# Real-ESRGAN

> Real-ESRGAN is the model family most free upscalers build on (Upscayl, Video2X, chaiNNer). It offers 4x general and anime models, a Python script with optional GFPGAN face enhancement and tiling for low VRAM, and portable realesrgan-ncnn-vulkan binaries for Windows, Linux and macOS that need no CUDA. Code and released weights are BSD-3-Clause. It is a command-line tool with no GUI. Development has stopped: last commit Aug 2024, last release Sep 2022, binary Apr 2022.

- Repository: https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN
- Official docs: https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#readme
- Checked: 2026-10-16

## What it replaces
- Topaz Gigapixel: Photo upscaling up to 16x, Face recovery on blurry or low-res faces, Upscaling art, Batch upscaling of many images (partial). Command-line 4x upscaling of files or folders, anime models, and optional GFPGAN face enhancement; no GUI.

## Facts, with sources

| Question | Status | Answer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on my machine? | Confirmed | Yes, portable executable or Python script | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#portable-executable-files-ncnn | 2026-10-16 |
| Code licence | Confirmed | BSD-3-Clause | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-16 |
| Model weights licence | Confirmed | Weights ship in the repo's releases; no separate licence stated, so the BSD-3-Clause repo licence applies | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN/blob/master/LICENSE | 2026-10-16 |
| Commercial use | Confirmed | Yes, BSD-3-Clause; the optional --face\_enhance step uses GFPGAN, which includes non-commercial parts | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#python-script | 2026-10-16 |
| Paid services needed? | Confirmed | None required | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#readme | 2026-10-16 |
| Hardware | Confirmed | Portable build runs on Intel, AMD or Nvidia GPUs via Vulkan; tile option reduces GPU memory | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#portable-executable-files-ncnn | 2026-10-16 |
| Operating systems | Confirmed | Windows, Linux, macOS portable builds | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#portable-executable-files-ncnn | 2026-10-16 |
| Setup effort | Confirmed | Easy, unzip portable binary and run from the command line; Python route needs PyTorch | https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN#portable-executable-files-ncnn | 2026-10-16 |

GitHub: 37106 stars, 4496 forks, last push 2024-08-06, archived: no.
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/projects/real-esrgan). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.