/upscale-alt4 creditsMidjourney onlyUpscale Alt (Subtle/Creative)
Apply a second-pass enhancement to an already-upscaled Midjourney image. "Subtle" sharpens and refines fine details while staying faithful to the original. "Creative" gives Midjourney latitude to add texture, depth, and detail that wasn't in the 1x upscale — useful for prints or close-up inspection. Requires a prior /upscale-1x task as parent. Midjourney only.
Request Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| parent_task_id | string | Required | Task ID of a prior /upscale-1x task. Must be an upscaled image, not a grid. |
| type | string | Required | "subtle" keeps close to original, "creative" adds artistic reinterpretation.subtlecreative |
| webhook_url | string | Optional | URL where we POST the completed task result. |
| webhook_secret | string | Optional | Sent as x-webhook-secret header in webhook delivery. |
Example Request
curl -X POST https://api.journeyapi.com/api/v1/upscale-alt \
-H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"parent_task_id": "772a0622-a41d-63f6-c938-668877662222",
"type": "subtle",
"webhook_url": "https://your-server.com/webhook"
}'Immediate Response
Returns immediately with a task ID. Use /fetch or webhooks to get the result.
{
"task_id": "883b1733-b52e-74g7-d049-779988773333"
}Response Fields
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| task_id | string | UUID of the upscale task. |
| task_type | string | "upscale-creative" or "upscale-subtle". |
| image_url | string | URL of the enhanced image. |
Tips
- 1Use "subtle" when you want to preserve fine details exactly. Use "creative" when you want Midjourney to add detail and texture.
- 2This is only available after a 1x upscale via /upscale-1x. You cannot apply it directly to a grid image.
Quirks & Gotchas
The parent_task_id must be from /upscale-1x specifically. Passing a grid task ID or another upscale-alt task will fail.
Availability depends on your account tier. Some plans may not support 2x/4x alt upscales — if the task fails with an "invalid request" error, this feature may not be enabled on your account.
Expert Tips & Best Practices
Subtle vs. Creative — which to use
Use "subtle" when the 1x upscale already looks clean and you want to enhance sharpness without changing anything. It preserves textures, colors, and composition very faithfully. Use "creative" when the 1x upscale feels slightly flat or you want Midjourney to add micro-detail — skin pores, fabric weave, material texture. Creative works especially well for printing because it fills in fine detail that looks good at large sizes.
Best for prints and display work
If your final deliverable is a print or high-res display asset, the creative upscale often produces a significantly better result than subtle. For web or UI thumbnails, subtle is sufficient and faster. Save creative for the final output, not intermediate working files.