Models

Image input (vision)

Models that accept images can describe photos, read screenshots, and extract information from charts. Examples include GPT 5.6 Sol, Claude Opus 5, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and GPT 4.1 Mini.

Check architecture.input_modalities in the public catalog for image, and architecture.output_modalities for the response type. Check the exact model ID: variants can have different capabilities. An image input capability does not mean the model generates images.

Send images alongside your prompt using Chat Completions, Responses, or Messages. Use a publicly accessible HTTPS image URL or base64-encoded JPEG, PNG, GIF or WebP. You can include up to 20 images per request, within the request body size limit. Set your API key and add credits as shown above before running these examples.

Image requests can require a larger temporary hold: MiniRouter reserves enough for the model's full input capacity, since an image URL does not reveal its token count. Final billing uses the provider's actual usage and cost.

Chat Completions with images

Run this example, replacing image_url.url with your own image URL. The prompt and image go in the same user message's content array. detail accepts auto, low, or high where supported by the model.

curl --fail-with-body https://api.minirouter.sh/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MINIROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-sol",
  "max_tokens": 512,
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Describe what you see in this image."
        },
        {
          "type": "image_url",
          "image_url": {
            "url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg/1024px-Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg",
            "detail": "auto"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Read the answer in choices[0].message.content. For a local image, use a base64 data URL such as data:image/png;base64,YOUR_BASE64_IMAGE in image_url.url. Set stream: true to stream the text response.

Responses with images

Use input_image content parts on the Responses endpoint. Replace image_url with your HTTPS image URL or base64 data URL.

curl --fail-with-body https://api.minirouter.sh/v1/responses \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MINIROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-sol",
  "store": false,
  "max_output_tokens": 512,
  "input": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "input_text",
          "text": "Describe what you see in this image."
        },
        {
          "type": "input_image",
          "image_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg/1024px-Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg",
          "detail": "auto"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Read text from output message items' content blocks with type: "output_text". Keep store: false and supply conversation history on each turn. Set stream: true to stream the answer. Tool results can also include input_image parts when their matching tool call is in the supplied history.

Messages with images

Use a type: "image" block alongside your prompt. Replace source.url with your publicly accessible HTTPS image URL.

curl --fail-with-body https://api.minirouter.sh/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MINIROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  --data '{
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.6-sol",
  "max_tokens": 512,
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Describe what you see in this image."
        },
        {
          "type": "image",
          "source": {
            "type": "url",
            "url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg/1024px-Gfp-wisconsin-madison-the-nature-boardwalk.jpg"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Read the answer in response content blocks with type: "text". For a local file, replace the image's source object with {"type":"base64","media_type":"image/png","data":"YOUR_BASE64_IMAGE"}. Use raw base64 without a data-URL prefix on this endpoint.

To generate an image or edit an existing image, use the Images API below.

Images API

Generate and edit images with GPT Image 2.5 Flare or Sunburst. Their model pages include pricing, supported settings, and generation and editing examples:

• openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare
• openai/gpt-image-2.5-sunburst

Set your API key as shown above and add credits, then run this request to POST /v1/images/generations. It saves the response to response.json and its headers to response.headers.

curl --fail-with-body --retry 0 --max-time 120 \
  https://api.minirouter.sh/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MINIROUTER_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -D response.headers --output response.json \
  --data '{
  "model": "openai/gpt-image-2.5-flare",
  "prompt": "A blue circle on a white background.",
  "quality": "low",
  "size": "1024x1024",
  "output_format": "png",
  "n": 1
}'

After a successful response, decode data[0].b64_json to save the PNG:

python3 -c 'import base64,json; r=json.load(open("response.json")); open("image.png","wb").write(base64.b64decode(r["data"][0]["b64_json"]))'

For editing, use POST /v1/images/edits with multipart form data and one PNG image. An optional PNG mask must have matching dimensions. Both operations use quality: low, size: 1024x1024, output_format: png, and n: 1. Use a concrete image model ID or one of its listed aliases. Image requests do not use Auto or text-model fallback lists.

A temporary hold reserves twice the estimated cost, including the MiniRouter fee. The final charge cannot exceed that hold. The image response can arrive before billing finishes. Keep x-minirouter-request-id from the response headers and check GET /v1/images/status?request_id=YOUR_REQUEST_ID with the same account before resubmitting an uncertain request. Disable automatic retries.

If you cache image catalog records, refresh them after catalog_expires_at. Video, speech, transcription, embedding, reranking and realtime requests are not supported.