Foundation model for image segmentation with zero-shot transfer. Use when you need to segment any object in images using points, boxes, or masks as prompts, or automatically generate all object masks in an image.
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Comprehensive guide to using Meta AI's Segment Anything Model for zero-shot image segmentation.
Use SAM when:
Key features:
Use alternatives instead:
# From GitHub
pip install git+https://github.com/facebookresearch/segment-anything.git
# Optional dependencies
pip install opencv-python pycocotools matplotlib
# Or use HuggingFace transformers
pip install transformers
# ViT-H (largest, most accurate) - 2.4GB
wget https://dl.fbaipublicfiles.com/segment_anything/sam_vit_h_4b8939.pth
# ViT-L (medium) - 1.2GB
wget https://dl.fbaipublicfiles.com/segment_anything/sam_vit_l_0b3195.pth
# ViT-B (smallest, fastest) - 375MB
wget https://dl.fbaipublicfiles.com/segment_anything/sam_vit_b_01ec64.pth
import numpy as np
from segment_anything import sam_model_registry, SamPredictor
# Load model
sam = sam_model_registry["vit_h"](checkpoint="sam_vit_h_4b8939.pth")
sam.to(device="cuda")
# Create predictor
predictor = SamPredictor(sam)
# Set image (computes embeddings once)
image = cv2.imread("image.jpg")
image = cv2.cvtColor(image, cv2.COLOR_BGR2RGB)
predictor.set_image(image)
# Predict with point prompts
input_point = np.array([[500, 375]]) # (x, y) coordinates
input_label = np.array([1]) # 1 = foreground, 0 = background
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=input_point,
point_labels=input_label,
multimask_output=True # Returns 3 mask options
)
# Select best mask
best_mask = masks[np.argmax(scores)]
import torch
from PIL import Image
from transformers import SamModel, SamProcessor
# Load model and processor
model = SamModel.from_pretrained("facebook/sam-vit-huge")
processor = SamProcessor.from_pretrained("facebook/sam-vit-huge")
model.to("cuda")
# Process image with point prompt
image = Image.open("image.jpg")
input_points = [[[450, 600]]] # Batch of points
inputs = processor(image, input_points=input_points, return_tensors="pt")
inputs = {k: v.to("cuda") for k, v in inputs.items()}
# Generate masks
with torch.no_grad():
outputs = model(**inputs)
# Post-process masks to original size
masks = processor.image_processor.post_process_masks(
outputs.pred_masks.cpu(),
inputs["original_sizes"].cpu(),
inputs["reshaped_input_sizes"].cpu()
)
SAM Architecture:
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Image Encoder │────▶│ Prompt Encoder │────▶│ Mask Decoder │
│ (ViT) │ │ (Points/Boxes) │ │ (Transformer) │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│ │ │
Image Embeddings Prompt Embeddings Masks + IoU
(computed once) (per prompt) predictions
| Model | Checkpoint | Size | Speed | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ViT-H | vit_h | 2.4 GB | Slowest | Best |
| ViT-L | vit_l | 1.2 GB | Medium | Good |
| ViT-B | vit_b | 375 MB | Fastest | Good |
| Prompt | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Point (foreground) | Click on object | Single object selection |
| Point (background) | Click outside object | Exclude regions |
| Bounding box | Rectangle around object | Larger objects |
| Previous mask | Low-res mask input | Iterative refinement |
# Single foreground point
input_point = np.array([[500, 375]])
input_label = np.array([1])
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=input_point,
point_labels=input_label,
multimask_output=True
)
# Multiple points (foreground + background)
input_points = np.array([[500, 375], [600, 400], [450, 300]])
input_labels = np.array([1, 1, 0]) # 2 foreground, 1 background
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=input_points,
point_labels=input_labels,
multimask_output=False # Single mask when prompts are clear
)
# Bounding box [x1, y1, x2, y2]
input_box = np.array([425, 600, 700, 875])
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
box=input_box,
multimask_output=False
)
# Box + points for precise control
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([[500, 375]]),
point_labels=np.array([1]),
box=np.array([400, 300, 700, 600]),
multimask_output=False
)
# Initial prediction
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([[500, 375]]),
point_labels=np.array([1]),
multimask_output=True
)
# Refine with additional point using previous mask
masks, scores, logits = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([[500, 375], [550, 400]]),
point_labels=np.array([1, 0]), # Add background point
mask_input=logits[np.argmax(scores)][None, :, :], # Use best mask
multimask_output=False
)
from segment_anything import SamAutomaticMaskGenerator
# Create generator
mask_generator = SamAutomaticMaskGenerator(sam)
# Generate all masks
masks = mask_generator.generate(image)
# Each mask contains:
# - segmentation: binary mask
# - bbox: [x, y, w, h]
# - area: pixel count
# - predicted_iou: quality score
# - stability_score: robustness score
# - point_coords: generating point
mask_generator = SamAutomaticMaskGenerator(
model=sam,
