# AI Image Upscaler: 4x Real-ESRGAN, No GPU (`digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler`) Actor

Upscale and sharpen photos, product images, illustrations and screenshots 2x or 4x with Real-ESRGAN AI. Bulk image URLs, PNG/JPEG/WebP output, transparency kept. Pay per image, a cheap Topaz and Let's Enhance alternative.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler.md
- **Developed by:** [Digitální produkty pro život](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, For creators
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 image upscaleds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## AI Image Upscaler: 4x Real-ESRGAN, No GPU

Make small, blurry or compressed images **2x or 4x bigger and sharper** with **Real-ESRGAN**, one of the best-known open-source AI super-resolution models. Upscale product photos, old pictures, illustrations, thumbnails, screenshots and AI-generated images in bulk. Just paste image links.

**Pay per image.** No subscription, no GPU, no software to install. A cheap alternative to Topaz Gigapixel, Let's Enhance or Upscayl in the cloud, and easy to call from Make, Zapier, n8n or your own code.

### Before and after

A real 233×263 px product photo, upscaled 4x by this Actor in 1.6 seconds (left: the same photo simply enlarged):

![Small product photo enlarged vs. AI upscaled 4x](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/uxnNYX56a3qdadmXf/records/upscaler-headphones.jpg)

Zoomed detail of a 250×300 px photo: fur, whiskers and eyes are restored instead of blocky pixels.

![Zoomed detail: original vs. AI upscaled 4x](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/uxnNYX56a3qdadmXf/records/upscaler-cat-detail.jpg)

<sub>Example photos: Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (“Headphones on white background” by Sprinno, “Tabby cat with blue eyes” by AdinaVoicu).</sub>

### Features

- **4x or 2x** AI upscaling (the 2x mode runs the 4x model on a half-size copy, which looks sharper than simply resizing).
- **Removes JPEG artefacts and noise** while restoring edges and texture.
- **Bulk**: any number of image URLs in one run.
- **PNG, JPEG or WebP** output. **Transparency is kept** for PNG and WebP.
- **Phone photos** are rotated correctly (EXIF orientation).
- **Size guard**: the output is capped at a megapixel limit you choose (default 16 MP), and bigger inputs are reduced first.

### Output

Each upscaled image is saved to the run's key-value store, and the dataset gets a direct link:

```json
{
  "sourceUrl": "https://example.com/product-small.jpg",
  "imageUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/<id>/records/upscaled-0001.png",
  "scale": 4,
  "originalWidth": 320,
  "originalHeight": 213,
  "width": 1280,
  "height": 852,
  "megapixels": 1.09,
  "format": "png",
  "processingMs": 4200,
  "billedImages": 1
}
```

### Pricing

You pay **per upscaled image** for outputs up to **4 megapixels** (e.g. 2048×2048). Bigger outputs count as one image per started 4 MP. Failed downloads and unsupported files are never charged.

### Use cases

- **E-commerce**: enlarge supplier product photos to meet marketplace size requirements.
- **Print**: upscale images for posters, flyers and merch.
- **AI art**: upscale Midjourney, Stable Diffusion or DALL·E outputs.
- **Archives**: improve old, low-resolution photos and scans.
- **Automation**: add an upscaling step to your image pipeline via API.

### Notes

- The AI adds plausible detail. It cannot recover information that is not in the image (e.g. unreadable text).
- Faces are upscaled like the rest of the image. There is no separate face-restoration model.
- Model: Real-ESRGAN `realesr-general-x4v3` by Xintao Wang et al., BSD-3-Clause license.
- Only upload images you have the rights to use.

### Questions or ideas?

Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. Feature requests (background removal, face restoration…) are welcome.

### Chain it after any product scraper

Already scraping products on Apify (Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, Google Shopping, marketplaces…)? Upscale the product images straight from the scraper's results, with no copying of URLs:

1. Open your scraper's **Integrations** tab and add **Run Actor**, then choose this Actor.
2. Use this input:

```json
{
  "datasetId": "{{resource.defaultDatasetId}}",
  "imageUrlField": "images",
  "maxImagesPerItem": 1
}
```

3. Every result row keeps `itemUrl`, `itemId`, `itemTitle` and `datasetItemIndex` from the source item, so you can join the new images back to your products.

