Ideogram install auth

Ideogram Install & Auth

Overview

Set up Ideogram API authentication for AI image generation. Ideogram provides a REST API at api.ideogram.ai for text-to-image generation, editing, remixing, upscaling, and describing images. Authentication uses an Api-Key header on every request.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+
• Ideogram account at ideogram.ai
• API key from Ideogram dashboard (Settings > API Beta)
• Payment method configured (auto top-up billing)

Instructions

Step 1: Get Your API Key

1. Log into ideogram.ai
2. Navigate to Settings (burger icon) > API Beta
3. Accept the Developer API Agreement
4. Click Manage Payment and add billing info via Stripe
5. Click Create API key -- store it immediately, it is shown only once

Step 2: Install HTTP Client

set -euo pipefail
# Node.js (no SDK required -- Ideogram uses a plain REST API)
npm install dotenv

# Python
pip install requests python-dotenv

Step 3: Configure Authentication

# Create .env file (NEVER commit to git)
echo 'IDEOGRAM_API_KEY=your-api-key-here' >> .env

# Add to .gitignore
echo '.env' >> .gitignore
echo '.env.local' >> .gitignore

Step 4: Verify Connection

// verify-ideogram.ts
import "dotenv/config";

async function verifyIdeogramAuth() {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.ideogram.ai/generate", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Api-Key": process.env.IDEOGRAM_API_KEY!,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      image_request: {
        prompt: "A simple blue circle on white background",
        model: "V_2_TURBO",
        aspect_ratio: "ASPECT_1_1",
        magic_prompt_option: "OFF",
      },
    }),
  });

  if (response.ok) {
    const result = await response.json();
    console.log("Auth verified. Image URL:", result.data[0].url);
    console.log("Seed:", result.data[0].seed);
  } else {
    const err = await response.text();
    console.error(`Auth failed (${response.status}):`, err);
  }
}

verifyIdeogramAuth();

# verify_ideogram.py
import os, requests
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.ideogram.ai/generate",
    headers={
        "Api-Key": os.environ["IDEOGRAM_API_KEY"],
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "image_request": {
            "prompt": "A simple blue circle on white background",
            "model": "V_2_TURBO",
            "aspect_ratio": "ASPECT_1_1",
            "magic_prompt_option": "OFF",
        }
    },
)

if response.ok:
    data = response.json()
    print("Auth verified. Image URL:", data["data"][0]["url"])
else:
    print(f"Auth failed ({response.status_code}):", response.text)

API Base URLs

API Version	Base URL	Notes
Legacy (V_2)	https://api.ideogram.ai/generate	JSON body with image_request wrapper
V3 Generate	https://api.ideogram.ai/v1/ideogram-v3/generate	Multipart form data
V3 Edit	https://api.ideogram.ai/v1/ideogram-v3/edit	Multipart form data
V3 Remix	https://api.ideogram.ai/v1/ideogram-v3/remix	Multipart form data
V3 Reframe	https://api.ideogram.ai/v1/ideogram-v3/reframe	Multipart form data
Upscale	https://api.ideogram.ai/upscale	Multipart form data
Describe	https://api.ideogram.ai/describe	Multipart form data

Billing Model

• Auto top-up: balance refills to $20 when it drops below $10 (configurable)
• Default rate limit: 10 in-flight requests
• Image URLs expire -- download immediately after generation
• Enterprise: contact [email protected] for higher limits

Error Handling

Error	HTTP Status	Cause	Solution
Invalid API Key	401	Key missing or revoked	Verify key in dashboard, regenerate if needed
Rate Limited	429	Exceeded 10 in-flight requests	Queue requests, add backoff
Insufficient Credits	402	Balance depleted	Top up via dashboard billing
Safety Rejected	422	Prompt or image failed safety check	Rephrase prompt, remove flagged content

Output

• Environment variable IDEOGRAM_API_KEY configured
• .env file with key (git-ignored)
• Successful test generation confirming connectivity

Resources

• Ideogram Developer Docs
• API Reference
• API Setup Guide
• API Pricing

Next Steps

After successful auth, proceed to ideogram-hello-world for your first real generation.