remove-ai-watermarks/docs/supported-signals.md

Supported signals

This page describes the current support boundary. A check mark means that the repository contains a corresponding code path. It does not guarantee detection or removal on every future vendor version.

Visible marks

The visible command registers these mark keys:

Key	Mark	Expected area	Important limit
gemini	Google Gemini sparkle	Usually bottom right	Detection includes a false positive gate.
doubao	豆包AI生成	Bottom right	Vendor specific text detector.
jimeng	★ 即梦AI	Bottom right	Vendor specific text detector.
qwen	千问AI生成	Bottom right	Strict visual gate.
kling	可灵AI 3.0	Bottom right	Only calibrated variants are covered.
yuanbao	元宝 over AI生成	Bottom right	Standard two-line variant only.
samsung	✦ Contenuti generati dall'AI	Bottom left	Calibrated for the Italian text variant.
runninghub	RunningHub AI生成	Top left	Strict visual and position gates.
baidu	百度 AI生成	Bottom right	Detector and extended removal footprint.
liblib	LibLibAI	Bottom center	Includes a minimum image size gate.
jimeng_pill	AI生成 pill	Top left	Weak detector with additional product and background gates.

--mark auto evaluates all registered marks and removes every selected match. Known marks are localized to a mask, then the selected fill backend reconstructs the masked area.

Marks from other vendors are not detected automatically. Use erase --region when you can select the affected area yourself.

Fill backends

Backend	Install	Behavior
cv2	Core package	Classical OpenCV inpainting
migan	remove-ai-watermarks[migan]	MI-GAN through ONNX Runtime
lama	remove-ai-watermarks[lama]	big-LaMa through ONNX Runtime
auto	Depends on installed extras	Selects LaMa, then MI-GAN, then OpenCV

The learned backends download model files on first use.

Metadata and provenance

The inspection and stripping code handles signals in these groups:

• C2PA Content Credentials and supported cloud manifest references;
• EXIF and XMP generator fields;
• IPTC AI disclosure fields;
• PNG text chunks and embedded generation parameters;
• China TC260 AIGC labels in supported metadata placements;
• xAI and Grok EXIF signature fields;
• Samsung AI editing markers;
• Hugging Face job metadata;
• open Stable Diffusion style DWT-DCT watermarks with the detect extra;
• Adobe TrustMark with the trustmark extra.

identify combines detected signals into a ProvenanceReport. It reports unknown when evidence is absent. It never treats missing metadata as proof that an image is human made.

File and container formats

Pixel based image commands discover these extensions:

• PNG;
• JPEG;
• WebP;
• HEIC and HEIF;
• AVIF.

Metadata inspection and removal additionally have container paths for:

• JPEG XL metadata;
• MP4, MOV, M4V, and M4A;
• WebM, MKV, MKA, MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, OGA, Opus, and AAC when ffmpeg is available.

JPEG image metadata stripping removes targeted metadata segments without re-encoding the entropy coded image scan. PNG and WebP removal preserves pixel values through lossless output paths. HEIC, HEIF, AVIF, and other containers use their format specific paths.

Invisible watermarks

The invisible command uses diffusion regeneration. It targets watermark patterns by changing the image rather than decoding and deleting a known payload.

Current pipeline values:

• controlnet;
• sdxl;
• qwen;
• qwen-zimage;
• legacy alias default, which resolves to sdxl.

SynthID does not have a public local pixel decoder in this project. The tool can infer likely presence from supported provenance metadata, but after that metadata is removed a local negative result is inconclusive.

The optional detect extra is different: it provides a local decoder for the open DWT-DCT watermark used by some Stable Diffusion, SDXL, and FLUX workflows. That signal is carrier and transformation sensitive, so a negative is still not a universal clean verdict.

Provider overview

Provider or family	Visible	Invisible path	Metadata or provenance
Google Gemini	Sparkle	Diffusion regeneration for SynthID	C2PA and related source signals
OpenAI image generators	None registered	Diffusion regeneration for supported invisible signals	C2PA and generator provenance
Stable Diffusion and SDXL	None registered	Diffusion regeneration; optional open decoder	Embedded parameters and text metadata
FLUX	None registered	Diffusion regeneration; optional open decoder	C2PA for supported sources
Adobe Firefly	None registered	No proprietary local decoder	C2PA; optional TrustMark decoder
Midjourney	None registered	No registered pixel decoder	EXIF, XMP, and IPTC signals
ByteDance generators	Doubao and Jimeng marks	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC and supported C2PA signals
Qwen	Qwen mark	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC
Kling	Kling mark	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC
Baidu	Baidu mark	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC
LibLibAI	LibLibAI mark	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC
RunningHub	RunningHub mark	No registered pixel decoder	TC260 AIGC
Samsung Galaxy AI	One locale specific mark	No registered pixel decoder	C2PA and Samsung markers

For detector thresholds, measured limits, and incident history, see module internals and known limitations.