Model Capabilities

Image Editing

Edit an existing image by providing a source image along with your prompt. The model understands the image content and applies your requested changes.

The OpenAI SDK's images.edit() method is not supported for image editing because it uses multipart/form-data, while the xAI API requires application/json. Use the xAI SDK, Vercel AI SDK, or direct HTTP requests instead.

With the xAI SDK, use the same sample() method; just add the image_url parameter:

import base64
import xai_sdk

client = xai_sdk.Client()

# Load image from file and encode as base64
with open("photo.png", "rb") as f:
    image_data = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode("utf-8")

response = client.image.sample(
    prompt="Render this as a pencil sketch with detailed shading",
    model="grok-imagine-image",
    image_url=f"data:image/png;base64,{image_data}",
)

print(response.url)

# Using a public URL as the source image
curl -X POST https://api.x.ai/v1/images/edits \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $XAI_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "grok-imagine-image",
    "prompt": "Render this as a pencil sketch with detailed shading",
    "image": {
      "url": "https://docs.x.ai/assets/api-examples/images/style-realistic.png",
      "type": "image_url"
    }
  }'

import { xai } from "@ai-sdk/xai";
import { generateImage } from "ai";
import fs from "fs";

// Load image and encode as base64
const imageBuffer = fs.readFileSync("photo.png");
const base64Image = imageBuffer.toString("base64");

const { image } = await generateImage({
    model: xai.image("grok-imagine-image"),
    prompt: "Render this as a pencil sketch with detailed shading",
    providerOptions: {
        xai: {
            image: `data:image/png;base64,${base64Image}`,
        },
    },
});

console.log(image.base64);

You can provide the source image as:

A public URL pointing to an image
A base64-encoded data URI (e.g., data:image/jpeg;base64,...)

Multi-turn editing

Chain multiple edits together by using each output as the input for the next. This enables iterative refinement; start with a base image and progressively add details, adjust styles, or make corrections.

Style transfer

The grok-imagine-image model supports a wide range of visual styles, from ultra-realistic photography to anime, oil paintings, and pencil sketches. Transform existing images by describing the desired aesthetic in your prompt.