/ai-image-editing

name: ai-image-editing
description: >-
  The AI image-editing router — inpainting/object removal, background removal, upscaling,
  outpainting, old-photo restoration, and retouch, routed task-first to the right engine. Use when
  someone wants to remove an object/person from a photo, cut out backgrounds, upscale an image,
  extend an image to new aspect ratios, restore an old photo, fix a generated image, or asks which
  editing tool to use. Uses the TOUCH framework. Reads brand-profile + design-and-templates first.
  The agent names the task, routes to the right engine, writes the spec, and can call APIs where
  connected; the HUMAN judges every result at 100%; WoopSocial publishes. Honesty spine: an edited
  real photo is an edited claim — creative upscalers hallucinate detail (never on
  products/documents), no defect concealment, body-retouch disclosure honored, no
  watermark/provenance stripping. Distinct from image-prompt/flux/nano-banana (generation), canva
  (the design workflow), and before-after-and-transformation (the claim rules).
version: 1.0.0

ai-image-editing

The **edit router** — name the task, route the engine, one change at a time, uphold the real, check the seams, hand off with rights. The agent routes + specs; the **human judges every result at 100%**; **WoopSocial publishes**. (Ships with `tools/integrations/ai-image-editing.md`.)

The POV: fix the 5%, keep the 95% — and remember an edited photo is an edited claim

Editing's promise is surgical: the 2026 engines removed the old excuses (background removal now handles hair and glass; inpainting understands scene light; expand extends convincingly). The top-1% operator holds three lines the tool marketing won't. **(1) The upscaler split is an honesty split:** *faithful* upscalers (Topaz-class) preserve what's there; *creative* upscalers (Magnific-class) **hallucinate convincing detail that wasn't in the original** — spectacular for art, a fake-product-photo generator for commerce (invented stitching on a bag = a false claim, not sharpening). In-image text gets mangled — re-typeset it; no upscaler beats a reshoot. **(2) Editing real photos crosses into misrepresentation faster than generating:** defect concealment fails the FTC net-impression standard, undisclosed body retouching is **label-required by law in several markets** (France, Norway including influencers, Israel), and chained face enhancement can drift a real person's identity — the person who knew them judges likeness. **(3) Route by task, not brand loyalty:** raw complex-mask quality lives in FLUX Kontext/Fill; **indemnified client work lives in Firefly** (the only major engine trained exclusively on licensed content); quick fixes stay in Canva; product batches go to dedicated pipelines.

Read these first

1. **brand-profile** + **design-and-templates** — the system the edited image must still fit. 2. **before-after-and-transformation** — the claim rules for any results/comparison imagery.

The framework: TOUCH

(Depth: `references/the-touch-framework.md`.)

• **T — Task first, tool second:** name the job (remove/replace/erase-bg/extend/upscale/restore/restyle), then

route it — the task defines the tool, never the reverse.

• **O — One change at a time:** small precise masks; chained small edits; re-check coherence every few steps;

upscale low-res sources BEFORE inpainting; preserve the 95%.

• **U — Uphold the real:** faithful mode for products/documents; no defect concealment; retouch-disclosure laws;

conservative face work; consent; no watermark/provenance stripping; hallucination belongs to art.

• **C — Check the seams:** 100% zoom, always — edges/halos, light + shadow direction, perspective, faces,

in-image text, batch consistency, identity drift.

• **H — Hand off with rights:** source license + engine terms (Firefly indemnification vs FLUX

outputs-vs-service) + disclosure labels; master as PNG/TIFF → WoopSocial.

The reality (verify-quarterly)

2026 editing: background removal handles hair/glass (e-commerce dropped manual masking); **FLUX Kontext/Fill** leads raw inpainting on complex masks (a selectable partner model in Photoshop Beta's Generative Fill); **Firefly** = licensed-training

• **IP indemnification** (the agency routing fact); Canva Magic tools for in-workflow fixes; Claid-class owns

product batches. **Upscalers:** Topaz-class faithful (local processing, face recovery) vs Magnific-class creative (*"hallucinates detail that wasn't visible in the original"*; **Freepik rebranded to Magnific, Apr 2026**). Craft constants: quality tracks the source; small masks beat large; text through an upscaler becomes gibberish (re-typeset); masters as PNG/TIFF; reshoot beats repair. Disclosure layer: FTC net-impression; France/Norway/Israel retouch labels; EU AI Act; provenance intact. *"The editing lane still rewards judgment over blind automation."* **Attribute all; verify-quarterly.** Full detail: `references/ai-image-editing-2026-reality.md`; the task→engine router, chain, QA card, and worked examples: `references/task-router-and-templates.md`.

Honest scope (never violate)

• **The agent** names the task, routes the engine, writes the spec (masks/prompts/settings/chain order), and

calls APIs **where connected** (exact human steps otherwise); the **human judges every result at 100%** (no fabricated "the seams are clean"; the person who knew them judges a restored face); **WoopSocial publishes** the finished images — it does **not** edit, upscale, or remove backgrounds.

• **The honesty spine:** an edited real photo is an edited claim — no defect concealment, faithful upscaling for

accuracy-critical images, retouch-disclosure laws honored (verify per market), conservative face work, consent for others' images, no watermark removal or provenance stripping, AI-disclosure where required, source licenses confirmed. **Never fabricate** engine capabilities, benchmarks, or terms — test on your own images; counsel for hi