Where the recipe survives
Every major local generator writes prompt and settings into the image itself: PNG text chunks (parameters, prompt, workflow, invokeai_metadata) or, for JPEG/WebP, EXIF UserComment. As long as the file has not been re-encoded, the data is intact even years later.
Step by step
- Find the original file: your outputs folder, the download from Civitai, the attachment (not the preview) from Discord/Telegram.
- Upload it above. Check the Generation summary for prompt, negative prompt, seed, model and sampler.
- ComfyUI user? Download the workflow JSON and drag it onto the canvas — ComfyUI guide.
- A1111/Forge user? Copy the prompt block, paste it into the prompt box and press ↙ to fill every setting — A1111 guide.
If the summary is empty
Open the raw chunks list under the summary. If there are no text chunks at all, the copy you have was stripped — try another source of the same image (original export, cloud sync, another device). If chunks exist but PNGMeta could not summarise them, the prompt is still there in raw form; use copy on that chunk. Read why images lose metadata to avoid it next time.
Prevent it in future
- Keep the PNG originals; never rely on a JPEG re-save.
- Share as file/document, not as photo.
- Back up your outputs folder — the metadata goes with it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover a prompt from a screenshot?
No. Screenshots are new images without any generation metadata. You need the original exported file.
I only have the image on Discord — can I still recover the prompt?
If it was uploaded as a file from the desktop app it is usually intact: download the attachment (not "Save image" from a preview) and upload it here. Mobile uploads are often re-compressed and lose metadata.
Does recovery need the same model installed?
No. Reading the metadata needs nothing installed. Re-generating the image later needs the same checkpoint/LoRAs; the summary shows their names and hashes.