Qwen image generation

Qwen is Alibaba's image-generation family. The orchestrator exposes three invocation paths, covering different versions of the model family:

engine	Model	Best for	Notes
sdcpp (ecosystem qwen)	20b	Default — Qwen-Image 20B on Civitai workers	createImage / createVariant / editImage. Version picker (latest, 2509, 2512, 2511). LoRA support.
qwen	3.0-pro … edit	The full Alibaba-hosted catalog, including the newest releases	createImage / editImage. Explicit width/height. No LoRA support.
fal	qwen2	The Qwen-Image-2 tier under a stable, FAL-shaped request	createImage / proCreateImage / editImage / proEditImage. imageSize enum instead of width/height. No LoRA support.

Default choice for new integrations: engine: "sdcpp", ecosystem: "qwen", model: "20b". Reach for engine: "qwen" when you want a model Civitai doesn't host itself — Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro or 2.0 Pro.

Prerequisites

• A Civitai orchestration token (Quick start → Prerequisites)
• For editImage / createVariant: one or more source image URLs, data URLs, or Base64 strings

sdcpp — Qwen-Image 20B (default path)

Text-to-image (createImage)

POST https://orchestration.civitai.com/v2/consumer/workflows?wait=60
Authorization: Bearer <your-token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "sdcpp",
      "ecosystem": "qwen",
      "model": "20b",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "version": "latest",
      "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting, highly detailed",
      "width": 1024,
      "height": 1024,
      "cfgScale": 2.5,
      "steps": 20
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "sdcpp", "ecosystem": "qwen", "model": "20b", "operation": "createImage", "version": "latest", "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting, highly detailed", "width": 1024, "height": 1024, "cfgScale": 2.5, "steps": 20 } } ] }

Valid JSON

Common sdcpp-qwen parameters:

Field	Default	Range	Notes
model	— ✅	20b	Currently only 20b is exposed.
version	latest	latest / 2509 / 2512 (create + variant) / 2511 (edit)	Model release snapshot. latest follows whichever is current.
prompt	— ✅	≤ 10 000 chars	Natural-language works well on Qwen.
negativePrompt	(none)	≤ 10 000 chars	Optional.
width / height	1024	64–2048, divisible by 8	Qwen-Image 20B is trained at 1024². Well-behaved aspect ratios stay near that pixel count. On editImage / createVariant, width/height are inferred from the source image if omitted; you may still supply them explicitly.
cfgScale	2.5	0–30	Lower than most image models — 2–4 is the sweet spot.
steps	20	1–150	20–30 typical.
sampleMethod	euler	enum	SdCppSampleMethod.
schedule	simple	enum	SdCppSchedule.
loras	{}	{ airUrn: strength }	Stack multiple; 0.6–1.0 strengths typical.
quantity	1	1–12	Number of images per call.
seed	random	int64	Pin for reproducibility.

Picking a version

version	Available on	Notes
latest	all ops	Follows whatever release Civitai is currently pinning to. Recommended unless you need reproducibility against a specific release.
2509	all ops	September 2025 release snapshot.
2512	create / variant	December 2025 release — latest generation-side release at the time of writing.
2511	edit	November 2025 release — edit-specific snapshot.

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "sdcpp",
      "ecosystem": "qwen",
      "model": "20b",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "version": "2512",
      "prompt": "A majestic mountain landscape at sunrise, cinematic composition",
      "width": 1024,
      "height": 1024,
      "cfgScale": 2.5,
      "steps": 20
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "sdcpp", "ecosystem": "qwen", "model": "20b", "operation": "createImage", "version": "2512", "prompt": "A majestic mountain landscape at sunrise, cinematic composition", "width": 1024, "height": 1024, "cfgScale": 2.5, "steps": 20 } } ] }

Valid JSON

Pin to a specific version when you need reproducible output or are comparing generations across a larger experiment; stick to latest for day-to-day use.

