fal.ai Image Generator Skill

fal.ai Image Generator

Use the fal.ai API to generate images from text prompts.

Official docs: https://fal.ai/docs

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

Generate images from text descriptions
Create illustrations or visual content
Generate blog headers, thumbnails, or social media images

Prerequisites

Sign up at fal.ai
Get your API key from the dashboard

export FAL_KEY="your-api-key"

Important: When using $VAR in a command that pipes to another command, wrap the command containing $VAR in bash -c '...'. Due to a Claude Code bug, environment variables are silently cleared when pipes are used directly.
bash -c 'curl -s "https://api.example.com" -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"'

How to Use

1. Generate Image (nano-banana-pro - fast)

Write to /tmp/fal_request.json:

{
  "prompt": "A futuristic city at sunset, cyberpunk style"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

2. Generate Image (flux/schnell - fast)

Write to /tmp/fal_request.json:

{
  "prompt": "A cute cat eating a cookie"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/flux/schnell" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

3. Generate Image (recraft-v3 - high quality)

Write to /tmp/fal_request.json:

{
  "prompt": "Abstract art, vibrant colors"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/recraft-v3" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

4. Generate with Custom Size

Write to /tmp/fal_request.json:

{
  "prompt": "Mountain landscape",
  "image_size": "landscape_16_9"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

5. Download Generated Image

Write to /tmp/fal_request.json:

{
  "prompt": "A minimalist workspace"
}

Then run:

bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url' | xargs curl -sL -o /tmp/image.png

6. Pipe Prompt from Echo (JSON escaped)

echo "A dragon breathing fire, epic fantasy art" | jq -Rs '{prompt: .}' > /tmp/fal_request.json
bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

7. Pipe Prompt from File (JSON escaped)

cat /tmp/prompt.txt | jq -Rs '{prompt: .}' > /tmp/fal_request.json
bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

8. Pipe with Additional Parameters

echo "Neon city at night" | jq -Rs '{prompt: ., image_size: "landscape_16_9"}' > /tmp/fal_request.json
bash -c 'curl -s -X POST "https://fal.run/fal-ai/nano-banana-pro" --header "Authorization: Key ${FAL_KEY}" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/fal_request.json' | jq -r '.images[0].url'

Available Models

| Model | Description | |-------|-------------| | nano-banana-pro | Fast, good quality (recommended) | | flux/schnell | Fast generation | | flux-pro | High quality | | recraft-v3 | High quality vector/illustration |

See more at: https://fal.ai/models

Image Sizes

| Size | Aspect Ratio | |------|--------------| | square | 1:1 | | square_hd | 1:1 (high res) | | portrait_4_3 | 4:3 | | portrait_16_9 | 16:9 | | landscape_4_3 | 3:4 | | landscape_16_9 | 9:16 |

Prompt Guidelines

For best results:

Be specific - Describe the subject clearly
Add style hints - "modern", "minimalist", "photorealistic", "digital art", "cinematic"
Specify colors/mood - "blue and purple gradient", "warm tones", "dark and moody"
Keep it concise - Clear and focused descriptions work better

Agent Skills: fal.ai Image Generator

Skill Files