> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.roboflow.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.roboflow.com/developer/python-sdk/run-a-model-on-an-image.md).

# Run a Model on an Image

Once a `Version` is trained, its `.model` property returns a task-specific model object you can call `.predict()` on. The SDK handles authentication, image preprocessing, and JSON response parsing.

The model class returned depends on the project type - object detection, classification, segmentation, keypoint detection, or VLM. The `.predict()` signature is similar across all of them; differences are noted below.

## Object detection

```python
import roboflow

rf = roboflow.Roboflow(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
project = rf.workspace().project("my-detector")
version = project.version(3)
model = version.model

predictions = model.predict(
    "photo.jpg",
    confidence=40,   # 0–100
    overlap=30,      # 0–100, NMS IoU threshold
).json()

for p in predictions["predictions"]:
    print(p["class"], p["confidence"], p["x"], p["y"], p["width"], p["height"])
```

Save a visualization (full `roboflow` package only - not `roboflow-slim`):

```python
model.predict("photo.jpg", confidence=40, overlap=30).save("prediction.jpg")
```

## Classification

```python
project = rf.workspace().project("my-classifier")
model = project.version(2).model

predictions = model.predict("photo.jpg").json()
print(predictions["top"], predictions["confidence"])
```

Classification's `predict()` doesn't take `overlap`. Pass `hosted=True` if you're providing a URL rather than a local path.

## Instance segmentation

```python
project = rf.workspace().project("my-instance-seg")
model = project.version(1).model

predictions = model.predict("photo.jpg", confidence=40).json()
for p in predictions["predictions"]:
    print(p["class"], len(p["points"]))   # polygon vertices
```

## Semantic segmentation

```python
project = rf.workspace().project("my-semantic-seg")
model = project.version(1).model

predictions = model.predict("photo.jpg").json()
# Returns per-pixel class predictions (run-length encoded).
```

## Keypoint detection

```python
project = rf.workspace().project("my-keypoint")
model = project.version(1).model

predictions = model.predict("photo.jpg", confidence=40).json()
for p in predictions["predictions"]:
    for kp in p["keypoints"]:
        print(kp["class"], kp["x"], kp["y"], kp["confidence"])
```

## Vision-language (VLM)

```python
project = rf.workspace().project("my-vlm-project")
model = project.version(1).model

predictions = model.predict("photo.jpg", text="What is in this image?").json()
print(predictions)
```

VLM models accept a `text` prompt in addition to (or sometimes instead of) the image, depending on the underlying base model.

## Hosted images

Pass `hosted=True` and a URL to skip the local upload - the inference server fetches the image directly:

```python
model.predict("https://example.com/photo.jpg", hosted=True)
```

## Where inference runs

By default `model.predict()` calls Roboflow's hosted Serverless v2 inference at `serverless.roboflow.com`. For higher throughput or on-prem use cases:

* **Self-hosted Inference** - install [Roboflow Inference](https://inference.roboflow.com) and point the SDK at it via `version.model = version.model_for(local="http://localhost:9001")` (or call `inference-sdk` directly for streaming and batched calls).
* **Dedicated Deployments** - see [Manage Dedicated Deployments](/developer/python-sdk/manage-dedicated-deployments.md) and the [product docs deployment overview](https://docs.roboflow.com/deploy/deployment-overview).

The legacy `detect.roboflow.com` and other task-specific Serverless v1 endpoints are deprecated - new code should use Serverless v2.

## REST and CLI equivalents

* REST: see [Run a Model on an Image (REST)](/developer/rest-api/run-a-model-on-an-image.md).
* CLI: see [Run a Model on an Image (CLI)](/developer/command-line-interface/run-a-model-on-an-image.md).