+++
disableToc = false
title = "Face Recognition"
weight = 42
url = "/features/face-recognition/"
+++

![Face recognition: 1:N match against a vector store, with an anti-spoofing liveness gate that can veto a verification](/images/diagrams/face-recognition-flow.png)

LocalAI supports face recognition: face verification (1:1), face
identification (1:N) against a built-in vector store, face embedding,
face detection, demographic analysis (age / gender), and antispoofing /
liveness detection.

The same `/v1/face/*` HTTP API is served by two backends:

- **`face-detect` (recommended, default).** A standalone C++/ggml
  engine ([face-detect.cpp](https://github.com/mudler/face-detect.cpp)):
  no Python, no onnxruntime, no torch runtime. Each gallery entry is a
  single self-describing GGUF. This is the recommended option for new
  deployments.
- **`insightface` (Python).** The original ONNX Runtime backend. Still
  supported; see [the Python backend](#insightface-python-backend) below.

Both backends expose the identical wire format, so the API examples in
this page work with either - only the gallery entry name (the `model`
field) changes.

## face-detect (ggml) backend

The `face-detect` backend reads the detector and recognizer architecture
(`facedetect.arch`) directly from the GGUF metadata, so installing a
gallery entry is all that is needed to select an engine. It drives the
Embeddings / Detect / FaceVerify / FaceAnalyze gRPC rpcs behind the
`/v1/face/{embed,verify,analyze,detect,register,identify,forget}`
endpoints.

### Licensing - read this first

| Gallery entry | Detector + recognizer | Embedding dim | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| `face-detect-buffalo-l` | SCRFD-10GF + ArcFace R50 + GenderAge | 512 | **Non-commercial research only** (upstream insightface weights) |
| `face-detect-buffalo-m` | SCRFD-2.5GF + ArcFace R50 + GenderAge | 512 | **Non-commercial research only** |
| `face-detect-buffalo-s` | SCRFD-500MF + MBF + GenderAge | 512 | **Non-commercial research only** |
| `face-detect-yunet-sface` | YuNet + SFace (OpenCV Zoo) | 128 | **Apache 2.0 - commercial-safe** |

The insightface buffalo packs (buffalo_l / buffalo_m / buffalo_s) are
released by the upstream maintainers for **non-commercial research use
only**. Pick the `face-detect-yunet-sface` entry for production /
commercial deployments.

### Quickstart

Install the commercial-safe entry (recommended for copy-paste):

```bash
local-ai models install face-detect-yunet-sface
```

Verify that two images depict the same person:

```bash
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/verify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "face-detect-yunet-sface",
    "img1": "https://example.com/alice_1.jpg",
    "img2": "https://example.com/alice_2.jpg"
  }'
```

Detect faces and analyze demographics (buffalo entries populate
age / gender; YuNet + SFace returns regions only):

```bash
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/detection \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "face-detect-buffalo-l", "image": "https://example.com/group.jpg"}'

curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/analyze \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "face-detect-buffalo-l", "img": "https://example.com/alice.jpg"}'
```

The 1:N register / identify / forget workflow and the rest of the API
are identical to the [API reference](#api-reference) below - just pass a
`face-detect-*` model name. The per-engine verify thresholds are ~0.35
for the buffalo ArcFace/MBF recognizers and ~0.363 for SFace.

## insightface (Python) backend

The `insightface` backend ships **two interchangeable engines** under
one image, each paired with a distinct gallery entry so users can pick
by license and accuracy needs.

### Licensing - read this first

| Gallery entry | Detector + recognizer | Size | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| `insightface-buffalo-l` | SCRFD-10GF + ArcFace R50 + GenderAge | ~326 MB | **Non-commercial research only** (upstream insightface weights) |
| `insightface-buffalo-s` | SCRFD-500MF + MBF + GenderAge | ~159 MB | **Non-commercial research only** |
| `insightface-opencv` | YuNet + SFace | ~40 MB | **Apache 2.0 - commercial-safe** |

The `insightface` Python library itself is MIT, but the pretrained model
packs (buffalo_l, buffalo_s, antelopev2) are released by the upstream
maintainers for **non-commercial research use only**. Pick the
`insightface-opencv` entry for production / commercial deployments.

