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# autogen.agentchat.contrib.img_utils.get_image_data

<code class="doc-symbol doc-symbol-heading doc-symbol-function" />

#### get\_image\_data

```python theme={null}
get_image_data(image_file: str | ForwardRef('Image'), use_b64=True) -> bytes
```

Loads an image and returns its data either as raw bytes or in base64-encoded format.<br />This function first loads an image from the specified file, URL, or base64 string using
the `get_pil_image` function. It then saves this image in memory in PNG format and
retrieves its binary content. Depending on the `use_b64` flag, this binary content is
either returned directly or as a base64-encoded string.<br />Parameters: <br />    image\_file (str, or Image): The path to the image file, a URL to an image, or a base64-encoded
string of the image.<br />    use\_b64 (bool): If True, the function returns a base64-encoded string of the image data.<br />                    If False, it returns the raw byte data of the image. Defaults to True.<br />Returns: <br />    bytes: The image data in raw bytes if `use_b64` is False, or a base64-encoded string
if `use_b64` is True.

<b>Parameters:</b>

| Name           | Description                                |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `image_file`   | **Type:** str \| ForwardRef('Image.Image') |
| `use_b64=True` |                                            |

<b>Returns:</b>

| Type  | Description                                                                                                |
| ----- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| bytes | bytes: The image data in raw bytes if `use_b64` is False, or a base64-encoded string if `use_b64` is True. |

<br />