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Generate images using AI with .NET

  • Article

In this quickstart, you learn how to create a .NET console app to generate images using an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI DALLe AI model, which are specifically designed to generate images based on text prompts.

Prerequisites

  • .NET 8.0 SDK - Install the .NET 8.0 SDK.
  • An API key from OpenAI so you can run this sample.
  • On Windows, PowerShell v7+ is required. To validate your version, run pwsh in a terminal. It should return the current version. If it returns an error, execute the following command: dotnet tool update --global PowerShell.

Prerequisites

Note

You can also use Semantic Kernel to accomplish the tasks in this article. Semantic Kernel is a lightweight, open-source SDK that lets you build AI agents and integrate the latest AI models into your .NET apps.

Clone the sample repository

You can create your own app using the steps in the sections ahead, or you can clone the GitHub repository that contains the completed sample apps for all of the quickstarts. If you plan to use Azure OpenAI, the sample repo is also structured as an Azure Developer CLI template that can provision an Azure OpenAI resource for you.

git clone https://github.com/dotnet/ai-samples.git

Create the app

Complete the following steps to create a .NET console app to connect to an AI model.

  1. In an empty directory on your computer, use the dotnet new command to create a new console app:

    dotnet new console -o ImagesAI

  2. Change directory into the app folder:

    cd ImagesAI

  3. Install the required packages:

    dotnet add package Azure.AI.OpenAI
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.UserSecrets

    dotnet add package OpenAI
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.UserSecrets

  4. Open the app in Visual Studio Code or your editor of choice.

    code .

Create the AI service

The sample GitHub repository is structured as an Azure Developer CLI (azd) template, which azd can use to provision the Azure OpenAI service and model for you.

  1. From a terminal or command prompt, navigate to the src\quickstarts\azure-openai directory of the sample repo.

  2. Run the azd up command to provision the Azure OpenAI resources. It might take several minutes to create the Azure OpenAI service and deploy the model.

    azd up

    azd also configures the required user secrets for the sample app, such as the Azure OpenAI endpoint and model name.

Configure the app

  1. Navigate to the root of your .NET project from a terminal or command prompt.

  2. Run the following commands to configure your OpenAI API key as a secret for the sample app:

    dotnet user-secrets init
dotnet user-secrets set OpenAIKey <your-openai-key>
dotnet user-secrets set ModelName <your-openai-model-name>

Add the app code

  1. In the Program.cs file, add the following code to connect and authenticate to the AI model.

    using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using OpenAI.Images;
using System.ClientModel;
using Azure.AI.OpenAI;
using Azure.Identity;

// Retrieve the local secrets saved during the Azure deployment. If you skipped the deployment
// because you already have an Azure OpenAI available, edit the following lines to use your information,
// e.g. string openAIEndpoint = "https://cog-demo123.openai.azure.com/";
var config = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddUserSecrets<Program>().Build();
string endpoint = config["AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"];
string deployment = config["AZURE_OPENAI_DALLE_NAME"];

// Create the Azure OpenAI ImageClient
ImageClient client =
    new AzureOpenAIClient(new Uri(endpoint), new DefaultAzureCredential())
        .GetImageClient(deployment);

// Generate the image
GeneratedImage generatedImage = await client.GenerateImageAsync("""
    A postal card with an happy hiker waving and a beautiful mountain in the background.
    There is a trail visible in the foreground.
    The postal card has text in red saying: 'You are invited for a hike!'
    """, new ImageGenerationOptions { Size = GeneratedImageSize.W1024xH1024 });

Console.WriteLine($"The generated image is ready at:\n{generatedImage.ImageUri}");

    Note

    DefaultAzureCredential searches for authentication credentials from your local tooling. If you aren't using the azd template to provision the Azure OpenAI resource, you'll need to assign the Azure AI Developer role to the account you used to sign-in to Visual Studio or the Azure CLI. For more information, see Authenticate to Azure AI services with .NET.

    // Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.
// The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using OpenAI.Images;
// Retrieve the local secrets that were set from the command line, using:
// dotnet user-secrets init
// dotnet user-secrets set OpenAIKey <your-openai-key>
var config = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddUserSecrets<Program>().Build();
string key = config["OpenAIKey"];
string modelName = config["ModelName"];

// Create the OpenAI ImageClient
ImageClient client = new(modelName, key);

// Generate the image
GeneratedImage generatedImage = await client.GenerateImageAsync("""
    A postal card with a happy hiker waving and a beautiful mountain in the background.
    There is a trail visible in the foreground.
    The postal card has text in red saying: 'You are invited for a hike!'
    """,
    new ImageGenerationOptions 
    {
        Size = GeneratedImageSize.W1024xH1024 
    });

Console.WriteLine($"The generated image is ready at:\n{generatedImage.ImageUri}");

    The preceding code:

    • Reads essential configuration values from the project user secrets to connect to the AI model
    • Creates an ImageClient to connect to the AI model
    • Sends a prompt to the model that describes the desired image
    • Prints the URL of the generated image to the console output

  2. Use the dotnet run command to run the app:

    dotnet run

    Navigate to the image URL in the console output to view the generated image. Customize the text content of the prompt to create new images or modify the original.

Clean up resources

When you no longer need the sample application or resources, remove the corresponding deployment and all resources.

azd down

Next steps