With LoRAs

LoRAs are a map of AIR URN → strength:

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "sdcpp",
      "ecosystem": "qwen",
      "model": "20b",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "prompt": "A detailed anime character in a magical forest, ethereal lighting",
      "width": 1024,
      "height": 1024,
      "cfgScale": 2.5,
      "steps": 20,
      "loras": {
        "urn:air:qwen:lora:civitai:123456@789012": 0.8
      }
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "sdcpp", "ecosystem": "qwen", "model": "20b", "operation": "createImage", "version": "latest", "prompt": "A detailed anime character in a magical forest, ethereal lighting", "width": 1024, "height": 1024, "cfgScale": 2.5, "steps": 20, "loras": { "urn:air:qwen:lora:civitai:123456@789012": 0.8 } } } ] }

Valid JSON

Only Qwen-tagged LoRAs work on the qwen ecosystem. Browse the Civitai Qwen LoRA catalog for AIR URNs.

Image-to-image (createVariant)

Pass a single source image and a prompt; the model re-imagines it. strength controls how much of the source to preserve — 0.0 returns the source unchanged, 1.0 discards it entirely. Width and height are inferred from the source.

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "sdcpp",
      "ecosystem": "qwen",
      "model": "20b",
      "operation": "createVariant",
      "prompt": "Turn it into a winter scene with snow falling",
      "image": "https://image.civitai.com/.../source.jpeg",
      "strength": 0.7
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "sdcpp", "ecosystem": "qwen", "model": "20b", "operation": "createVariant", "version": "latest", "prompt": "Turn it into a winter scene with snow falling", "image": "https://image.civitai.com/xG1nkqKTMzGDvpLrqFT7WA/dd4b4ad5-040f-4f0e-baa3-6e1ff00add65/original=true,quality=90,optimized=true/26781018.jpeg", "strength": 0.7 } } ] }

Valid JSON

Note image is a plain string URL (not a { url: ... } wrapper), and the field is strength (default 0.7).

Edit image (editImage)

Pass up to 10 reference images via images[] — Qwen-Image's edit variant accepts more sources than most edit pipelines:

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "sdcpp",
      "ecosystem": "qwen",
      "model": "20b",
      "operation": "editImage",
      "prompt": "Add a rainbow in the sky",
      "images": [
        "https://image.civitai.com/.../source.jpeg"
      ]
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "sdcpp", "ecosystem": "qwen", "model": "20b", "operation": "editImage", "version": "latest", "prompt": "Add a rainbow in the sky", "images": [ "https://image.civitai.com/xG1nkqKTMzGDvpLrqFT7WA/dd4b4ad5-040f-4f0e-baa3-6e1ff00add65/original=true,quality=90,optimized=true/26781018.jpeg" ] } } ] }

Valid JSON

Width/height are inferred from the source image(s) when omitted.

qwen — the Alibaba-hosted catalog

engine: "qwen" reaches Alibaba Model Studio directly, which is where the newest Qwen image models land first. Two operations — createImage and editImage — with the model chosen by model:

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "qwen",
      "model": "2.0",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting",
      "width": 1328,
      "height": 1328
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "qwen", "model": "2.0", "operation": "createImage", "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting", "width": 1328, "height": 1328 } } ] }

Valid JSON

Picking a model

model	Operations	Sizing	quantity	Notes
3.0-pro	create, edit	512–2048 per side	1–6	Newest generation. Lowest throughput of the family — reserve it for hero shots.
2.0-pro	create, edit	512–2048 per side	1–6	Strongest generally-available tier: text rendering, realistic texture, prompt adherence.
2.0	create, edit	512–2048 per side	1–6	Default for createImage and editImage. Accelerated; balances quality and throughput.
max	create	5 fixed presets	1	Deprecated — use 2.0-pro. Higher realism, fewer artifacts. Text-to-image only.
plus	create	5 fixed presets	1	Deprecated — use 2.0. Leans artistic, strong at text-in-image.
edit-max	edit	512–2048 per side	1–6	Deprecated — use 2.0-pro. Industrial design, geometric reasoning, character consistency.
edit-plus	edit	512–2048 per side	1–6	Deprecated — use 2.0.
edit	edit	not settable	1	Deprecated — use 2.0. Output matches the input image's shape.

