Image generation

The image_generate tool lets the agent create and edit images using your configured providers. In chat sessions, image generation runs asynchronously: OpenClaw records a background task, returns the task id immediately, and wakes the agent when the provider finishes. The completion agent must send generated images through the message tool. If the requester session is inactive and some generated images are still missing from message-tool delivery, OpenClaw sends an idempotent direct fallback with only the missing images.

Note

The tool only appears when at least one image-generation provider is available. If you do not see image_generate in your agent’s tools, configure agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel, set up a provider API key, or sign in with OpenAI Codex OAuth.

Quick start

1. Configure auth

   Set an API key for at least one provider (for example OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_API_KEY) or sign in with OpenAI Codex OAuth.

2. Pick a default model (optional)

   {
     agents: {
       defaults: {
         imageGenerationModel: {
           primary: "openai/gpt-image-2",
           timeoutMs: 180_000,
         },
       },
     },
   }

   Codex OAuth uses the same openai/gpt-image-2 model ref. When an openai-codex OAuth profile is configured, OpenClaw routes image requests through that OAuth profile instead of first trying OPENAI_API_KEY. Explicit models.providers.openai config (API key, custom/Azure base URL) opts back into the direct OpenAI Images API route.

3. Ask the agent

   “Generate an image of a friendly robot mascot.”

   The agent calls image_generate automatically. No tool allow-listing needed - it is enabled by default when a provider is available. The tool returns a background task id, then the completion agent sends the generated attachment through the message tool when it is ready.

Warning

For OpenAI-compatible LAN endpoints such as LocalAI, keep the custom models.providers.openai.baseUrl and explicitly opt in with browser.ssrfPolicy.dangerouslyAllowPrivateNetwork: true. Private and internal image endpoints remain blocked by default.

Common routes

Goal	Model ref	Auth
OpenAI image generation with API billing	openai/gpt-image-2	OPENAI_API_KEY
OpenAI image generation with Codex subscription auth	openai/gpt-image-2	OpenAI Codex OAuth
OpenAI transparent-background PNG/WebP	openai/gpt-image-1.5	OPENAI_API_KEY or OpenAI Codex OAuth
DeepInfra image generation	deepinfra/black-forest-labs/FLUX-1-schnell	DEEPINFRA_API_KEY
OpenRouter image generation	openrouter/google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview	OPENROUTER_API_KEY
LiteLLM image generation	litellm/gpt-image-2	LITELLM_API_KEY
Google Gemini image generation	google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview	GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY

The same image_generate tool handles text-to-image and reference-image editing. Use image for one reference or images for multiple references. Provider-supported output hints such as quality, outputFormat, and background are forwarded when available and reported as ignored when a provider does not support them. Bundled transparent-background support is OpenAI-specific; other providers may still preserve PNG alpha if their backend emits it.

Supported providers

Provider	Default model	Edit support	Auth
ComfyUI	workflow	Yes (1 image, workflow-configured)	COMFY_API_KEY or COMFY_CLOUD_API_KEY for cloud
DeepInfra	black-forest-labs/FLUX-1-schnell	Yes (1 image)	DEEPINFRA_API_KEY
fal	fal-ai/flux/dev	Yes (model-specific limits)	FAL_KEY
Google	gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview	Yes	GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY
LiteLLM	gpt-image-2	Yes (up to 5 input images)	LITELLM_API_KEY
MiniMax	image-01	Yes (subject reference)	MINIMAX_API_KEY or MiniMax OAuth (minimax-portal)
OpenAI	gpt-image-2	Yes (up to 4 images)	OPENAI_API_KEY or OpenAI Codex OAuth
OpenRouter	google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview	Yes (up to 5 input images)	OPENROUTER_API_KEY
Vydra	grok-imagine	No	VYDRA_API_KEY
xAI	grok-imagine-image	Yes (up to 5 images)	XAI_API_KEY

Use action: "list" to inspect available providers and models at runtime:

/tool image_generate action=list

Use action: "status" to inspect the active image-generation task for the current session:

/tool image_generate action=status

Provider capabilities

Capability	ComfyUI	DeepInfra	fal	Google	MiniMax	OpenAI	Vydra	xAI
Generate (max count)	Workflow-defined	4	4	4	9	4	1	4
Edit / reference	1 image (workflow)	1 image	Flux: 1; GPT: 10; NB2: 14	Up to 5 images	1 image (subject ref)	Up to 5 images	-	Up to 5 images
Size control	-	✓	✓	✓	-	Up to 4K	-	-
Aspect ratio	-	-	✓	✓	✓	-	-	✓
Resolution (1K/2K/4K)	-	-	✓	✓	-	-	-	1K, 2K

