How to Run an AI Image Generation Agent with OE Runtime

Turn text descriptions into high-quality images automatically. OE Runtime lets you run an AI image generation agent locally — no cloud platform, no monthly subscription, just a YAML file and a binary.

The Agent YAML

Create a file called agent.yaml inside an image-generation/ directory:

name: Image Creator
description: Generate images from text descriptions using AI
instructions: |
  You are a creative image generation agent. Craft detailed prompts and generate high-quality images.
  If the concept is vague, enhance it with artistic style, lighting, and composition details before generating.
  Complete all steps fully before writing your report.
steps:
  - name: Plan the Prompt
    content: |
      Design a detailed image generation prompt for a professional product showcase photo.
      The subject: a sleek laptop on a minimalist desk with soft natural lighting.
      Enhance with: camera angle, lighting style, color palette, mood, and aspect ratio (16:9).
  - name: Generate Image
    content: |
      Call the image generation tool with the crafted prompt.
      Request high resolution. Wait for the generation to complete and retrieve the image URL.
  - name: Report
    content: |
      Summarize the result:
      - The final prompt used
      - Any enhancements made to the original concept
      - Image URL
      - Style and composition notes for future reference
connectors:
  - connection_name: OpenAI Image
    connection_type: openai-image

The Config File

Create oe-config.json in the same directory:

{
  "llm": {
    "provider": "openai",
    "model": "gpt-4o",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY"
  },
  "server": {
    "enabled": false,
    "port": 3333,
    "apiKey": "your-secret-api-key"
  },
  "connectors": [
    {
      "connection_name": "OpenAI Image",
      "connection_type": "openai-image",
      "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY",
      "model": "gpt-image-1",
      "size": "1024x1024"
    }
  ]
}

Replace YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY with your key from platform.openai.com/api-keys.

Download OE Runtime

Run the Agent

Windows

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-win.exe image-generation/agent.yaml --config image-generation/oe-config.json

macOS

# Make executable (first time only)
chmod +x oe-runtime-macos

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-macos image-generation/agent.yaml --config image-generation/oe-config.json

Linux

# Make executable (first time only)
chmod +x oe-runtime-linux

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-linux image-generation/agent.yaml --config image-generation/oe-config.json

Running as an API Server

Add --serve to start OE Runtime as an HTTP server on port 3333:

oe-runtime-win.exe --serve --config image-generation/oe-config.json

Then send a request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3333/run \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"yaml": "image-generation/agent.yaml", "params": {}}'

Or import the Postman collection (download above) to test all endpoints visually.

Use Cases

• Product photography — Generate studio-quality product shots from written descriptions without booking a photographer or renting equipment. Describe the product, background, lighting style, and angle, and the agent produces a professional-grade image ready for web or print.
• Marketing & advertising creative — Produce social media visuals, ad banners, email headers, and campaign imagery at scale. Brief the agent with your brand colours, tone, and message, and get multiple creative variations in minutes instead of days.
• UI & web design mockups — Create realistic placeholder images, hero artwork, icon sets, and illustration packs for design prototypes. Stop using stock photos that look generic — generate visuals that match your exact layout and aesthetic.
• Brand content at scale — Maintain visual consistency across hundreds of assets by embedding your brand guidelines directly in the prompt template. The agent applies the same colour palette, style, and composition rules every time it runs.
• E-commerce catalogue imagery — Automate product image creation for large catalogues where individual photography is impractical. Feed the agent a product list and generate a consistent image set for every SKU, ready for your storefront.
• Game & app concept art — Rapidly prototype characters, environments, UI elements, and storyboards for games or mobile apps. Use the agent to explore multiple visual directions before committing design resources to a single style.
• Real estate & interior visualisation — Generate photorealistic renders of rooms, facades, or renovation concepts from a text brief. Useful for architects, agents, and interior designers who need quick visual proposals for clients.
• Training data generation — Create large volumes of labelled synthetic images for machine learning datasets. Control composition, lighting, and subject variation through prompt engineering to produce diverse, high-quality training sets.