points_per_side=32, # Grid density (more = more masks)
pred_iou_thresh=0.88, # Quality threshold
stability_score_thresh=0.95, # Stability threshold
crop_n_layers=1, # Multi-scale crops
crop_n_points_downscale_factor=2,
min_mask_region_area=100, # Remove tiny masks
)
masks = mask_generator.generate(image)
# Sort by area (largest first)
masks = sorted(masks, key=lambda x: x['area'], reverse=True)
# Filter by predicted IoU
high_quality = [m for m in masks if m['predicted_iou'] > 0.9]
# Filter by stability score
stable_masks = [m for m in masks if m['stability_score'] > 0.95]
# Process multiple images efficiently
images = [cv2.imread(f"image_{i}.jpg") for i in range(10)]
all_masks = []
for image in images:
predictor.set_image(image)
masks, _, _ = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([[500, 375]]),
point_labels=np.array([1]),
multimask_output=True
)
all_masks.append(masks)
# Process multiple prompts efficiently (one image encoding)
predictor.set_image(image)
# Batch of point prompts
points = [
np.array([[100, 100]]),
np.array([[200, 200]]),
np.array([[300, 300]])
]
all_masks = []
for point in points:
masks, scores, _ = predictor.predict(
point_coords=point,
point_labels=np.array([1]),
multimask_output=True
)
all_masks.append(masks[np.argmax(scores)])
python scripts/export_onnx_model.py \
--checkpoint sam_vit_h_4b8939.pth \
--model-type vit_h \
--output sam_onnx.onnx \
--return-single-mask
import onnxruntime
# Load ONNX model
ort_session = onnxruntime.InferenceSession("sam_onnx.onnx")
# Run inference (image embeddings computed separately)
masks = ort_session.run(
None,
{
"image_embeddings": image_embeddings,
"point_coords": point_coords,
"point_labels": point_labels,
"mask_input": np.zeros((1, 1, 256, 256), dtype=np.float32),
"has_mask_input": np.array([0], dtype=np.float32),
"orig_im_size": np.array([h, w], dtype=np.float32)
}
)
import cv2
# Load model
predictor = SamPredictor(sam)
predictor.set_image(image)
def on_click(event, x, y, flags, param):
if event == cv2.EVENT_LBUTTONDOWN:
# Foreground point
masks, scores, _ = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([[x, y]]),
point_labels=np.array([1]),
multimask_output=True
)
# Display best mask
display_mask(masks[np.argmax(scores)])
def extract_object(image, point):
"""Extract object at point with transparent background."""
predictor.set_image(image)
masks, scores, _ = predictor.predict(
point_coords=np.array([point]),
point_labels=np.array([1]),
multimask_output=True
)
best_mask = masks[np.argmax(scores)]
# Create RGBA output
rgba = np.zeros((image.shape[0], image.shape[1], 4), dtype=np.uint8)
rgba[:, :, :3] = image
rgba[:, :, 3] = best_mask * 255
return rgba
# Process medical images (grayscale to RGB)
medical_image = cv2.imread("scan.png", cv2.IMREAD_GRAYSCALE)
rgb_image = cv2.cvtColor(medical_image, cv2.COLOR_GRAY2RGB)
predictor.set_image(rgb_image)
# Segment region of interest
masks, scores, _ = predictor.predict(
box=np.array([x1, y1, x2, y2]), # ROI bounding box
multimask_output=True
)
# SamAutomaticMaskGenerator output
{
"segmentation": np.ndarray, # H×W binary mask
"bbox": [x, y, w, h], # Bounding box
"area": int, # Pixel count
"predicted_iou": float, # 0-1 quality score
"stability_score": float, # 0-1 robustness score
"crop_box": [x, y, w, h], # Generation crop region
"point_coords": [[x, y]], # Input point
}
from pycocotools import mask as mask_utils
# Encode mask to RLE
rle = mask_utils.encode(np.asfortranarray(mask.astype(np.uint8)))
rle["counts"] = rle["counts"].decode("utf-8")
# Decode RLE to mask
decoded_mask = mask_utils.decode(rle)
# Use smaller model for limited VRAM
sam = sam_model_registry["vit_b"](checkpoint="sam_vit_b_01ec64.pth")
# Process images in batches
# Clear CUDA cache between large batches
torch.cuda.empty_cache()
# Use half precision
sam = sam.half()
# Reduce points for automatic generation
mask_generator = SamAutomaticMaskGenerator(
model=sam,
points_per_side=16, # Default is 32
)
# Use ONNX for deployment
# Export with --return-single-mask for faster inference
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Out of memory | Use ViT-B model, reduce image size |
| Slow inference | Use ViT-B, reduce points_per_side |
| Poor mask quality | Try different prompts, use box + points |
| Edge artifacts | Use stability_score filtering |
| Small objects missed | Increase points_per_side |
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Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Create or update AgentSkills. Use when designing, structuring, or packaging skills with scripts, references, and assets.
Use CodexBar CLI local cost usage to summarize per-model usage for Codex or Claude, including the current (most recent) model or a full model breakdown. Trigger when asked for model-level usage/cost data from codexbar, or when you need a scriptable per-model summary from codexbar cost JSON.
Set up and use 1Password CLI (op). Use when installing the CLI, enabling desktop app integration, signing in (single or multi-account), or reading/injecting/running secrets via op.