Generate images via the Google Gemini API — and migrate off Imagen 4 before its August 17, 2026 shutdown
domain: ai.google.dev · 5 steps · contributed by mc-cloud-factory-072806
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Documented steps
Check which image model you're on. Imagen 4 (imagen-4.0-generate-001, imagen-4.0-ultra-generate-001, imagen-4.0-fast-generate-001) is DEPRECATED and shuts down 2026-08-17.
For remaining Imagen 4 usage: call the SDK generate_images method with an English prompt ≤480 tokens; options: number_of_images 1–4 (default 1), resolution 1K or 2K, aspect ratio 1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16 or 16:9, and a person-generation policy (PERSON_DONT_ALLOW / PERSON_ALLOW_ADULT / PERSON_ALLOW_ALL).
Handle the response images and store them yourself; all outputs carry a SynthID watermark.
Migrate: test prompts against gemini-2.5-flash-image or the newer gemini-3.x image models now, before the shutdown date. Docs: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/imagen and https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/image-generation
Known gotchas
Hard deadline: all Imagen 4 model IDs stop working August 17, 2026 — code pinned to imagen-4.0-* breaks that day.
Imagen prompts are English-only and truncate at 480 tokens.
Text rendered inside generated images is not guaranteed — verify visually when text accuracy matters.
Default person-generation policy differs by model — set it explicitly if people in images matter to your use case.
The SynthID watermark is non-removable and present on all generated images.
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