> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-1a2462c9-cor-444-sanitize.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Image generation

> Ask Chat for a picture and Cortex-Image-1 paints it. Generated images land in Library. On Free and Guest, images are a daily quota — not a paywall.

Ask for a picture in plain language, or choose **+ → Image** on the composer. Chat loads its image skill, turns your ask into a complete scene description, and calls **Cortex-Image-1**. The finished picture is a Library file you can reuse in any chat or project.

<Frame caption="The composer's + menu: Attach file, Image, Check origin.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cortex-foundation-add13747-droid-1a2462c9-cor-444-sanitize/f_vF1T0UHRUAu9OO/images/product/chat-composer-menu.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=f_vF1T0UHRUAu9OO&q=85&s=af14cc70ff03dc94ac40c04d25320c20" alt="The composer + menu with Attach file, Image, and Check origin" width="1280" height="800" data-path="images/product/chat-composer-menu.png" />
</Frame>

## Ask for a picture

Describe the whole scene — subject, setting, light, style. You can also set:

| Option          | Range        | Notes                                          |
| --------------- | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Size            | Preset sizes | Pick from the options offered                  |
| Seed            | Any integer  | Same seed, same prompt: a reproducible picture |
| Negative prompt | Free text    | What to keep out of the frame                  |
| Steps           | 1–50         | More steps, more detail, more time             |
| Guidance        | 0–20         | How closely the picture follows the prompt     |

## What the card shows

| State        | You see                                                          |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `queued`     | **Improving prompt…** — Chat is completing the scene description |
| `generating` | A skeleton where the picture will appear                         |
| `done`       | The picture, saved to Library                                    |
| `error`      | An error square — never a spinner                                |

If the Library fetch for a finished picture fails, you see the error square. If image generation is not configured on a deployment, the request fails closed before any quota is spent.

## Quota, not a paywall

On **Free** and **Guest**, image generation is metered as `images_per_day`. Using the window is [`quota_exceeded`](/problems/quota_exceeded): wait for the reset shown under **Settings → Plan & billing**. A plan that does not include image generation at all is [`entitlement_required`](/problems/entitlement_required). Free explicitly lists *Image generation with Cortex-Image-1*. See [Plans](/getting-started/plans).

## About the model

**Cortex-Image-1** is the image model for Cortex Chat, in preview, built on NVIDIA Cosmos. It appears in **Settings → Models** beside the chat models with the attribution *Built on NVIDIA Cosmos*. See [Models](/chat/models).

## Origin check is separate

A generated picture is a Library file like any other. **Check origin** is a different ask — attach media and ask whether it is authentic. It does not run automatically after every generation. See [Origin check](/chat/origin-check).

## Tips

* One complete sentence beats a list of keywords: *A lighthouse on a granite headland at dusk, long exposure, soft teal sky.*
* Reuse the seed to iterate on a picture you like while changing one thing at a time.
* Use the negative prompt for the things the model keeps adding that you do not want.