Tool parameters

Image generation prompt. Required for `action: "generate"`. Use `"status"` to inspect the active session task or `"list"` to inspect available providers and models at runtime. Provider/model override (e.g. `openai/gpt-image-2`). Use `openai/gpt-image-1.5` for transparent OpenAI backgrounds. Single reference image path or URL for edit mode. Multiple reference images for edit mode (up to 5 on supporting providers). Size hint: `1024x1024`, `1536x1024`, `1024x1536`, `2048x2048`, `3840x2160`. Aspect ratio: `1:1`, `2:3`, `3:2`, `3:4`, `4:3`, `4:5`, `5:4`, `9:16`, `16:9`, `21:9`. Resolution hint. Quality hint when the provider supports it. Output format hint when the provider supports it. Background hint when the provider supports it. Use `transparent` with `outputFormat: "png"` or `"webp"` for transparency-capable providers. Number of images to generate (1-4). Optional provider request timeout in milliseconds. When Codex calls `image_generate` through dynamic tools, this per-call value still overrides the configured default and is capped at 600000 ms. Output filename hint. OpenAI-only hints: `background`, `moderation`, `outputCompression`, and `user`.

Note

Not all providers support all parameters. When a fallback provider supports a nearby geometry option instead of the exact requested one, OpenClaw remaps to the closest supported size, aspect ratio, or resolution before submission. Unsupported output hints are dropped for providers that do not declare support and reported in the tool result. Tool results report the applied settings; details.normalization captures any requested-to-applied translation.

Configuration

Model selection

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      imageGenerationModel: {
        primary: "openai/gpt-image-2",
        timeoutMs: 180_000,
        fallbacks: [
          "openrouter/google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
          "google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
          "fal/fal-ai/flux/dev",
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}

Provider selection order

OpenClaw tries providers in this order:

1. model parameter from the tool call (if the agent specifies one).
2. imageGenerationModel.primary from config.
3. imageGenerationModel.fallbacks in order.
4. Auto-detection - auth-backed provider defaults only:
   • current default provider first;
   • remaining registered image-generation providers in provider-id order.

If a provider fails (auth error, rate limit, etc.), the next configured candidate is tried automatically. If all fail, the error includes details from each attempt.

Per-call model overrides are exact

A per-call model override tries only that provider/model and does not continue to configured primary/fallback or auto-detected providers.

Auto-detection is auth-aware

A provider default only enters the candidate list when OpenClaw can actually authenticate that provider. Set agents.defaults.mediaGenerationAutoProviderFallback: false to use only explicit model, primary, and fallbacks entries.

Timeouts

Set agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel.timeoutMs for slow image backends. A per-call timeoutMs tool parameter overrides the configured default, and configured defaults override plugin-authored provider defaults. Google and OpenRouter hosted image providers use 180 second defaults; xAI and Azure OpenAI image generation use 600 seconds. Codex dynamic-tool calls use a 120 second image_generate bridge default and honor the same timeout budget when configured, bounded by OpenClaw’s 600000 ms dynamic-tool bridge maximum.

Inspect at runtime

Use action: "list" to inspect the currently registered providers, their default models, and auth env-var hints.

Image editing

OpenAI, OpenRouter, Google, DeepInfra, fal, MiniMax, ComfyUI, and xAI support editing reference images. Pass a reference image path or URL:

"Generate a watercolor version of this photo" + image: "/path/to/photo.jpg"

OpenAI, OpenRouter, Google, and xAI support up to 5 reference images via the images parameter. fal supports 1 reference image for Flux image-to-image, up to 10 for GPT Image 2 edits, and up to 14 for Nano Banana 2 edits. MiniMax and ComfyUI support 1.

Provider deep dives

OpenAI gpt-image-2 (and gpt-image-1.5)

OpenAI image generation defaults to openai/gpt-image-2. If an openai-codex OAuth profile is configured, OpenClaw reuses the same OAuth profile used by Codex subscription chat models and sends the image request through the Codex Responses backend. Legacy Codex base URLs such as https://chatgpt.com/backend-api are canonicalized to https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex for image requests. OpenClaw does not silently fall back to OPENAI_API_KEY for that request - to force direct OpenAI Images API routing, configure models.providers.openai explicitly with an API key, custom base URL, or Azure endpoint.

