| Field | What we found / documented |
|---|---|
| Storage location | PNG tEXt/iTXt chunk (commonly keyed "parameters") |
| Typical contents | Prompt, negative prompt, sampler, steps, CFG scale, seed, model hash |
| Encryption or signing | None; plain text, easily edited or stripped |
| C2PA Content Credentials | Not added by the base tools; some extensions add it separately |
Unlike hosted generators, most open-source Stable Diffusion front ends run locally and default to writing their generation parameters straight into the image file using PNG's standard text-chunk mechanism, defined in the PNG specification. This is a convenience feature for recreating a result later, not a provenance system: the text is unsigned and can be edited or deleted with an ordinary metadata tool, including this site's own.
If you export as JPEG instead of PNG, most of these tools drop the parameters text entirely, since JPEG has no equivalent plain-text chunk by default (see our JPEG metadata page). A PNG with a readable "parameters" field is a strong, specific signal that the file came from one of these open-source pipelines; its absence only means the field was stripped, converted away, or the tool used a different export path. Check any file with our metadata viewer.
Questions this page answers
Does an empty metadata result mean the image is not from Stable Diffusion?
No. A missing field can mean the metadata was never written, was stripped by an export or upload step, or was not inspected by this tool. Treat it as inconclusive, not as proof either way.
Does this page verify a specific image is from Stable Diffusion?
No. It describes documented or observed behavior for Stable Diffusion in general. To evaluate one file, inspect it with our metadata viewer and Content Credentials marker inspector and weigh the result alongside other context.