PiAPI CLI is the official command line interface for running PiAPI models from a terminal. It works as an AI CLI tool for image, video, audio, 3D, and chat generation workflows.

How do I install PiAPI CLI?

Install PiAPI CLI globally with npm install -g piapi-cli. You can also run it without installing by using npx piapi-cli@latest. Node.js 18 or later is required.

What models are supported?

PiAPI CLI supports 94 multimodal AI models, including image, video, audio, 3D, and chat models. Examples include Flux, Sora, Kling, Veo, GPT, and Claude.

Can I generate AI images from terminal?

Yes. PiAPI CLI can generate AI images from terminal commands with models such as Flux, Nano Banana Pro, Seedream, and Qwen Image. Add --download to save generated files locally.

Can I generate AI videos from terminal?

Yes. PiAPI CLI can generate AI videos from terminal workflows with models such as Sora, Kling, Veo, Seedance, Hailuo, and Luma. Video tasks usually run asynchronously.

v0.1.1AI Agent Ready

PiAPI CLI

Name: PiAPI CLI
Brand: PiAPI
Availability: InStock

94 Multimodal AI Models from Your Terminal

Generate AI images, videos, audio, 3D assets, and chat with LLMs from one command line interface. PiAPI CLI is built for developers, AI agents, and automation workflows.

Install with npm:

$npm install -g piapi-cli

View on npm API Docs

terminal

$ piapi run flux-dev prompt="a corgi astronaut"

✓ Creating task...

✓ Polling for result...

✓ Image generated successfully!

https://storage.piapi.ai/flux/corgi_astronaut.png

$ piapi run gpt-4o prompt="explain async/await" --stream

Async/await is syntactic sugar for Promises...

$ piapi model list --type video

sora2-pro OpenAI Sora 2

kling-3 Kling 3.0

veo3-fast Google Veo 3

hailuo MiniMax Hailuo

... 36 more models

At a glance

What PiAPI CLI does

PiAPI CLI, also published as piapi-cli on npm, is the official PiAPI command line interface for running image, video, audio, 3D, and chat models from a terminal or AI agent workflow.

Key facts

94: multimodal AI models supported
34: image generation models and tools
40: video generation models
10: audio, music, and TTS models
2: 3D generation models
8: LLM chat models with streaming support

Which workflow should you choose?

This section explains when PiAPI CLI is the better path, and when a direct API or a model-specific tool may still make sense.

PiAPI CLI

Recommended for CLI

Use when: you want one AI CLI tool to run image, video, audio, 3D, and chat models from the terminal.

Keep in mind: best for fast experiments, scripts, AI agents, and repeatable generation tasks.

Direct API calls

Use when: you are building a production app and need full control over request handling and custom UI logic.

Keep in mind: you write more integration code for auth, uploads, polling, downloads, and retries.

Model-specific tools

Use when: you only need one provider or one model family for a narrow experiment.

Keep in mind: switching between Flux, Sora, Kling, Veo, GPT, Claude, and other models usually means changing tools.

In short: use PiAPI CLI when the job starts in the terminal and needs access to many AI models through one command format.

Popular model commands

Run Flux, Sora, Kling, Veo, GPT, and Claude from one CLI

PiAPI CLI works as a Flux CLI, Sora CLI, Kling CLI, Veo CLI, GPT image CLI, and Claude CLI through one command format.

Flux CLI

Generate AI images from terminal prompts with Flux models for product shots, concepts, and creative assets.

piapi run flux-dev prompt="product photo on white background"

Sora CLI

Start async text-to-video jobs from the command line for cinematic clips and short video ideas.

piapi run sora2-pro prompt="cinematic ocean waves" --async

Kling CLI

Generate AI videos from terminal commands with Kling models for motion-heavy video scenes.

piapi run kling-3 prompt="camera pushes through neon city"

Veo CLI

Run Veo video generation from scripts, prototypes, or AI agent workflows.

piapi run veo3-fast prompt="aerial shot of a mountain road"

GPT image CLI

Create images, icons, and visual concepts from prompts with GPT image models.

piapi run gpt-image-2 prompt="a clean app icon"

Claude CLI

Send writing, summarization, and coding prompts to Claude models from the terminal.

piapi run claude-sonnet-4.6 prompt="rewrite this launch note"

Everything you need

One AI CLI Tool for Multimodal Models

Use PiAPI CLI as a multimodal AI CLI for image, video, audio, 3D, and chat workflows. No context switching between different APIs.

