Power Automate: Remove Image Backgrounds from SharePoint or OneDrive with the HTTP Action

The HTTP action is a premium connector in Power Automate, so the flow owner needs a Power Automate premium (per-user or per-flow) licence or a trial. There is no standard-licence route to an arbitrary REST API. On the API side you need a key from the bgclear dashboard; the first key includes 10 free full-resolution credits and preview-size results are free without limit, which is enough to build and test the flow at no cost.

Trigger: SharePoint — "When a file is created in a folder" (or OneDrive for Business — "When a file is created"). Point it at the library/folder where originals arrive.

Step 2 — Get file content. SharePoint "Get file content" with the trigger's file identifier. (OneDrive's trigger already returns the content; skip this step there.)

Step 3 — HTTP (premium).

Method:   POST
URI:      https://www.bgclear.ai/api/v1/remove
Headers:
  Authorization   Bearer bgc_live_YOUR_KEY
  Content-Type    application/json
  Accept          application/json
  Idempotency-Key @{triggerOutputs()?['body/{Identifier}']}
Body:
{
  "image_file_b64": "@{base64(body('Get_file_content'))}",
  "size": "auto",
  "format": "png"
}

The base64() expression turns the binary file content into the string the API expects, so the file never has to be public. The Idempotency-Key is the file's identifier: if the flow retries, the API returns the cached result instead of charging again (24-hour window).

Step 4 — Parse JSON on the HTTP body with this schema, so later steps get typed fields:

{ "type": "object", "properties": { "url": {"type": "string"}, "width": {"type": "integer"}, "height": {"type": "integer"}, "credits_charged": {"type": "integer"}, "credits_remaining": {"type": "integer"} } }

Step 5 — HTTP (GET) with URI = @{body('Parse_JSON')?['url']} and no headers; the result URL needs no auth and is valid for 24 hours. The body of this action is the PNG.

Step 6 — Create file (SharePoint or OneDrive): folder = a cutouts subfolder, file name = @{replace(triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}'], '.', '-cutout.')} adjusted to end in .png, file content = @{body('HTTP_2')}.

Save and drop a JPG into the folder; the PNG appears in cutouts within a few seconds. For a white background instead of transparency (product photos), set "format": "jpg", "bg_color": "ffffff" in step 3 and name the output .jpg.

Add a Configure run after on step 4 for "has failed" and a Condition on outputs('HTTP')?['statusCode']: 402 means the account is out of credits (insufficient_credits), 429 means more than 60 requests in a minute (retry after the X-RateLimit-Reset seconds), 400 image_too_large means the file is over 25 MB. Base64 inflates the payload by a third, so keep source images under roughly 18 MB; synchronous full-size requests are also capped at 4 megapixels — larger originals should go to POST /api/v1/jobs with a second flow (an "HTTP request received" trigger) as the callback receiver, as described in the bulk guide.

Cost: previews are free; full-resolution images are one credit — $9 for 100, $39 for 500, $129 for 2,000, credits never expire, failed calls never charged (pricing). A catalogue of 300 product photos is the $39 pack. If you previously used a remove.bg connector or HTTP action, the body fields are the same; only the URI and the header change before remove.bg's API closes on 1 December 2026 — mapping here. The same flow shape works in Logic Apps, and the no-code alternatives are covered in the n8n/Zapier/Make guide.