Integrate Image Generation

PREREQUISITE: Run +check-compatibility first. Run +fetch-api-reference to load the latest API reference before integrating. Requires +setup-api-key for API credentials. Requires +integrate-uploads when the user has local reference images.

Help users add Runway image generation to their server-side code.

Available Models

Model	Best For	Cost	Speed
`gen4_image`	Highest quality	5 credits (720p), 8 credits (1080p)	Standard
`gen4_image_turbo`	Fast generation	2 credits	Fast
`gemini_2.5_flash`	Google Gemini model	5 credits	Standard

Model selection guidance:

Default recommendation: gen4_image — best quality
Budget/speed: gen4_image_turbo — cheapest and fastest

Endpoint: `POST /v1/text_to_image`

Basic Text-to-Image

// Node.js SDK
import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';

const client = new RunwayML();

const task = await client.textToImage.create({
  model: 'gen4_image',
  promptText: 'A serene Japanese garden with cherry blossoms and a koi pond',
  ratio: '1280:720'
}).waitForTaskOutput();

const imageUrl = task.output[0];

# Python SDK
from runwayml import RunwayML

client = RunwayML()

task = client.text_to_image.create(
    model='gen4_image',
    prompt_text='A serene Japanese garden with cherry blossoms and a koi pond',
    ratio='1280:720'
).wait_for_task_output()

image_url = task.output[0]

With Reference Images

Reference images let you guide the generation with visual references. Use @Tag syntax in the prompt to reference specific images.

const task = await client.textToImage.create({
  model: 'gen4_image',
  promptText: '@EiffelTower painted in the style of @StarryNight',
  referenceImages: [
    { uri: 'https://example.com/eiffel-tower.jpg', tag: 'EiffelTower' },
    { uri: 'https://example.com/starry-night.jpg', tag: 'StarryNight' }
  ],
  ratio: '1280:720'
}).waitForTaskOutput();

task = client.text_to_image.create(
    model='gen4_image',
    prompt_text='@EiffelTower painted in the style of @StarryNight',
    reference_images=[
        {"uri": "https://example.com/eiffel-tower.jpg", "tag": "EiffelTower"},
        {"uri": "https://example.com/starry-night.jpg", "tag": "StarryNight"}
    ],
    ratio='1280:720'
).wait_for_task_output()

If the user has local reference images, upload them first with +integrate-uploads:

import fs from 'fs';

const refUpload = await client.uploads.createEphemeral(
  fs.createReadStream('/path/to/reference.jpg')
);

const task = await client.textToImage.create({
  model: 'gen4_image',
  promptText: 'A portrait in the style of @Reference',
  referenceImages: [
    { uri: refUpload.runwayUri, tag: 'Reference' }
  ],
  ratio: '1280:720'
}).waitForTaskOutput();

Common Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
`model`	string	Model ID (required)
`promptText`	string	Text description of the image (required)
`ratio`	string	Aspect ratio, e.g. `'1280:720'`, `'720:1280'`, `'1080:1080'`
`referenceImages`	array	Optional. Array of `{ uri, tag }` objects for visual guidance

Integration Pattern

Example: Express.js API Route

import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';
import express from 'express';

const client = new RunwayML();
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/api/generate-image', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { prompt, model = 'gen4_image', ratio = '1280:720', referenceImages } = req.body;

    const task = await client.textToImage.create({
      model,
      promptText: prompt,
      ratio,
      ...(referenceImages && { referenceImages })
    }).waitForTaskOutput();

    res.json({ imageUrl: task.output[0] });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Image generation failed:', error);
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

Example: Next.js API Route

// app/api/generate-image/route.ts
import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

const client = new RunwayML();

export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  const { prompt, referenceImages } = await request.json();

  try {
    const task = await client.textToImage.create({
      model: 'gen4_image',
      promptText: prompt,
      ratio: '1280:720',
      ...(referenceImages && { referenceImages })
    }).waitForTaskOutput();

    return NextResponse.json({ imageUrl: task.output[0] });
  } catch (error) {
    return NextResponse.json(
      { error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Generation failed' },
      { status: 500 }
    );
  }
}

Example: FastAPI Route

from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from pydantic import BaseModel
from runwayml import RunwayML

app = FastAPI()
client = RunwayML()

class ImageRequest(BaseModel):
    prompt: str
    model: str = "gen4_image"
    ratio: str = "1280:720"
    reference_images: list[dict] | None = None

@app.post("/api/generate-image")
async def generate_image(req: ImageRequest):
    try:
        params = {
            "model": req.model,
            "prompt_text": req.prompt,
            "ratio": req.ratio,
        }
        if req.reference_images:
            params["reference_images"] = req.reference_images

        task = client.text_to_image.create(**params).wait_for_task_output()
        return {"image_url": task.output[0]}
    except Exception as e:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))

Tips

Output URLs expire in 24-48 hours. Download images to your own storage immediately.
Reference images use @Tag syntax in the prompt — the tag must match the tag field in the referenceImages array.
For local files, always upload via +integrate-uploads first, then use the runway:// URI.
gen4_image_turbo is the cheapest option at 2 credits per image — good for prototyping.

integrate-image