Quickstart

Install bild, add an API key from a supported provider, and generate an image. You need Internet access and an API key from at least one provider. Generation requests may incur provider charges.

Install bild

On macOS or Linux, run:

shell
curl -fsSL https://bildomat.com/install.sh | sh

On Windows, run in PowerShell:

powershell
irm https://bildomat.com/install.ps1 | iex

To install with Homebrew or Go, or to download a binary, see install and configure Bildomat.

Get an API Key

Create an API key with any supported provider, for example at Google AI Studio, OpenAI, or xAI. Install and configure Bildomat lists every supported provider, where to create its API key, and the variable and configuration entry that hold it.

Add Your API Key

Set your provider's environment variable. For example, for an OpenAI API key, on macOS or Linux run the following command in your terminal:

shell
export OPENAI_API_KEY='YOUR_API_KEY'

On Windows, run the following in PowerShell:

powershell
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY'

For an API key from another provider, use that provider's variable from the provider table. The variable lasts for this terminal session. To keep the API key, put it in ~/.bildomat/config.yml or export it from your shell configuration file as shown in install and configure Bildomat. An API key in the config file takes precedence over an environment variable.

Generate an Image

shell
bild --model openai/gpt-image-2 --output-path ./lighthouse.png "A lighthouse on a rocky coast at dawn, watercolor"

Use a model from the provider whose API key you added. bild list shows every provider's models. Bildomat reports the provider and model, waits for the result, and prints the path of the saved file. Open it.

Quote a prompt that contains spaces. Options can come before or after the prompt. Bildomat never replaces an existing file, so running the command again saves lighthouse-02.png. If the model returns a different format, the extension changes to match. The path that Bildomat prints is always the file it saved.

See What Else Is Available

shell
bild list
bild info openai/gpt-image-2

bild list shows every provider and model. bild info followed by a model shows the options that the model accepts, such as --aspect-ratio and --input-media, and the values each one allows. Neither command needs an API key or makes a generation request.

You have installed Bildomat, connected a provider, and generated an image. Next, generate and edit your first image to change an image's shape and edit it, or find a model from another provider.

Bildomat 0.0.7Revised 2026-10-05