openrouter-images

name	openrouter-images
description	Generate images from text prompts and edit existing images using OpenRouter's image generation models. Use when the user asks to create, generate, or make an image, picture, or illustration from a description, or wants to edit, modify, transform, or alter an existing image with a text prompt.

OpenRouter Images

Generate images from text prompts and edit existing images via OpenRouter's chat completions API with image modalities.

Prerequisites

The OPENROUTER_API_KEY environment variable must be set. Get a key at https://openrouter.ai/keys

First-Time Setup

cd <skill-path>/scripts && npm install

Decision Tree

Pick the right script based on what the user is asking:

User wants to...	Script	Example
Generate an image from a text description	generate.ts "prompt"	"Create an image of a sunset over mountains"
Generate with specific aspect ratio	generate.ts "prompt" --aspect-ratio 16:9	"Make a wide landscape image of a forest"
Generate with a different model	generate.ts "prompt" --model <id>	"Generate using gemini-2.5-flash-image"
Edit or modify an existing image	edit.ts path "prompt"	"Make the sky purple in photo.png"
Transform an image with instructions	edit.ts path "prompt"	"Add a party hat to the animal in this image"

Generate Image

Create a new image from a text prompt:

cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx generate.ts "a red panda wearing sunglasses"
cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx generate.ts "a futuristic cityscape at night" --aspect-ratio 16:9
cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx generate.ts "pixel art of a dragon" --output dragon.png
cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx generate.ts "a watercolor painting" --model google/gemini-2.5-flash-image

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--model <id>	OpenRouter model ID	google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview
--output <path>	Output file path	image-YYYYMMDD-HHmmss.png
--aspect-ratio <r>	Aspect ratio (e.g. 16:9, 1:1, 4:3)	Model default
--image-size <s>	Image size (e.g. 1K, 2K)	Model default

Edit Image

Modify an existing image with a text prompt:

cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx edit.ts photo.png "make the sky purple"
cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx edit.ts avatar.jpg "add a party hat" --output avatar-hat.png
cd <skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx edit.ts scene.png "convert to watercolor style" --model google/gemini-2.5-flash-image

Options

Flag	Description	Default
--model <id>	OpenRouter model ID	google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview
--output <path>	Output file path	image-YYYYMMDD-HHmmss.png
--aspect-ratio <r>	Aspect ratio (e.g. 16:9, 1:1, 4:3)	Model default
--image-size <s>	Image size (e.g. 1K, 2K)	Model default

Supported input formats: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp, .gif

Output Format

generate.ts

{
  "model": "google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
  "prompt": "a red panda wearing sunglasses",
  "images_saved": ["/absolute/path/to/image-20260305-143022.png"],
  "count": 1
}

edit.ts

{
  "model": "google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
  "source_image": "photo.png",
  "prompt": "make the sky purple",
  "images_saved": ["/absolute/path/to/image-20260305-143055.png"],
  "count": 1
}

API Response Shapes

Image generation uses POST /api/v1/responses with modalities: ["image", "text"]. See the Responses API reference and image generation guide for full request details.

The image-specific output item type is image_generation_call — this is not obvious from the general Responses API docs:

{
  "type": "image_generation_call",
  "id": "imagegen-abc123",
  "status": "completed",
  "result": "<base64-encoded image data>"
}

This appears alongside standard message output items in the output array. Text and image outputs may each be absent depending on the model and prompt.

Using a Different Model

The default model is google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview (Nano Banana 2). To use a different model, pass --model <id> with any OpenRouter model ID that supports image output modalities.

Use the openrouter-models skill to discover image-capable models:

cd <openrouter-models-skill-path>/scripts && npx tsx search-models.ts --modality image

Presenting Results

• After generating or editing, display the saved image to the user
• Include the model used and any text response the model provided (printed to stderr)
• If multiple images are returned, show all of them
• When the user doesn't specify an output path, tell them where the file was saved
• For edit operations, mention the source image that was modified