goes to Photoroom, which removes the background and applies the colour and padding you chose. The
result is saved as a PNG in a second Drive folder.

What is inside

• workflow.json: the workflow as n8n exports it, fourteen nodes. Two are sticky notes. It holds no credential.
• README.md: these notes.

What we changed from the original copy

• The Photoroom key, the output folder address and the input folder were empty or filled with a prompt. They are now the
  placeholders <YOUR_PHOTOROOM_API_KEY>, <YOUR_OUTPUT_FOLDER_ID> and <YOUR_INPUT_FOLDER_ID>.
• When you keep each image's size, Remove Background Original Size sends the size that Get Image Size read. That string
  can end in an offset such as +0+0, and Photoroom's documentation says the value is a width and a height. The
  expression now cuts the string at the first plus sign.
• Several nodes had names like Upload Picture to Google Drive1. The two background steps, the two upload steps, the size
  check, the loop and the merge now say what they do. The wiring is unchanged.
• The two sticky notes are rewritten in plainer words.

Before you start

• A Google account whose Drive you can connect to n8n with OAuth2.
• A Photoroom API key. A key that starts with sandbox_ makes free test calls, and the result carries a watermark.
• Two Drive folders: one to watch and a different one for the results.

Set it up

1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu and choose Import from File. Pick workflow.json.
2. Add a Google Drive OAuth2 credential and select it in Watch for New Images, Download Image,
   Upload Fixed Size Picture and Upload Original Size Picture.
3. In Watch for New Images, replace <YOUR_INPUT_FOLDER_ID> with the id of the folder to watch, the part of its address
   after /folders/.
4. Open Config. Replace <YOUR_PHOTOROOM_API_KEY> with your key. In OutputDriveFolder, replace
   <YOUR_OUTPUT_FOLDER_ID> with the id of the results folder.
5. Publish the workflow, then drop one test image in the input folder.

How a run goes

1. Watch for New Images finds a new file and hands its id to two nodes.
2. Download Image fetches the file, and Get Image Size reads its size. Split Out keeps the size and the image.
3. Config makes one item with your settings and the original file name.
4. Merge Image With Settings joins the two by position, and Loop Over Images passes one image at a time.
5. Use Fixed Size? checks keepInputSize. When it is false, Remove Background Fixed Size uses outputSize. When it is
   true, Remove Background Original Size uses the size that was read.
6. Photoroom answers with the picture. An upload node saves it as BG-Removed-<original name>.png in the results folder,
   and the loop takes the next image.

Change the result

• The background colour: bg_color in Config. It takes a colour name, a hex value or transparent.
• The space around the subject: padding in Config, such as 5%.
• One size for all images: set keepInputSize to false and give outputSize as a width and a height, like 1600x1600.
• The folders: the trigger node for the input and OutputDriveFolder for the results.

Good to know

• Each image is one call to Photoroom. Photoroom's documentation says a sandbox_ key allows 1,000 free calls a month, at
  most 100 a day, and adds a watermark.
• The output folder must differ from the input folder. If they match, the workflow processes its own results.
• Photoroom accepts PNG, JPEG, WebP and AVIF and returns PNG unless you ask for another format, so the upload names end in
  .png.
• Watch for New Images fires for every new file, including files that are not images. Keep the input folder to pictures only.
• The key sits in a plain field in Config. On a shared n8n, move it to an HTTP header credential.
• Mindket did not run this workflow against Google Drive or Photoroom. These notes follow n8n's published node code and
  Photoroom's documentation, read on 12 November 2026.