nano banana 2 lite

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Nano Banana 2 Lite (gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image) Model Card #

Overview #

Nano Banana 2 Lite (gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image) is Google's ultra-high-velocity, cost-efficient image generation model designed for real-time consumer applications, conversational image editing, and high-volume generation pipelines.

Technical Specifications #

Property Value
Input Modalities Text, Image / PDF
Output Modalities Image and Text (Interleaved)
Input Token Limit 65,536 tokens
Output Token Limit 4,096 tokens
Max Resolution 1K only (1024px bounding box; 2K/4K unsupported)
Generation Latency Sub-2 seconds (< 2s) end-to-end
Function Calling Supported
Thinking Mode Supported (minimal [default], high)
Search Grounding ❌ Not Supported
Watermarking SynthID (Always On) + C2PA Metadata

Supported Aspect Ratios & Resolutions (1K Fixed) #

Nano Banana 2 Lite generates images within a 1K bounding box across 14 discrete aspect ratios:

Aspect Ratio Output Resolution Description / Best For
1:1 1024 × 1024 Standard square, avatars, profile icons
2:3 848 × 1264 Classic portrait photography
3:2 1264 × 848 Classic landscape photography
3:4 896 × 1200 Vertical mobile screens, social stories
4:3 1200 × 896 Standard landscape monitor display
4:5 928 × 1152 Social media feed portrait
5:4 1152 × 928 Medium format display
9:16 768 × 1376 Vertical video stills, mobile wallpaper
16:9 1376 × 768 Widescreen presentations, YouTube thumbnails
21:9 1584 × 672 Ultrawide cinematic banners
1:4 512 × 2048 Tall vertical bookmarks and sidebars
4:1 2048 × 512 Wide horizontal headers and website banners
1:8 384 × 3072 Extreme tall vertical infographics
8:1 3072 × 384 Extreme wide horizontal panorama headers

Capabilities & Limitations #

Strengths #

  1. Ultra-Low Latency: Optimized for real-time interaction, UI mockups, stickers, and fast conversational iteration.
  2. Cost Efficiency: Lowest compute and token consumption in the Nano Banana family.
  3. Conversational Multi-Turn Edits: Fast local modifications (e.g. "change hair color to blue", "add sunglasses").
  4. Function Calling: Fully integrated with tool-calling workflows.

Limitations #

  • Resolution Capped at 1K: Cannot generate 2K (2048px) or 4K (4096px) images. Use Nano Banana 2 or Nano Banana Pro for 2K/4K.
  • No Search Grounding: Does not support real-time web or image search grounding tools.
  • Single/Local Reference Focus: Best for single-image edits; not optimized for complex multi-character cross-scene consistency.

API Code Examples #

1. Python SDK (google-genai) - Interactions API #

python 
import base64
from google import genai

client = genai.Client()

# Ultra-fast text-to-image generation
interaction = client.interactions.create(
    model="gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image",
    input="A vibrant sticker of a cute robot drinking bubble tea, white background",
    response_format={
        "type": "image",
        "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
        "image_size": "1K",
    },
)

if interaction.output_image:
    with open("robot_sticker.png", "wb") as f:
        f.write(base64.b64decode(interaction.output_image.data))

2. Python SDK (google-genai) - Models API (generate_content) #

python 
from google import genai
from PIL import Image

client = genai.Client()

response = client.models.generate_content(
    model="gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image",
    contents="A kawaii watercolor illustration of a sleeping kitten in a teacup",
)

for part in response.candidates[0].content.parts:
    if part.inline_data:
        with open("kitten.png", "wb") as f:
            f.write(part.inline_data.data)
        break

3. JavaScript / TypeScript SDK (@google/genai) #

typescript 
import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
import * as fs from "node:fs";

const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});

async function generate() {
  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image",
    input: "Minimalist geometric icon of a rocket launching",
    response_format: {
      type: "image",
      aspect_ratio: "1:1",
      image_size: "1K",
    },
  });

  if (interaction.output_image) {
    fs.writeFileSync("rocket.png", Buffer.from(interaction.output_image.data, "base64"));
  }
}

generate();

4. REST / cURL #

bash 
curl -s -X POST \
  "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
  -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gemini-3.1-flash-lite-image",
    "input": "A clean flat design icon of a coffee cup with steam",
    "response_format": {
      "type": "image",
      "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
      "image_size": "1K"
    }
  }'