Best Midjourney Sref Codes 2026: Eight Free Codes, and How Sref Works

A style reference, or sref, tells Midjourney to paint your subject in the look of something else: its palette, its lighting, its texture and its finish. Your prompt keeps the subject; the reference brings the style. It is the fastest way to keep a whole series looking like one hand made it.

This page does not print codes. The seven images below each carry real style references; the codes are kept on each image's decode page, where Pro members unlock them for 5 credits each. What you get here for free is how sref behaves, and the decoded style words of each image, which you can use in any tool.

What a sref is

--sref takes a style source. That source is either a numeric style code or the web address of a picture whose look you want. --sref codes are essentially pointers into Midjourney's learned style space. A code is opaque: it tells you nothing about why an image looks the way it does, which is why every image here also shows the style words AIKIZI decoded from its pixels.

Two rules decide whether a reference works at all. One compatibility rule trips people up: numeric codes and --sref random only resolve under style versions --sv 4 (legacy) and --sv 6. And pasting from a doc or chat often converts -- into a "smart" em-dash (—), which Midjourney silently ignores.

How --sw changes the pull

In Midjourney V8.1, --sw (style weight) controls one thing: how strongly a --sref reference asserts its look over the rest of your prompt. The range is 0 to 1000 and the default is 100. The --sw parameter controls intensity — at 50 you get a subtle influence, at 500 the style dominates, at 1000 it overpowers the prompt entirely.

With more than one source, list them after one --sref, space-separated, and V8.1 blends them into a composite style. --sw sets one strength for the whole flag; to tilt the blend, weight each source with a double colon, as in --sref A::2 B::1. And the clean mental model: --stylize sets how much Midjourney editorializes; --sw sets how much your reference gets to veto that editorializing.

How to use sref in Midjourney

1. Choose a style source: a numeric sref code, or the web address of a picture whose look you want.
2. Add --sref and the source to the end of your prompt. For more than one source, list them after one --sref, separated by spaces.
3. If the source is a number, add --sv 4 or --sv 6, because numeric codes only resolve under those style versions.
4. Start at --sw 100, the default, then re-roll at 300 and 500 and keep the weight that holds the look without losing your subject.
5. Type the dashes yourself: a pasted em-dash is ignored, and the reference then does nothing.

Eight free sref styles, codes printed in full

These codes are free: copy one, add it after --sref, and the look comes with it. Frozen Testament and Stately Sentinel share one code, so you can see what a code keeps: the same light and finish on a dragon and on a toad. Each one is a style from the AIKIZI library, decoded from the pixels, with its style DNA under the picture, base layer first. They were made on Midjourney V7 and niji 7, so add --sv 4 or --sv 6 when you use a code on V8.1, and set --sw to taste: all eight ran at 400.

Crimson Chronos

A shōjo manga heroine among heart-shaped clocks.

1970s shōjo mangavictorian steampunk motifspop art palettewoodcut textural inking

--sref 2174527187

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --niji 7

See the decode →

Frozen Testament

A white dragon over a lone knight in the snow.

northern high fantasyromantic sublime compositionmacro-textural hyperrealismcontemporary minimalist framing

--sref 1943712805

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --v 7

See the decode →

Stately Sentinel

A toad aristocrat in a navy military jacket.

victorian cabinet curiositiesnapoleonic military uniformityindigenous ceremonial texturescontemporary digital hyperrealism

--sref 1943712805

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --v 7

See the decode →

Grim Threshold

A figure in a bright doorway, stippled black and white.

high-contrast monochrome stippling1980s underground xerographybrutalist spatial compositionlo-fi digital grain

--sref 2912573268

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 650 · --style raw · --v 7

See the decode →

Radiant Observer

A red-capped songbird lit like a baroque still life.

scientific naturalist realismbaroque chiaroscuro lightinghigh-fidelity digital texturingatmospheric romantic sublime

--sref 1386749420

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --v 7

See the decode →

Savage Zenith

A mud-splashed white sports car under magenta peaks.

german automotive engineeringcinematic nocturnal lightingoutrun chromatic paletterugged utilitarian modification

--sref 2633353154

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --v 7

See the decode →

Celestial Decree

A woodcut sun raying over dunes.

classical woodblock engravingsixties psychedelic surrealismop-art geometric abstractioncontemporary graphic minimalism

--sref 4105630779

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --niji 7

See the decode →

Crimson Echo

Bare feet in a rain puddle with an orange reflection.

ukiyo-e spatial logicmid-century graphic designcinematic mood lightinganalog print textures

--sref 3364549741

Made with --sw 400 · --stylize 700 · --style raw · --niji 7

See the decode →

Seven V8.1 styles, codes unlocked by picture

Every image here was made on Midjourney V8.1 and decoded by AIKIZI. The pills are its decoded style DNA, base layer first, read from the pixels; the line under them is the run's settings, with its references counted, never printed. Two groups share their references: three images from one pair, two from another. That is what a reference is for, one look across many subjects.

Celestial Sovereign

A Himalayan thangka deity.

tibetan thangka traditiondunhuang mural aestheticming courtly refinementsinuous daoist movement

2 style references · --sw 500 · --ar 9:16 · --stylize 1000 · --chaos 40 · --exp 33 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Wrathful Resonance

A Nihonga moon scene from the same two references.

traditional ink washbuddhist iconographic canonnihonga mineral pigmentsdramatic scale contrast

the same 2 style references · --sw 500 · --ar 9:16 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Celestial Majesty

A Tang court figure, third subject, same references.

gongbi court paintingdunhuang mural aestheticmodern digital realismchiaroscuro light modeling

the same 2 style references · --sw 500 · --ar 9:16 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Cobalt Sovereign

An afrofuturist portrait in indigo.

speculative afrofuturist designcybernetic circuit scarificationbiomechanical industrial ornamentationhigh-contrast chiaroscuro rendering

2 style references · --raw · --sw 300 · --ar 9:16 · --stylize 1000 · --chaos 85 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Cobalt Cipher

A tech-noir engraving from the same pair.

traditional woodcut printmakingcyberpunk manga illustrationchiaroscuro digital renderingbiomechanical graphic ornamentation

the same 2 style references · --raw · --sw 300 · --ar 9:16 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Wrathful Tempest

A liquid-glass chimera.

ukiyo-e ink aestheticsliquid metal renderingbioluminescent neon illuminationbaroque kinetic energy

1 style reference · --raw · --sw 500 · --weird 33 · --exp 41 · --chaos 85 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Divine Silence

An academic oil portrait of a deity.

classical indian iconographyacademic realist chiaroscuroearly lithographic texturingcontemporary digital finish

1 style reference · --raw · --sw 500 · --chaos 75 · --exp 33 · --v 8.1

Unlock this style's code →

Each code unlocks on its decode page for 5 credits on a Pro plan, and stays unlocked for you after that.

Match a style without a code

You cannot read a sref out of a finished picture. What you can read is its style: AIKIZI's decode names the medium, the light, the palette and the texture, the same words shown on the pills above. Put those words in your prompt, add a reference of your own, and tune --sw. For the whole method, including the picture's size, read how to match an exact art style and size.

As of October 2026, Sref Vault (srefcodes.com), a paid library of about 4,800 V7 and 16,000 V6 codes, has stopped selling: its front page says "New purchases are no longer available" and that new codes are no longer being added. That is why storing the decoded style and the image outlives storing the integer.

Decode a picture's style

Google sign-in. 5 credits on sign-up, enough for your first decode.

Keep reading

How to use sref codes in Midjourney V8 · Midjourney --sw style weight · sref vs cref vs iref · Midjourney style codes explained · The decode gallery