Seedream 5.0 Lite API

About Seedream 5.0 Lite

Seedream 5.0 Lite text-to-image is ByteDance's preset-sized tier: a prompt of 3 to 3,000 characters becomes one 2K image.

Call it with the model name bytedance/seedream-5.0-lite/text-to-image on POST /jobs/createTask, from 6 credits per image ($0.06). New accounts get 30 free credits to try it in the Playground first.

Introduction

Seedream 5.0 Lite Text-to-Image turns a written brief into a new, reviewable image. It is the text-led route for exploring composition, visual hierarchy and art direction before an approved source image needs to control the result.

Choose a Seedream 5.0 Lite mode by starting material

Key features

Layout-aware design exploration

Start with the intended placement and message, then judge the result for readability before adding decorative complexity.

Create from a brief or revise a source on purpose

Text-to-image begins with an original composition. Image editing begins with supplied material; use it when the task is a targeted visual change rather than another attempt to describe the source from memory.

Request parameters

Pricing

Prices are in credits, the same credits you use on the website (1 credit = $0.01). The hold is taken when the task is accepted and settled to the actual charge when it finishes; failed tasks are refunded.

Each task is rounded up to whole credits, so one run at the lowest tier costs 6 credits per image ($0.06).

For an exact number before you run, send the same body to POST /jobs/quote.

Use cases

Start from a written brief

Seedream 5.0 Lite Text to Image renders a brief into a single image at a preset you name. Instead of a free ratio, size is a named width*height string, and every preset is a 2K frame.

Print comps and layout mocks

2304*1728 is a landscape print-comp shape and 1728*2304 its portrait counterpart. Generate the layout at the preset the comp will use and judge legibility and spacing at that size, not from a thumbnail.

Ultra-wide banners and key art

3136*1344 is already the shape of a site hero or a storefront banner.

Prompt guide & pro tips

Write the brief for that frame

Subject, wardrobe, palette, line quality, lighting — one pass, up to 3,000 characters.

Poll the task and keep the brief

There is no seed field, so store the prompt with any frame you intend to reproduce or extend into a series.

Adapt the included example

Start with the published example using output_format: png, size: 2048*2048. Replace the subject and creative direction while keeping the input contract for this mode intact.

Check the result before iterating

size is the whole framing control — there is no aspect_ratio and no seed, so a frame you like cannot be redrawn exactly and the brief has to be stored with the asset. The eight 2K presets are the complete list; anything outside them is rejected before the request leaves the platform, and the delivered pixels can come in slightly under the named size.

API quick start

Call the Seedream 5.0 Lite API in three steps

1. Create an API key. Sign in to PopNow and create a key in the API console. Keys start with sk-popnow- and use the same credits as the website.
2. Send the request. POST /jobs/createTask with model bytedance/seedream-5.0-lite/text-to-image and an input object that follows the parameter table. The response returns a task ID straight away.
3. Get the result. Poll GET /jobs/recordInfo with the task ID, or pass a callBackUrl and we post the result to it. Download the output links when the task succeeds.

# 1. Create the task. Keep the Idempotency-Key if you retry after a network error.
export IDEMPOTENCY_KEY="$(uuidgen)"
curl -X POST https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "model": "bytedance/seedream-5.0-lite/text-to-image",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "A ceramic teapot on a linen cloth, soft window light, muted palette",
    "size": "2048*2048",
    "output_format": "jpeg"
  }
}'

# 2. Copy data.taskId from the response, then poll until state is succeeded, failed, canceled or expired.
TASK_ID="TASK_ID_FROM_RESPONSE"
curl "https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY"

Replace the prompt and any links with your own. The API tab has the response, polling and callback reference.

Seedream 5.0 Lite API questions

All Seedream models

Seedream 5.0 Pro frames with any of fifteen aspect ratios at 1K or 2K and spends more on material detail. Lite is the one when a fixed preset size is part of the brief.

• Seedream 5.0 Pro APIHigh-detail images and edits from up to ten referencesFrom 6 credits per image
• Seedream 5.0 Flash APIQuick Seedream images, edits and layer splits up to 2KFrom 4 credits per image
• Seedream 5.0 Lite APIFixed-size 2K frames that keep a series consistentFrom 6 credits per image
• Seedream 4.0 APIExact sizes up to 4096×2304 and ten-reference editsFrom 5 credits per image

Other image APIs

• Nano Banana 2.1 APIGoogle's newest Nano Banana, sharp text and 4K outputFrom 8 credits per image
• Nano Banana Pro APIPlans the layout first: dense text, diagrams and 4K editsFrom 17 credits per image
• GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst APIOpenAI's quality-first model, up to 4K with clean textFrom 1 credit per image
• FLUX.2 Max APITop-tier FLUX: photoreal light and exact brand colorsFrom 11 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2.1 Pro APIUp to six detailed 2K images from one promptFrom 6 credits per image
• Qwen Image 2.1 Turbo APIFast 8-step renders, up to six per promptFrom 3 credits per image

More about Seedream 5.0 Lite

Try it

Seedream 5.0 Lite AI Image Generator onlineCreate images with Seedream 5.0 Lite in PopNow

Docs

Seedream 5.0 Lite model ID and input schema in the API docsPopNow API quickstart: your first request in five minutesImage generation guide for the PopNow APIWebhooks: get Seedream 5.0 Lite results without polling