Midjourney --sref Guide: Image URLs, Style Codes, and --sw

Midjourney --sref (Style Reference) copies the color, medium, texture, and lighting of an image onto a new prompt. It does not paste the person, product, or layout. Official Style Reference docs require a text prompt as well: a URL with no subject lets the model invent a plot. It works on V6 and later; parameter habits here assume V8.2.

—sref borrows vibe; image prompts carry content

Keep the three “drop an image” paths separate:

Method	What it steers	Do not use it for
--sref	Palette, brush, grain, lighting ratio	Same face, same cup
Image Prompt	What appears, composition bias	A pure style filter
Edit Model references	Identity and objects on V8.X (up to four)	Replacing style reference

Older advice—“--cref for people, --sref for style”—needs an update on V8.2: lock faces and objects with the Edit Model. --sref still only handles vibe. This site is independent commentary; treat official docs as source of truth.

On the web, use the Style Reference icon in the Imagine bar to upload or pick existing images (multi-select is allowed). On Discord, append --sref plus a live image URL; space-separate multiple URLs. Files must be .png .gif .webp .jpg .jpeg. Upload a local file first, then grab the URL.

Three inputs: image URL, style code, —sref random

1. Image URL—the stable series path. Finish one hero (or a grade plate with light and material only, no hero subject). Later prompts change the subject sentence and keep --sref on that link.
2. Style code—a number from Midjourney’s internal library after --sref, no image required. Useful for sharing “this taste” without a private file.
3. --sref random—the model draws a code; after submit, random becomes digits. Save the number if you like it. Official note: reroll / variations keep the same code; each --repeat cell draws a new one.

Copyable skeleton (swap the URL):

ceramic teapot on linen, window light, still life photography
--sref https://example.com/grade-sample.png --sw 100 --ar 4:5 --stylize 140 --v 8

Discord also allows relative weights: --sref URL1::2 URL2::1. Official docs allow mixing images and codes. Do not stack another random on --sref random.

How to tune —sw: 0–1000, default 100

--sw (style weight) sets how hard the reference pushes. Official range is 0–1000, default 100. V7 notes that --sw often feels stronger on codes than on images—on V8.X, trust your grid, not an old blog recipe.

Practical order:

1. Start at --sw 100 and check that the subject still exists.
2. If color temperature and grain still drift, raise to 200–400 and stop rewriting the lighting sentence.
3. If the subject becomes a prop from the reference, or the crop is swallowed, drop to 50–80—or use a plate that has vibe only, no recognizable object.
4. For posters and lookbooks that must read as one set, freeze --sw in the skeleton.

The poster prompt guide uses --sref to lock a KV series: freeze palette and type space, swap only the theme. Fashion editorials use the same filter-for-the-season idea in the fashion editorial guide.

Style-code version —sv: old codes are not a V8.2 LUT

On V7, image-based Style Reference offered --sv 1 through --sv 6. Docs set --sv 6 as the then-default; --sv 4 is the pre–June 16, 2025 V7 sref model. --sref random and numeric codes only work with --sv 4 and --sv 6. Codes saved in the V6 era may taste completely different now. To replay old codes, official guidance is --sv 4 (legacy V7 sref) or switch to V6.

Do not treat a viral “universal code” as an official V8.2 filter. Codes age. A code you generated and saved is the one you can reuse. While V8.2 is the default, lock a project with an image URL before chasing leaked numbers.

Moodboards and —p: do not stack —sw or —sv

Moodboards are a personalization type: a curated set for a wider aesthetic, not a single blended filter. Use --p (your default board) or --p plus a moodboard ID / code.

For the full —p / Moodboard walkthrough, see How to use Midjourney Moodboards with —p.

Two hard official limits:

• Moodboards cannot be used with --sw
• Moodboards cannot be used with --sv

Steer Moodboard strength with --stylize (0–1000, default 100): lower stylize limits the board, higher leans into it. --p and --sref can appear together on recent versions, but once a Moodboard is on, drop --sw / --sv. Season-wide direction → Moodboard. This hero’s grade and grain → --sref.

How to split work with the V8.2 Edit Model

Style Reference docs say you can combine it with Edit Model references and Image Prompts. The Edit Model note adds that moodboards / srefs in this build work better with extra prompt direction. Split the jobs:

• --sref / Moodboard: film, watercolor, neon night, or clean studio
• Edit Model attachments: who, what they wear, what they hold
• Text: what happens in this shot, camera, time of day

Do not make one image carry all three. If style pulls the face off-model, drop --sref, keep identity refs plus the action sentence, then bring style back.

Suggested flow: skeleton here, references on official Midjourney

1. On this site’s generator, run a full subject sentence until one plate has the right light and material. Prompt craft still matches how to write better prompts.
2. Use that frame (or a de-subjected grade plate) as --sref. Later shots change the subject only—not --sw or aspect ratio.
3. To hunt an unknown taste, run --sref random and save the returned digits.
4. To lock a character or product, take the file to the official editor. Do not force --cref on V8.
5. Check subscription and license terms before commercial use. This site is not affiliated with Midjourney, Inc.

The tutorial Style engine: stylize and sref is a four-step outline. Parameter edges, old codes, and the Moodboard stacking ban follow this article plus official docs.

Wrap-up: —sref is a grade, not a character lock

Treat Midjourney --sref as a habit: text says what you are shooting, the reference only says what it should taste like, --sw starts at 100, and Moodboards use a different pair (--p + --stylize). For a series, store your own URL or a code you actually generated—that ships better than a folder of expired numbers.

midjourney AI Art (midjourney.wang) is an independent community resource for tutorials, prompts, and generation guidance, and is not affiliated with Midjourney, Inc.