The openai/gpt-image-1.5, openai/gpt-image-1, and openai/gpt-image-1-mini models can still be selected explicitly. Use gpt-image-1.5 for transparent-background PNG/WebP output; the current gpt-image-2 API rejects background: "transparent".

gpt-image-2 supports both text-to-image generation and reference-image editing through the same image_generate tool. OpenClaw forwards prompt, count, size, quality, outputFormat, and reference images to OpenAI. OpenAI does not receive aspectRatio or resolution directly; when possible OpenClaw maps those into a supported size, otherwise the tool reports them as ignored overrides.

OpenAI-specific options live under the openai object:

{
  "quality": "low",
  "outputFormat": "jpeg",
  "openai": {
    "background": "opaque",
    "moderation": "low",
    "outputCompression": 60,
    "user": "end-user-42"
  }
}

openai.background accepts transparent, opaque, or auto; transparent outputs require outputFormat png or webp and a transparency-capable OpenAI image model. OpenClaw routes default gpt-image-2 transparent-background requests to gpt-image-1.5. openai.outputCompression applies to JPEG/WebP outputs and is ignored for PNG outputs.

The top-level background hint is provider-neutral and currently maps to the same OpenAI background request field when the OpenAI provider is selected. Providers that do not declare background support return it in ignoredOverrides instead of receiving the unsupported parameter.

To route OpenAI image generation through an Azure OpenAI deployment instead of api.openai.com, see Azure OpenAI endpoints.

OpenRouter image models

OpenRouter image generation uses the same OPENROUTER_API_KEY and routes through OpenRouter’s chat completions image API. Select OpenRouter image models with the openrouter/ prefix:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      imageGenerationModel: {
        primary: "openrouter/google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
      },
    },
  },
}

OpenClaw forwards prompt, count, reference images, and Gemini-compatible aspectRatio / resolution hints to OpenRouter. Current built-in OpenRouter image model shortcuts include google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview, google/gemini-3-pro-image-preview, and openai/gpt-5.4-image-2. Use action: "list" to see what your configured plugin exposes.

MiniMax dual-auth

MiniMax image generation is available through both bundled MiniMax auth paths:

• minimax/image-01 for API-key setups
• minimax-portal/image-01 for OAuth setups

xAI grok-imagine-image

The bundled xAI provider uses /v1/images/generations for prompt-only requests and /v1/images/edits when image or images is present.

• Models: xai/grok-imagine-image, xai/grok-imagine-image-quality
• Count: up to 4
• References: one image or up to five images
• Aspect ratios: 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 2:3, 3:2
• Resolutions: 1K, 2K
• Outputs: returned as OpenClaw-managed image attachments

OpenClaw intentionally does not expose xAI-native quality, mask, user, or extra native-only aspect ratios until those controls exist in the shared cross-provider image_generate contract.

Examples

Generate (4K landscape)Generate (transparent PNG)Generate (two square)Edit (one reference)Edit (multiple references)

/tool image_generate action=generate model=openai/gpt-image-2 prompt="A clean editorial poster for OpenClaw image generation" size=3840x2160 count=1

/tool image_generate action=generate model=openai/gpt-image-1.5 prompt="A simple red circle sticker on a transparent background" outputFormat=png background=transparent

Equivalent CLI:

openclaw infer image generate \
  --model openai/gpt-image-1.5 \
  --output-format png \
  --background transparent \
  --prompt "A simple red circle sticker on a transparent background" \
  --json

/tool image_generate action=generate model=openai/gpt-image-2 prompt="Two visual directions for a calm productivity app icon" size=1024x1024 count=2

/tool image_generate action=generate model=openai/gpt-image-2 prompt="Keep the subject, replace the background with a bright studio setup" image=/path/to/reference.png size=1024x1536

/tool image_generate action=generate model=openai/gpt-image-2 prompt="Combine the character identity from the first image with the color palette from the second" images='["/path/to/character.png","/path/to/palette.jpg"]' size=1536x1024

The same --output-format and --background flags are available on openclaw infer image edit; --openai-background remains as an OpenAI-specific alias. Bundled providers other than OpenAI do not declare explicit background control today, so background: "transparent" is reported as ignored for them.

Related

• Tools overview - all available agent tools
• ComfyUI - local ComfyUI and Comfy Cloud workflow setup
• fal - fal image and video provider setup
• Google (Gemini) - Gemini image provider setup
• MiniMax - MiniMax image provider setup
• OpenAI - OpenAI Images provider setup
• Vydra - Vydra image, video, and speech setup
• xAI - Grok image, video, search, code execution, and TTS setup
• Configuration reference - imageGenerationModel config
• Models - model configuration and failover