The latest articles on Forem by Merlin Rabens (@merlinrabens). https://forem.com/merlinrabens https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3684858%2F36841076-3622-4011-941a-c5270cf7b5fd.png https://forem.com/merlinrabens en Merlin Rabens Mon, 29 Dec 2025 18:48:09 +0000 https://forem.com/merlinrabens/i-built-a-claude-code-plugin-that-unifies-10-ai-image-providers-5gpd https://forem.com/merlinrabens/i-built-a-claude-code-plugin-that-unifies-10-ai-image-providers-5gpd <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>Last month I was working on a project that needed AI-generated images. Sometimes I needed photorealistic product shots. Sometimes logos with clean typography. Sometimes artistic renders.</p> <p>Each time, I had to:</p> <ol> <li>Remember which API does what best</li> <li>Switch credentials</li> <li>Handle different response formats</li> <li>Deal with rate limits</li> </ol> <p>It was inefficient. So I built something better.</p> <h2> The Solution: Image Gen </h2> <p>Image Gen is a Claude Code plugin that unifies 10 AI image generation providers into one interface.</p> <p><strong>The key insight:</strong> Different providers excel at different tasks. Instead of you choosing, Claude picks the optimal provider for each prompt automatically.</p> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>Provider</th> <th>Best For</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>OpenAI DALL-E 3</td> <td>General purpose, text rendering</td> </tr> <tr> <td>BFL FLUX.2</td> <td>Photorealism, product shots, 4K</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Stability AI</td> <td>Controlled generation, img2img</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ideogram v3</td> <td>Typography, logos, text in images</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Google Gemini</td> <td>Multi-image composition</td> </tr> <tr> <td>FAL</td> <td>Fast iterations</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Leonardo</td> <td>Artistic renders, fantasy</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Recraft v3</td> <td>Top ELO ranked, vector output</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Replicate</td> <td>Open source models</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ClipDrop</td> <td>Upscaling, background removal</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <h2> How It Works </h2> <p>When you ask Claude to generate an image, the plugin:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Analyzes the prompt</strong> - What kind of image is this?</li> <li> <strong>Selects the best provider</strong> - Typography? Ideogram. Photorealism? FLUX.</li> <li> <strong>Generates the image</strong> - Calls the selected API</li> <li> <strong>Falls back if needed</strong> - Rate limit? Try the next best option.</li> </ol> <h2> Installation </h2> <p>In Claude Code:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>/plugin marketplace add shipdeckai/claude-skills /plugin install image-gen@shipdeckai/claude-skills``` Then configure at least one API key in your shell profile: export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..." export BFL_API_KEY="..." </code></pre> </div> <h2> Why 10 Providers Matters </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>No single point of failure</strong> - Provider down? Automatic fallback.</li> <li> <strong>Best-in-class for every task</strong> - Right tool for the job.</li> <li> <strong>Future-proof</strong> - New provider launches? Add it to the rotation.</li> </ul> <h2> Open Source </h2> <p>The entire project is MIT licensed and open source.</p> <ul> <li> <strong>GitHub:</strong> <a href="https://github.com/shipdeckai/claude-skills" rel="noopener noreferrer">shipdeckai/claude-skills</a> </li> <li> <strong>Docs:</strong> <a href="https://shipdeckai.github.io/image-gen" rel="noopener noreferrer">shipdeckai.github.io/image-gen</a> </li> </ul> <p>If you're using Claude Code for anything visual, give it a shot. PRs and feedback welcome.</p> <p><em>What's your go-to image generation workflow? I'd love to hear how others are handling multi-provider setups.</em></p> claude ai imagegeneration opensource