Image Generation: Generate AI images from terminal commands with 34 models including Flux, Nano Banana Pro, Seedream, plus tools like remove-bg, upscale, and faceswap.; flux-dev, nano-banana-pro, seedream-5-lite, qwen-image
Video Generation: Generate AI videos from terminal workflows with 40 models including Sora 2, Kling 3, Veo 3, Seedance 2, Hailuo, and Luma.; sora2-pro, kling-3, veo3-fast, wanx22, seedance-2
Audio & Music: 10 models for TTS, sound effects, and music generation including F5-TTS, MMAudio, and Udio.; mmaudio, f5-tts, diffrhythm, udio-music, ace-step
3D Generation: Create 3D assets from text or images with Trellis models.; trellis (text-to-3D), trellis2 (image-to-3D)
LLM Chat: 8 chat models with streaming support. GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5, and more.; gpt-4o, claude-sonnet-4.6, gpt-5, gpt-image-2
Auto Download: Use --download to automatically save generated files. Supports custom output directories.; --download --out-dir ./output
AI Agent Ready: Use PiAPI CLI in AI agent workflows, scripts, and automated command line tasks. Full agent skill specification included.; npx skills add PiAPI-1/piapi-cli
Local File Upload: Prefix inputs with @ to auto-upload local files before running the model.; image=@./photo.png, source=@./face.jpg

Quick Examples

Use piapi-cli for common AI CLI workflows, from text-to-image generation to async video tasks and local file uploads.

# Generate image

piapi run flux-dev prompt="sunset over mountains"

# Chat with streaming

piapi run gpt-4o prompt="explain quantum computing" --stream

# Generate video (async)

piapi run sora2-pro prompt="ocean waves" --async

# Upload & download

piapi run remove-bg image=@./photo.png --download

Reference

CLI Commands

Complete PiAPI command line interface reference for authentication, model discovery, generation, downloads, and async tasks.

piapi run

piapi run <model> key=value...

Run any model with key=value inputs

$piapi run flux-dev prompt="a corgi" aspect_ratio=16:9

Generate image

$piapi run gpt-4o prompt="hello" --stream

Chat with streaming

$piapi run sora2-pro prompt="waves" --async

Generate video (async)

$piapi run remove-bg image=@./photo.png --download

Upload & download

piapi task

piapi task <subcommand>

Manage async tasks

$piapi task list

List all tasks

$piapi task get <id>

Get task status

$piapi task cancel <id>

Cancel a task

piapi model

piapi model <subcommand>

Browse available models

$piapi model list

List all models

$piapi model list --type video

Filter by type

$piapi model schema flux-dev

Show model schema

piapi auth

piapi auth <subcommand>

Manage authentication

$piapi auth login --api-key sk-xxx

$piapi auth status

Check auth status

$piapi auth logout

Logout

piapi quota

piapi quota

Check account quota and credits

$piapi quota

Show remaining credits

piapi config

piapi config <subcommand>

Manage configuration

$piapi config show

Show current config

$piapi config set --key apiKey --value sk-xxx

Set config value

Global Flags

--help, -hShow help information

--version, -vShow version number

--api-key <key>API key (overrides env/config)

--output jsonJSON output on stdout

--asyncReturn task ID immediately (required for video/3D)

--streamStream LLM output as it arrives

--downloadAuto-download generated files

--out-dir <path>Download directory (default: cwd)

--dry-runPreview request without executing

--quietSuppress progress indicators

--webhook <url>Webhook URL for callbacks

--no-colorDisable ANSI colors

Developer guides

Learn PiAPI CLI workflows

Read the CLI quick start and terminal image generation guide to connect PiAPI CLI with real developer automation workflows.

PiAPI CLI terminal workflow for multimodal AI generation

PiAPI CLIMay 15, 2026

PiAPI CLI Quick Start: Generate AI Images and Videos from Your Terminal

Install PiAPI CLI, authenticate your API key, and run your first image or video generation command from the terminal.

Generate AI images from terminal with PiAPI CLI

Image CLIMay 18, 2026

How to Generate AI Images From the Terminal With a Command Line AI Tool

Use PiAPI CLI as a command line AI tool to generate images from terminal prompts, save outputs locally, and automate repeatable image workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to get started?

Install from npm Get API Key