Edit

Edit modifies an existing image based on your text instructions. Like generate, there are three content types — each handles edits differently.

depicta uvx depicta npx depicta

Content types

Edit image

Pixel-level changes: swap backgrounds, add or remove objects, change style or lighting.

depicta edit image photo.png "Make the sky more dramatic with storm clouds"

The API takes the source image as an HTTPS URL. To edit a local file, upload it first with POST /v1/upload; the CLI does this for you.

curl

# 1. Upload the local file (skip if the image already has an HTTPS URL)
curl -X POST https://api.depicta.ai/v1/upload \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dpct_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@photo.png"
# → {"upload_url": "https://media.depicta.ai/...", ...}

# 2. Edit it
curl -X POST https://api.depicta.ai/v1/edit/image \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer dpct_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --max-time 900 \
  -d '{"input_image_url": "UPLOAD_URL", "prompt": "Make the sky more dramatic with storm clouds"}'

Python

import httpx

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer dpct_YOUR_API_KEY"}

with open("photo.png", "rb") as f:
    upload = httpx.post(
        "https://api.depicta.ai/v1/upload", headers=headers, files={"image": f}
    ).json()

response = httpx.post(
    "https://api.depicta.ai/v1/edit/image",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "input_image_url": upload["upload_url"],
        "prompt": "Make the sky more dramatic with storm clouds",
    },
    timeout=900,  # generations can take several minutes
)

Edit graphic

Style and shape changes: recolor, resize elements, change proportions.

depicta edit graphic icon.png "Change the color to blue and make it bolder"

API endpoint: POST /v1/edit/graphic

Edit diagram

Structural changes: move boxes, add connections, relabel nodes.

depicta edit diagram architecture.png "Add a load balancer between the client and the API servers"

API endpoint: POST /v1/edit/diagram

Input methods

Provide the source image as:

• File path — depicta edit image photo.png "..."
• URL — depicta edit image https://example.com/photo.png "..."
• Stdin — cat photo.png | depicta edit image - "..."
• API upload — use POST /v1/upload first, then reference the URL

Reference images

Like generate, edit operations accept up to 5 reference images to guide the result — useful when you want the edit to match a particular style or color palette. The limit depends on the model: mai and mai-fast accept only the source image, so they take no references.

depicta edit image photo.png "Restyle in this art direction" --reference style-guide.png:"Warm tones, painterly"

See Generate — Reference images for full details.

Models

Without --model, edits use your default model if it can edit, otherwise gemini. See Models.

Response

Same format as generate — signed URLs for PNG, JPEG, WebP.