Gpt Image Cookbook

gpt-image-cookbook

Agent runbook for multi-provider AI image generation and editing. Use the prompt cookbook + packaged gic CLI. Do not reimplement image API code.

Operating loop

1. Classify the request: generate, edit, inpaint, or multi-reference. Identify asset type, exact text to render, aspect ratio, references, safety constraints, and budget/quality tier.
2. Pick a provider: default to openai (gpt-image-2). Switch to imagen for Google-native quality on photoreal scenes, or flux for fast/cheap drafts and stylized art. The user's explicit request always wins.
3. Search references first: open references/gallery.md (the routing index). Load the closest references/gallery-.md file(s). Read actual **Prompt** text before choosing a pattern — never guess from category name alone.
4. Refine with craft: load references/craft.md for dense text, diagrams, UI mockups, data visualization, multi-panel layouts, or when the gallery has no close match.
5. Confer when useful: before costly, ambiguous, or high-polish calls, present 1–3 matched directions plus planned size/quality/provider; ask at most one concise question. Skip the discussion for precise "generate now" requests.
6. Preflight, no side effects: check command -v gic first. Do not reinstall, overwrite skill folders, create or modify .env, or write API keys. Global/shared installs are opt-in only.
7. Execute via CLI only: call gic. Do not create a new generate.py, SDK wrapper, or ad-hoc script for normal image requests.
8. Report: output file path(s), the provider/model used, key flags, and one concise refinement suggestion if useful.

Fast path: precise prompt + explicit "generate now" → quick reference/craft check, then CLI.

CLI resolution

Preferred call order:

# Existing CLI on PATH
gic -p "PROMPT" [-f OUT] [-i REF...] [-m MASK] [--provider openai|imagen|flux] [options]

# Repo-local launcher (when the skill folder is bundled with the runtime)
uv run "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/generate.py" -p "PROMPT" [options]

# Transient install when the user requested a one-off CLI execution
uvx --from git+https://github.com/eugeniughelbur/gpt-image-cookbook gic -p "PROMPT" [options]

scripts/generate.py is a launcher: repo-local src/gic → installed gic on PATH → transient uvx fallback.

Provider selection

| Provider | Model default | When to use | |---|---|---| | openai | gpt-image-2 | Default. Strong on text rendering, posters, UI mockups, Chinese typography, research figures. | | imagen | imagen-4 | Photoreal scenes, product shots, faces, lighting realism. Google-account billing. | | flux | flux-pro-1.1 | Fast/cheap drafts, stylized art, broad style exploration. fal.ai or Replicate billing. |

The CLI resolves the provider from the --provider flag, then GIC_DEFAULT_PROVIDER env var, then falls back to openai.

Key and cost rules

• The CLI reads provider keys from process env, then .env, then ~/.env without overriding existing env. Successful API calls bill the user's provider account.
• If a host runtime has native platform-managed image generation and the user wants that path, use the host tool instead of this CLI.
• If the required key is unset, report the missing key and the env var name; do not write secrets.
• If the user wants to avoid local-key use, respect unset OPENAI_API_KEY (etc.); if a key exists in .env/~/.env, tell them to remove or rename it for the session rather than working around it.
• Never print secret values.

Flags

| Flag | Values | Use | |---|---|---| | -p, --prompt | string | Required prompt or edit instruction | | -f, --file | path | Output path; auto-named if omitted | | -i, --image | repeatable path | Use the edits endpoint; supports multiple references | | -m, --mask | PNG path | Inpaint with alpha mask; requires -i | | --provider | openai, imagen, flux | Provider router | | --model | string | Override the provider's default model | | --size | 1k, 2k, 4k, portrait, landscape, square, wide, tall, or literal WxH | Canvas size | | --quality | low, medium, high, auto | Cost/quality dial (provider-mapped) | | -n, --n | integer | Number of images | | --background | auto, opaque, transparent | Background mode (provider-dependent) | | --format | png, jpeg, webp | Output encoding | | --user | string | Optional end-user identifier passed to provider |

Quality policy:

• low: cheap drafts, broad exploration, many variants.
• medium: normal exploration, style probing, balanced cost.
• high: final assets, dense text, posters, diagrams, UI mockups, paper figures, dense labels.

Size policy:

• default/social square: 1k / 1024x1024
• poster/mobile/beauty: portrait
• landscape/gameplay/photo: landscape
• print/paper figure: 2k
• widescreen hero: 4k
• vertical story/banner: tall

Endpoint routing

| Mode | Trigger | Endpoint family | |---|---|---| | Text-to-image | no -i | provider's generations endpoint | | Reference edit | one or more -i | provider's edits endpoint | | Inpaint | -i + -m | provider's edits endpoint with mask |

Surface API errors verbatim enough for debugging. Exit codes: 0 success, 1 API/refusal, 2 bad args/missing key.

Reference loading

• references/gallery.md: routing index for the cookbook gallery. Load first.
• references/gallery-*.md: concrete prompts, previews, paths, metadata. Load 1 category for normal requests; 2–3 for hybrids.
• references/craft.md: prompt-craft checklist. Load for prompt repair, exact text rendering, UI/data/diagram grammar, edit invariants, and multi-panel consistency.
• references/providers.md: provider/model semantics. Load for API behavior or capability questions.

Reference loading policy: load the smallest useful slice; never load all category files by default.

Verification

After a generation call:

1. Confirm the output file exists at the reported path.
2. If the prompt requested specific text, verify the text renders correctly — re-run with --quality high if it doesn't.
3. For edits/inpainting, confirm the unmasked regions are preserved.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: eugeniughelbur
• Source: eugeniughelbur/gpt-image-cookbook
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.