Legacy models retire on 2026-10-10

Alibaba retires max, plus, edit-max, edit-plus and edit on 2026-10-10 00:00 UTC+8 (2026-10-09 16:00 UTC). Until then, workflows using them still run but carry a modelDeprecated warning and Deprecation / Sunset response headers; from then on they are rejected with a 400. editImage now defaults to 2.0.

max and plus accept only Alibaba's fixed presets — 1664×928, 1472×1104, 1328×1328, 1104×1472, 928×1664. Any other width/height snaps to whichever preset is closest in aspect ratio, so 1024×1024 becomes 1328×1328 rather than erroring.

Omit width and height entirely to let the model choose: on createImage it infers a resolution from the prompt, and on editImage it matches the input image's aspect ratio at roughly 1024².

Parameters

Field	Default	Range	Notes
prompt	— ✅	≤ 5 000 chars	Natural-language works well on Qwen.
negativePrompt	(none)	≤ 500 chars	Optional.
width / height	(model chooses)	512–2048 each	See the sizing rules above.
quantity	1	1–6, model-dependent	max, plus and edit generate one image per request.
promptExtend	true	boolean	Model-side prompt rewriting. On by default, and it dominates latency — measured on 3.0-pro at 2048×1152: 11 s off vs 98 s on. Set false to send your prompt verbatim and generate far faster.
watermark	false	boolean	Adds Alibaba's "Qwen-Image" watermark bottom-right.
seed	random	int32	Pin for reproducibility.
images	— ✅ on editImage	1–3	Referenced in prompts as "Image 1", "Image 2", "Image 3" — order matters.

Text-to-image on the pro tier

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "qwen",
      "model": "2.0-pro",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "prompt": "An epic fantasy battle scene with dragons, cinematic lighting, intricate details",
      "width": 2048,
      "height": 1152
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "qwen", "model": "2.0-pro", "operation": "createImage", "prompt": "An epic fantasy battle scene with dragons, cinematic lighting, intricate details", "width": 2048, "height": 1152 } } ] }

Valid JSON

Edit image (editImage)

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "qwen",
      "model": "edit-plus",
      "operation": "editImage",
      "prompt": "Make it daytime",
      "images": [
        "https://image.civitai.com/.../source.jpeg"
      ]
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "qwen", "model": "2.0", "operation": "editImage", "prompt": "Make it daytime", "images": [ "https://image.civitai.com/xG1nkqKTMzGDvpLrqFT7WA/dd4b4ad5-040f-4f0e-baa3-6e1ff00add65/original=true,quality=90,optimized=true/26781018.jpeg" ] } } ] }

Valid JSON

With multiple references, name them in the prompt — e.g. "Put the jacket from Image 2 on the person in Image 1".

fal — Qwen-Image-2 under the FAL request shape

The commercial Qwen-Image-2 tier, including Pro via the proCreateImage and proEditImage operations, using engine: "fal", model: "qwen2":

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "fal",
      "model": "qwen2",
      "operation": "createImage",
      "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting",
      "imageSize": "square_hd"
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "fal", "model": "qwen2", "operation": "createImage", "prompt": "A photorealistic portrait of a woman with flowers in her hair, golden hour lighting", "imageSize": "square_hd" } } ] }

Valid JSON

Now served by Alibaba

This path executes on Alibaba Model Studio rather than FAL. Nothing about the request, the response, or the price changed — but if you're starting fresh, engine: "qwen" above exposes the same models with explicit dimensions and a wider catalog.