You can also pick any existing dataset in the **Images from a dataset** field in the Console. Leave **Image field in dataset** empty and common fields (`imageUrl`, `image`, `images`, `thumbnail`, …) are detected automatically. Dot paths such as `product.images.0.src` and protocol-relative Shopify CDN links (`//cdn.shopify.com/...`) work too.

### How to use it via API

You can run the Actor from the Apify Console, on a schedule, or from your own code. Get your API token in Apify Console → Settings → Integrations.

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler").call(run_input={
    "imageUrls": [
        "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"
    ],
    "scale": "4"
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

**JavaScript / Node.js**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler').call({
    "imageUrls": [
        "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"
    ],
    "scale": "4"
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

### Integrations and AI agents

- Export results as **JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML**, or open them directly in **Google Sheets**.
- Connect to **Make, Zapier, n8n, Slack, Google Drive, Airbyte** or any **webhook** to get AI-upscaled images into your workflow automatically.
- Use it from **AI agents and LLM apps** (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, LangChain…) through the **Apify MCP server**: the agent can call this Actor as a tool.
- **Schedule** runs (hourly, daily, weekly) to keep data fresh without any code.

### FAQ

**How much does it cost?**
$0.01 per output image up to 4 megapixels (larger outputs count per started 4 MP). 1,000 product photos cost about $10.

**Do I need a GPU or software?**
No. Real-ESRGAN runs in the cloud on CPU. Just provide image URLs.

**Are my images stored?**
Only in your own Apify storage for the run, under your account's data retention settings.

### More tools from the same developer

All tools with code examples: [github.com/Phenixik/apify-actors](https://github.com/Phenixik/apify-actors)

- [Sitemap URL Extractor](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/sitemap-url-extractor): every URL from a website's sitemaps
- [Broken Link Checker](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/broken-link-checker): find 404s and dead links on your site
- [PageSpeed & Lighthouse Audit](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/pagespeed-audit): bulk Core Web Vitals and SEO scores
- [Website Screenshot](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/website-screenshot): full-page, mobile and PDF screenshots
- [Domain WHOIS & DNS Lookup](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/domain-whois-lookup): expiry, DNS, SPF/DMARC and SSL for many domains
- [PDF Text Extractor](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/pdf-text-extractor): text, Markdown and RAG chunks from PDFs
- [RSS Feed Reader & Monitor](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/rss-feed-reader): only-new-items feed monitoring
- [ATS Jobs](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ats-jobs): jobs from Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby & more
- [App Store Reviews](https://apify.com/digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/app-store-reviews): iOS reviews from 50+ countries

# Actor input Schema

## `imageUrls` (type: `array`):

Links to JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, TIFF or AVIF images, one per line. Or use a dataset below.

## `datasetId` (type: `string`):

Process the images found in the results of another Actor run, for example a Shopify, Amazon, e-shop or Google Shopping product scraper. Pick the dataset here, or in an integration pass {{resource.defaultDatasetId}}. Can be combined with image URLs above.

## `imageUrlField` (type: `string`):

Field that holds the image URL or a list of image URLs, dot paths allowed (e.g. images, product.mainImage, media.0.src). Leave empty to detect common fields automatically (imageUrl, image, images, thumbnail, …).

## `maxImagesPerItem` (type: `integer`):

How many images to take from each dataset item (1 = main image only). Each image is billed separately.

## `maxDatasetItems` (type: `integer`):

Safety limit on how many dataset items are read.

## `scale` (type: `string`):

2x or 4x larger.

## `outputFormat` (type: `string`):

File format of the upscaled image.

## `quality` (type: `integer`):

Only for JPEG and WebP.

## `maxOutputMegapixels` (type: `integer`):

If the result would be bigger, the input is first reduced so the output fits. 16 MP = e.g. 4608×3456.

## `maxFileSizeMb` (type: `integer`):

Larger images are skipped (not charged).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"
  ],
  "maxImagesPerItem": 1,
  "maxDatasetItems": 1000,
  "scale": "4",
  "outputFormat": "png",
  "quality": 92,
  "maxOutputMegapixels": 16,
  "maxFileSizeMb": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `images` (type: `string`):

Download link, original and new size, format and processing time.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts of upscaled and failed images with reasons.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "imageUrls": [
        "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "imageUrls": ["https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg/330px-Camponotus_flavomarginatus_ant.jpg"
  ]
}' |
apify call digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,digitalni.produkty.pro.zivot/ai-image-upscaler"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/HS1gf63LBye6DaJdq/builds/vp4Hr6famEZEQZqX2/openapi.json