# Denoising strength

**Source:** https://promtable.com/glossary/denoising-strength

> Denoising strength controls how much an image-to-image run reshapes the source image, from 0 (untouched) to 1 (source ignored).

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Denoising strength controls how much an image-to-image run reshapes the source image, from 0 (untouched) to 1 (source ignored).

Denoising strength (sometimes "image strength") is the core image-to-image parameter in diffusion models like Stable Diffusion. It sets how many of the diffusion steps actually start from noise versus from your input image. At 0 the output equals the input; at 0.3-0.5 the model keeps composition and pose while restyling textures and lighting; at 0.7-0.85 it preserves only loose structure; at 1.0 the input is effectively discarded and you get a fresh text-to-image generation. It is the single most important dial for controlling how faithful an edit, restyle, or upscale stays to the original.

## When to use

- Restyling a photo or sketch while keeping its composition (0.35-0.55).
- Iterating on a generation you almost like — nudge low (0.2-0.4) to refine without losing it.
- Turning a rough layout or pose reference into a finished render.

## When not to use

- Pure text-to-image with no source — the parameter has no effect.
- When you need an exact-pixel edit; use inpainting with a mask instead.

## Example

```
Input: img2img, source: phone photo of a living room, denoising 0.45, prompt: "cozy scandinavian interior, warm light"
Output: Same room layout and furniture placement, restyled with brighter wood tones and softer light.
```

## Common mistakes

- Setting it near 1.0 and wondering why the source image disappeared.
- Expecting low strength to fix bad prompts — structure is kept, but quality still tracks the prompt.
- Comparing values across tools blindly; UIs label and scale this differently.

## Related terms

- [seed](https://promtable.com/glossary/seed)
- [cfg-scale](https://promtable.com/glossary/cfg-scale)
- [diffusion-model](https://promtable.com/glossary/diffusion-model)
- [negative-prompt](https://promtable.com/glossary/negative-prompt)
- [outpainting](https://promtable.com/glossary/outpainting)

## Sources

- [Hugging Face Diffusers — image-to-image](https://huggingface.co/docs/diffusers/using-diffusers/img2img)

*Last updated: 2026-06-02*
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Original page: https://promtable.com/glossary/denoising-strength
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