FAL-specific parameters

Field	Default	Range	Notes
prompt	— ✅	≥ 1 char	Natural-language works well on Qwen.
negativePrompt	(none)	≤ 500 chars	Much tighter limit than sdcpp's 10 000.
imageSize	square_hd	square_hd / square / portrait_4_3 / portrait_16_9 / landscape_4_3 / landscape_16_9	Enum, not width/height. FAL doesn't accept arbitrary dimensions on Qwen2.
quantity	1	1–10	Slightly lower ceiling than sdcpp's 12.
enablePromptExpansion	true	boolean	Model-side prompt expansion — Qwen rewrites your prompt before generation. On by default.
enableSafetyChecker	false	boolean	FAL's safety filter. Off by default.
seed	random	int32	Pin for reproducibility.

FAL Qwen2 does not support LoRAs or uCache — use the sdcpp path when you need either.

Pro tier (proCreateImage / proEditImage)

The Pro tier keeps the same input shape but routes to a higher-quality backing model. Swap the operation to proCreateImage for text-to-image or proEditImage for editing:

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "fal",
      "model": "qwen2",
      "operation": "proCreateImage",
      "prompt": "An epic fantasy battle scene with dragons, cinematic lighting, intricate details",
      "imageSize": "landscape_16_9"
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "fal", "model": "qwen2", "operation": "proCreateImage", "prompt": "An epic fantasy battle scene with dragons, cinematic lighting, intricate details", "imageSize": "landscape_16_9" } } ] }

Valid JSON

Pro costs more and is slower, but delivers stronger prompt adherence and finer detail. Use for hero shots where quality matters more than throughput.

Edit image (FAL)

FAL's edit operation accepts 1–3 reference images (vs sdcpp's 10):

{
  "steps": [{
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "input": {
      "engine": "fal",
      "model": "qwen2",
      "operation": "editImage",
      "prompt": "Make it daytime",
      "images": [
        "https://image.civitai.com/.../source.jpeg"
      ]
    }
  }]
}

POST/v2/consumer/workflows

Set your Civitai API token via the Token button in the navbar to enable Try It.

Request body — edit to customize (e.g. swap the image URL or prompt)

{ "steps": [ { "$type": "imageGen", "input": { "engine": "fal", "model": "qwen2", "operation": "editImage", "prompt": "Make it daytime", "images": [ "https://image.civitai.com/xG1nkqKTMzGDvpLrqFT7WA/dd4b4ad5-040f-4f0e-baa3-6e1ff00add65/original=true,quality=90,optimized=true/26781018.jpeg" ] } } ] }

Valid JSON

Swap to proEditImage for the Pro tier variant.

Reading the result

Both engines emit the standard imageGen output — an images[] array, one entry per quantity:

{
  "status": "succeeded",
  "steps": [{
    "name": "0",
    "$type": "imageGen",
    "status": "succeeded",
    "output": {
      "images": [
        { "id": "blob_...", "url": "https://.../signed.jpeg" }
      ]
    }
  }]
}

Blob URLs are signed and expire — refetch the workflow or call GetBlob for a fresh URL.

Runtime

Path	Typical wall time per 1024×1024 image	wait recommendation
sdcpp Qwen-Image 20B	15–35 s	wait=60 usually fine for quantity: 1
qwen, promptExtend: false	10–15 s	wait=60 usually fine
qwen, promptExtend: true (default)	60–100 s	Prompt rewriting adds ~60–90 s. Submit with wait=0 and poll, or turn it off
fal Qwen2 (create / edit)	10–30 s	wait=60 usually fine
fal Qwen2 Pro (proCreateImage / proEditImage)	20–60 s	wait=60 sometimes; fall back to wait=0 on busy periods

Large quantity or atypical aspect ratios push toward the 100-second request timeout — submit with wait=0 and poll.

