# Fix Old Blurry Photos for Free with GFPGAN (and Make Grandma Cry)

**URL:** <https://onehack.st/t/fix-old-blurry-photos-for-free-with-gfpgan-and-make-grandma-cry/308379>\
**Category:** Tools & Scripts\
**Tags:** freebies, ai, photo-editing\
**Created:** [July 13, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/fix-old-blurry-photos-for-free-with-gfpgan-and-make-grandma-cry/308379 "2025-07-13T15:48:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SRZ](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/srz/32/146132_2.png) [@SRZ](https://onehack.st/u/SRZ)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/fix-old-blurry-photos-for-free-with-gfpgan-and-make-grandma-cry/308379/1 "2025-07-13T15:48:06Z")

</div>

# Bring Dead Photos Back to Life (No Ouija Board Needed)

 ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/b/9/b995aaa5a6887ed794d192f18f144f7ffc4f2970.jpeg)

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## 🧟 What’s This?

GFPGAN is a free tool made by Tencent (yes, the PUBG folks) that magically fixes old, blurry, busted photos—especially faces.  
It works online, offline, and probably in your dreams. No signup, no watermark, no “upgrade to Pro” trap.

You upload an ancient photo ➜ it restores the face ➜ you cry ➜ grandma calls it witchcraft.

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## 🔧 Try It Instantly Online (No Downloads, No Excuses)

- **Hugging Face Demo** – Drop photo, click button, feel emotions
- 
  - [https://huggingface.co/spaces/Xintao/GFPGAN](https://huggingface.co/spaces/Xintao/GFPGAN)

- 
  - [https://huggingface.co/spaces/Gemini899/GFPGAN-Fix](https://huggingface.co/spaces/Gemini899/GFPGAN-Fix)

- 
  - [https://huggingface.co/spaces/nightfury/Image\_Face\_Upscale\_Restoration-GFPGAN](https://huggingface.co/spaces/nightfury/Image_Face_Upscale_Restoration-GFPGAN)

- 
  - [https://huggingface.co/spaces/sczhou/CodeFormer](https://huggingface.co/spaces/sczhou/CodeFormer)

- 
  - [https://huggingface.co/spaces/avans06/Image\_Face\_Upscale\_Restoration-GFPGAN-](https://huggingface.co/spaces/avans06/Image_Face_Upscale_Restoration-GFPGAN-)

RestoreFormer-CodeFormer-GPEN

- **Replicate Demo** – Same magic, slightly fancier  
[https://replicate.com/tencentarc/gfpgan](https://replicate.com/tencentarc/gfpgan)

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## 🛠 How to Use It on Your Own PC (Because You’re Fancy)

### 1. Get Python

Go here → [https://www.python.org/downloads](https://www.python.org/downloads)  
Click download, run it, tick the scary “Add to PATH” box or it won’t work and you’ll cry.

### 2. Copy the Tool

Open terminal or command prompt. Type this:  
`git clone https://github.com/TencentARC/GFPGAN.git && cd GFPGAN`

### 3. Install the Junk It Needs

Type:  
`pip install -r requirements.txt`  
This downloads all the brain parts.

### 4. Download Its Memory

Type:  
`python setup.py download`  
It pulls in the big model file (basically, the AI’s “face memory”).

### 5. Fix Your Photo

Put your sad photo in the folder. Then type:  
`python inference_gfpgan.py --input yourphoto.jpg --output fixedphoto.jpg`

Boom. Youth restored. You’re welcome.

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## 💻 Too Lazy to Install? Use Google Colab

Open this free Colab notebook:

> **[Google Colab](https://colab.research.google.com/github/TencentARC/GFPGAN/blob/master/inference_gfpgan.ipynb)**

- Click “Runtime \> Run all”
- Upload photo
- Wait
- Download your miracle

Tip: It’s free until it randomly crashes because Google hates fun.

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## 🎨 Make It Colorful (Because Life Isn’t in Grayscale)

### Option 1: **DeOldify**

- Web Tool (Zero effort): [https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/colorizer](https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/colorizer)
- Google Colab (For brave souls): [https://colab.research.google.com/github/jantic/DeOldify/blob/master/ImageColorizerColab.ipynb](https://colab.research.google.com/github/jantic/DeOldify/blob/master/ImageColorizerColab.ipynb)

### Option 2: **Palette.fm**

- Website: [https://palette.fm](https://palette.fm)
- No login. Upload \> Choose vibe \> Download \> Cry happy tears

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## ⚠ Heads Up Before You Cry

- Don’t use this on perfect selfies. It’ll make your face look like an AI wax statue.
- If your internet sucks or you’re using Internet Explorer (why though?), online demos may lag or crash.
- Colab might randomly stop working if Google’s having a mood swing.

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## 💡 Pro Mode Add-Ons (If You’re Feeling Nerdy)

- **Upscale with Real-ESRGAN** – Turns 720p to 4K like a Marvel VFX team:  
[https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN](https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN)

- **Batch Fix Whole Folders**  
Make a folder called `inputs`, dump all your cursed photos in it, then type:  
`python inference_gfpgan.py --input ./inputs --output ./outputs --suffix _restored`

- **Speed Boost Trick**  
Want it faster? Use ONNX version. Link:  
[https://github.com/TencentARC/GFPGAN/tree/master/onnx](https://github.com/TencentARC/GFPGAN/tree/master/onnx)

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## 🪦 Final Thought

You just revived your dead photos using free tools from the internet.  
Meanwhile, Adobe wants $30/month to crop your cat.

Stay broke, stay powerful.