## Quickstart

Pull the commercial-safe backend (recommended for copy-paste):

```bash
local-ai models install insightface-opencv
```

Verify that two images depict the same person:

```bash
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/verify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "insightface-opencv",
    "img1": "https://example.com/alice_1.jpg",
    "img2": "https://example.com/alice_2.jpg"
  }'
```

Response:

```json
{
  "verified": true,
  "distance": 0.27,
  "threshold": 0.35,
  "confidence": 23.1,
  "model": "insightface-opencv",
  "img1_area": { "x": 120.4, "y": 82.1, "w": 198.3, "h": 260.5 },
  "img2_area": { "x": 110.8, "y": 95.0, "w": 205.6, "h": 268.2 },
  "processing_time_ms": 412.0
}
```

## Restore enrollments after a restart

The default identity store is in memory. Clients can keep an enrollment record
and replay it with `POST /v1/face/register` after a restart. Extract the embedding
once with `/v1/face/embed`, then save the exact returned vector, model, name,
labels, and enrollment timestamp. Submit `embedding` instead of `img`:

```json
{
  "model": "insightface-opencv",
  "name": "Alice",
  "embedding": [0.12, -0.04, 0.31],
  "registered_at": "2026-09-07T12:00:00Z",
  "labels": {"client_id": "alice"}
}
```

The vector above is abbreviated; send the complete embedding from the same
recognizer model. Provide exactly one of `img` or `embedding`. Vectors must be
finite and nonzero. `registered_at` is optional and defaults to the current time;
replay the original timestamp to preserve it.

The store upserts by exact vector. Registration now derives a stable ID from
that vector and the store namespace, so retries and replay after a restart
return the same ID without adding duplicate entries. Replaying updates the name
and labels. Images can produce slightly different embeddings across runs; keep
the original vector instead of embedding the photo again on each retry.

This does not make the server store persistent. Clients must retain and restore
the records themselves. With independent stores behind a load balancer, replay
into each store or use a shared store. Do not mix different recognizer models in
one store. IDs from older versions change on their first registration replay.

## 1:N identification workflow (register → identify → forget)

This is the primary "face recognition" flow. Under the hood it uses
LocalAI's built-in in-memory vector store - no external database to
stand up.

1. Register known faces:

    ```bash
    curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/register \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "model": "insightface-buffalo-l",
        "name": "Alice",
        "img": "https://example.com/alice.jpg"
      }'
    # → {"id": "8b7...", "name": "Alice", "registered_at": "2026-04-21T..."}
    ```

2. Identify an unknown probe:

    ```bash
    curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/identify \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "model": "insightface-buffalo-l",
        "img": "https://example.com/unknown.jpg",
        "top_k": 5
      }'
    # → {"matches": [{"id":"8b7...","name":"Alice","distance":0.22,"match":true,...}]}
    ```

3. Remove a person by ID:

    ```bash
    curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/forget \
      -d '{"id": "8b7..."}'
    # → 204 No Content
    ```

{{% notice warning %}}
**Storage caveat.** The default vector store is in-memory. All
registered faces are lost when LocalAI restarts. Persistent storage
(pgvector) is a tracked future enhancement - the face-recognition HTTP
API is designed to swap the backing store without changing the wire
format.
{{% /notice %}}

## API reference

### `POST /v1/face/verify` (1:1)

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `model` | string | gallery entry name (e.g. `insightface-buffalo-l`) |
| `img1`, `img2` | string | URL, base64, or data-URI |
| `threshold` | float, optional | cosine-distance cutoff; default depends on engine |
| `anti_spoofing` | bool, optional | also run MiniFASNet liveness on each image - see [Antispoofing](#antispoofing-liveness-detection) |

Returns `verified`, `distance`, `threshold`, `confidence`, `model`,
`img1_area`, `img2_area`, and `processing_time_ms`. When
`anti_spoofing` is set, the response also carries per-image liveness
fields: `img1_is_real`, `img1_antispoof_score`, `img2_is_real`,
`img2_antispoof_score`. A failed liveness check on either image forces
`verified=false` regardless of similarity.

### `POST /v1/face/analyze`

Returns demographic attributes for every detected face:

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `model` | string | gallery entry |
| `img` | string | URL / base64 / data-URI |
| `actions` | string[] | subset of `["age","gender","emotion","race"]`; empty = all supported |

Only `insightface-buffalo-l` / `insightface-buffalo-s` populate age and
gender (genderage head). `insightface-opencv` returns face regions with
empty attributes - SFace has no demographic classifier. Emotion and
race are always empty in the current release.

### `POST /v1/face/register` (1:N enrollment)

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `model` | string | face recognition model |
| `img` | string | face to enroll |
| `name` | string | human-readable label |
| `labels` | map[string]string, optional | arbitrary metadata |
| `store` | string, optional | vector store model; defaults to local-store |

Returns `{id, name, registered_at}`. The `id` is an opaque UUID used by
`/v1/face/identify` and `/v1/face/forget`.