Cost

Billed in Buzz on the workflow's transactions. Use whatif=true for an exact preview; see Payments (Buzz) for currency selection.

sdcpp Qwen-Image 20B — per-pixel + per-step scaling, with editImage carrying a flat higher base:

createImage / createVariant:
  total = 30 × (width × height / 1328²) × (steps / 20) × quantity

editImage:
  total = 40 × (width × height / 1024²) × (steps / 20) × (1 + (numImages − 1) × 0.1) × quantity

Shape	Buzz
createImage, 1024²/steps: 20/quantity: 1	~18
createImage, 1328²/steps: 20/quantity: 1	~30
createImage, 1024²/steps: 20/quantity: 4	~72
editImage, 1 ref, 1024²/steps: 20	40
editImage, 3 refs, 1024²/steps: 20	48

Alibaba-hosted models (engine: "qwen") — flat per generated image, no pixel or step scaling:

total = base × quantity

model	Buzz per image
2.0, edit-plus*	45.5 / 39
plus	39
edit	58.5
3.0-pro, 2.0-pro, max, edit-max	97.5

* 2.0 is 45.5; edit-plus is 39.

FAL Qwen2 (engine: "fal") — fixed per operation, per image. createImage / editImage are cheapest; proCreateImage / proEditImage cost meaningfully more. Use whatif=true to confirm pricing for your shape.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
400 with "ecosystem must be qwen"	Typo	Lowercase "qwen" — not "Qwen" or "qwen2" (that's the fal model, not the sdcpp ecosystem).
400 with "version must be one of"	Picked a version that isn't valid for that operation	Edit supports latest/2509/2511; create + variant support latest/2509/2512.
400 with unexpected "width/height" error on edit/variant	Dimensions conflict with source resolution	Omit width/height; they auto-populate from the source.
400 with "imageSize must be one of" on fal	Arbitrary dimensions on the fal path	The fal path uses the enum — pick square_hd, landscape_16_9, etc. Use engine: "qwen" or the sdcpp path for arbitrary dimensions.
400 "does not support custom output dimensions" on engine: "qwen"	width/height sent to model: "edit"	That model always matches the input image — omit both fields.
400 "generates at most 1 image(s)"	quantity > 1 on max, plus or edit	Those models return a single image per request; submit multiple steps instead.
Prompt visibly rewritten before generation	promptExtend defaults to true on engine: "qwen"	Set promptExtend: false to send it verbatim.
400 with "images maxItems"	More than 10 source images on sdcpp editImage, or more than 3 on fal editImage	Trim the array.
LoRA has no effect	Only the sdcpp path supports LoRAs	Switch to engine: "sdcpp", ecosystem: "qwen".
Output ignores the prompt	cfgScale too low (Qwen wants ~2.5, far below SD1/SDXL's 7) or enablePromptExpansion rewriting your carefully-tuned text	Bump cfgScale toward 4 on sdcpp; set enablePromptExpansion: false on fal.
Request timed out (wait expired)	Large quantity, Pro tier on busy queue	Resubmit with wait=0 and poll.
Step failed, reason = "blocked"	Prompt or input image hit content moderation	Don't retry the same input — see Errors & retries → Step-level failures.

Related

• SubmitWorkflow — operation used by every example here
• GetWorkflow — for polling
• Flux 2 / Flux 1 image generation — alternative open-weights families
• SDXL / SD1 image generation — classic Stable Diffusion ecosystems
• Image upscaling — chain after imageGen for higher-res output
• Prompt enhancement — LLM-rewrite a prompt before feeding it in via $ref
• Full parameter catalog: the Qwen20b<Operation>Input (sdcpp), QwenApiCreateImageGenInput / QwenApiEditImageGenInput (qwen) and Qwen2<Operation>FalImageGenInput / Qwen2Pro<Operation>FalImageGenInput (fal) schemas in the API reference
• imageGen endpoint OpenAPI spec — standalone OpenAPI 3.1 YAML covering the full imageGen surface; import into Postman / OpenAPI Generator