Nano Banana CLI

CLI tool for generating and editing images using Google's Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3.1 Flash image generation models.

Installation

pip install nanobanana

Then set your API key (get one from Google AI Studio):

export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

Add the export to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc to persist it.

Usage

# Generate a new image
nanobanana "a cute banana wearing sunglasses"

# With options
nanobanana "a futuristic city at sunset" -a 16:9 -r 2K -o city.png

# Edit an existing image
nanobanana "add a hat and sunglasses" -e input.png -o output.png

# Edit with grounding, references, aspect ratio, and thinking
nanobanana "turn this into a retro travel poster" -e input.png -ref style.png -s -a 16:9 -t high -o poster.png

# Use Google Search grounding for real-time info
nanobanana "visualize today's weather in Tokyo" -s

# Use Google Image Search grounding explicitly
nanobanana "A detailed painting of a Timareta butterfly" -i

# Use reference images for style or content guidance
nanobanana "a cute cat in this style" --reference style_image.png -o cat.png
nanobanana "a mix of these people" -ref person1.png person2.png

# Enable High Thinking reasoning for difficult visual generation prompts
nanobanana "A futuristic city built inside a giant glass bottle floating in space" -t high

# Fall back to Gemini 3 Pro instead of default Gemini 3.1 Flash
nanobanana "a dog flying a kite" -p

Options

Flag	Description	Default
-o, --output	Output file path	nanobanana_TIMESTAMP.png
-a, --aspect-ratio	1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 21:9, 1:4, 4:1, 1:8, 8:1	Generate: 1:1; Edit: keep input ratio
-r, --resolution	0.5K, 1K, 2K, 4K	1K
-e, --edit	Edit an existing image (provide input path)	-
-ref, --reference	One or more reference images to guide generation (max 14 total; high-fidelity may drop above 10 on Flash / 6 on Pro)	-
-s, --search	Use Google Search grounding	-
-i, --image-search	Use Google Image Search grounding	-
-p, --pro	Use the Gemini 3 Pro model instead of 3.1 Flash	-
-t, --thinking	Thinking reasoning level (minimal or high)	-

Development

git clone https://github.com/YishenTu/nanobanana.git
cd nanobanana
uv sync
cp .env.example .env  # Add your GEMINI_API_KEY
uv run nanobanana "test prompt"

Global Access

For global access, add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

alias nanobanana='uv run --project /path/to/nanobanana nanobanana'

Claude Code Skill

The skill is fully self-contained. Just copy and set API key!

Requirements: Python 3.12+ (pre-installed on most systems)

1. Copy the skill folder:

   cp -r skills/nanobanana ~/.claude/skills/

2. Set your API key in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

   export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

That's it! Claude will automatically use this skill when you ask it to generate or edit images. Python dependencies auto-install on first run.