### `POST /v1/face/identify` (1:N recognition)

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `model` | string | face recognition model |
| `img` | string | probe image |
| `top_k` | int, optional | max matches to return; default 5 |
| `threshold` | float, optional | cosine-distance cutoff; default 0.35 (ArcFace) |
| `store` | string, optional | vector store model; defaults to local-store |

Returns a list of matches sorted by ascending distance, each with `id`,
`name`, `labels`, `distance`, `confidence`, and `match`
(`distance ≤ threshold`).

### `POST /v1/face/forget`

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `id` | string | ID returned by `/v1/face/register` |

Returns `204 No Content` on success, `404 Not Found` if the ID is
unknown.

### `POST /v1/face/embed`

Returns the L2-normalized face embedding vector for the detected face.

| field | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| `model` | string | face model |
| `img` | string | URL / base64 / data-URI |

Returns `{embedding: float[], dim: int, model: string}`. Dimension is
512 for the insightface ArcFace/MBF recognizers and 128 for OpenCV's
SFace.

> **Note:** the OpenAI-compatible `/v1/embeddings` endpoint is
> intentionally text-only by contract (`input` is a string or list of
> strings of TEXT to embed) - passing an image data-URI there does
> nothing useful. Use `/v1/face/embed` for image inputs.

### Reused endpoint

- `POST /v1/detection` - returns face bounding boxes with
  `class_name: "face"`; works for both engines.

## Antispoofing (liveness detection)

All gallery entries ship the [Silent-Face-Anti-Spoofing](https://github.com/minivision-ai/Silent-Face-Anti-Spoofing)
MiniFASNetV2 + MiniFASNetV1SE ensemble (Apache 2.0, ~4 MB total, CPU-only)
alongside the face recognition weights. Set `anti_spoofing: true` on
`/v1/face/verify` or `/v1/face/analyze` to run liveness on each detected
face. The two models look at different crop scales and their softmax
outputs are averaged before argmax - the upstream-recommended setup.

`/v1/face/verify` with liveness gating:

```bash
curl -sX POST http://localhost:8080/v1/face/verify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "insightface-opencv",
    "img1": "https://example.com/alice_selfie.jpg",
    "img2": "https://example.com/alice_id_scan.jpg",
    "anti_spoofing": true
  }'
```

Response (fields added when `anti_spoofing` is enabled):

```json
{
  "verified": true,
  "distance": 0.27,
  "threshold": 0.5,
  "confidence": 46.0,
  "model": "insightface-opencv",
  "img1_area": { "x": 120, "y": 82, "w": 198, "h": 260 },
  "img2_area": { "x": 110, "y": 95, "w": 205, "h": 268 },
  "img1_is_real": true,
  "img1_antispoof_score": 0.82,
  "img2_is_real": true,
  "img2_antispoof_score": 0.74,
  "processing_time_ms": 431.0
}
```

If either image fails liveness (`is_real=false`), `verified` is forced
to `false` - similarity alone is not enough.

`/v1/face/analyze` reports per-face `is_real` and `antispoof_score`
when the flag is set.

**Fail-loud semantics.** If `anti_spoofing: true` is sent against a
model installed without the MiniFASNet files (e.g. a custom entry that
only listed the face recognition weights), the request returns a gRPC
`FAILED_PRECONDITION` error - the endpoint will never silently return
`is_real=false`. Re-install the gallery entry or point the backend at a
model that bundles the MiniFASNet ONNX files.

{{% notice info %}}
The MiniFASNet score is best at catching **printed photos and screen
replays**. Deepfake videos and high-quality prosthetics are out of
scope - liveness here is a low-cost first line of defence, not a
guarantee. For higher assurance, combine with challenge-response (e.g.
ask the user to turn their head).
{{% /notice %}}

## Choosing an engine

| Need | Entry |
|---|---|
| Commercial product | `insightface-opencv` |
| Highest accuracy (research / demos) | `insightface-buffalo-l` |
| Edge / low-memory / research | `insightface-buffalo-s` |

The recommended default `threshold` for `/v1/face/verify` and
`/v1/face/identify` depends on the recognizer:

| Recognizer | Cosine-distance threshold |
|---|---|
| ArcFace R50 (`buffalo_l`) | ~0.35 |
| MBF (`buffalo_s`) | ~0.40 |
| SFace (`opencv`) | ~0.50 |

Pass `threshold` explicitly when switching engines - the per-engine
default only fires when the field is omitted.

## Related features

- [Object Detection](/features/object-detection/) - generic bounding-box
  detection; `/v1/detection` works with the insightface backend too.
- [Embeddings](/features/embeddings/) - raw vector extraction; face
  embeddings live in the same endpoint under the hood.
- [Stores](/features/stores/) - the generic vector store powering the
  1:N recognition pipeline.