How to Use Stable Diffusion Online

Stable Diffusion is a latent text-to-image diffusion model capable of generating photo-realistic images with any text input. The model became very popular within just weeks of its launch because of its ability to be run on a home computer. However, to install Stable Diffusion locally, you need a PC with a graphics processing unit (GPU) of at least six gigabytes (GB) VRAM and ten or more gigabytes of internal storage. 

Does this reduce the number of people who can access this amazing artificial intelligence (AI) art generator? Certainly not, because you can also use Stable Diffusion online without installing any of the files to your hard drive.

Steps to Access Stable Diffusion Online

To use Stable Diffusion online, you don’t have to know anything about programming. All you need to do is follow the prompts on Google Colaboratory (also known as Google Colab), a cloud-based coding environment. 

When using Stable Diffusion via Google Colab, your PC does not need to meet the system requirements for installing Stable Diffusion. You also don't need to worry about setting up any infrastructure because the code is executed on Google’s servers. 

To use a basic Stable Diffusion generator online, take the following steps:

1. Visit Google Collab

The first thing you need to do is to visit Google collab where the repository of Stable Diffusion codes are kept. Check Stable Diffusion on Google Collab.

1. Run Stable Diffusion Using GPU

Next, you will need to confirm that Google Colab is running using a GPU. To do this, in the Google Colab menu, go to ‘Runtime’ > ‘Change runtime type.’ In the pop-up window under ‘Hardware Accelerator,’ select ‘GPU’ and ‘Save.’

1. Run The First Three Cells

The next step is to run the first cells in the Stable Diffusion Colab. You don’t need to know what the codes do, just hover the cursor over every one of them, and a play button will appear. Click each button and wait for it to finish. It will display a green checkmark when a cell is done. After running the first three cells in Google Colab, click ‘Okay’ if a prompt pops up with the message: “This notebook requires high ram.”

1. Request Access to Stable Diffusion Repository

After successfully logging in, you will need to agree to some terms to access Stable Diffusion. After reading through the terms and clicking ‘Access repository,’ you are granted full access to Stable Diffusion. If you are prompted to import the Repository, then you would need to access the files from projects that have 

1. Download Required Files

To download the required files, you will need to run the fifth cell similar to how you ran the first three. After running the fifth cell, under the Stable Diffusion Pipeline, the model will automatically download all the necessary components you need to start creating art. When the download is complete, run the next cell: pipe = pipe.to("cuda"):

1. Generate Your First Image

After the files have been downloaded, you can start creating images with Stable Diffusion. In the quotes of the prompt section, type what you want to be turned into an image, and run the cell by simply clicking it. The more detailed your description, the more accurate your image will be. In the other cells below, you can set the width, height, and quality of image you want to be generated. 

In addition, Stability.AI’s Stable Diffusion algorithm allows you to generate up to one hundred images at the same time. You can set the images to be automatically saved to any folder you choose on Google Drive, so you don’t need to worry about losing any of your AI-generated artwork.

Stable Diffusion with NightCafe

Instead of learning all the steps listed above, we offer a simpler alternative. Nightcafe has fully integrated Stable Diffusion codes and repositories into their infrastructure, creating a clean user interface for you to create artworks using Stable Diffusion.

• When you visit NightCafe and click on ‘Start Creating,’ you’ll be prompted to choose between one of four AI generation models available on the website. 
• Select ‘Stable Diffusion,’ which is currently the most advanced text-to-image algorithm offered by Nightcafe.
• In the ‘Your text prompt’ area, input the prompt for the image you want created. 
• If you have an image you want your AI-generated image to be modeled after, choose a start image.
• In the advanced section, choose your preferred dimension and quality you want. By default, this is set as Stable Diffusion’s standard 512 x 512 pixels. 
• Click on ‘Create’ and wait for NightCafe to create the image via Stable Diffusion’s algorithm.

In addition to not being required to run codes, with NightCafe, you are also not required to sign up before creating your first image. However, you can create an account to continue receiving free credits to create and evolve your AI-generated images made via Stable Diffusion.

In Summary

Because Stable Diffusion can run online, users of Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems can access the amazing features of this model without having to install it on their PCs. While using Stable Diffusion online the first time may seem cumbersome, the process becomes as simple as clicking on blocks and then hitting the ‘Play’ button on the left side. With this, everyone can enjoy the high-quality, beautiful images created by Stable Diffusion.