Images & Vision
Images & Vision
Sending image input to multimodal models — URL vs base64, formats, and model support.
Image input goes through POST /v1/chat/completions as content parts. See
Images & Vision for the full guide.
The model ignores or rejects my image URL
Not all models accept images via public URL. Some providers require the image to be base64-encoded. If a URL isn’t working, switch to base64 for maximum compatibility.
Base64 image not recognized
The data URL must include the MIME-type prefix, e.g.
data:image/jpeg;base64,iVBORw0KGgo.... A bare base64 string without the
data:image/...;base64, prefix won’t be detected as an image.
Model doesn’t support image input at all
Only multimodal models accept images. Confirm support with GET /v1/models and
check input_modalities (for image input) and output_modalities (for image
output) before sending.
Image understanding costs more than expected
Image tokens add up. Where the model supports it, set detail: "low" on the
image_url part for cheaper, lower-resolution understanding.
Wrong content shape
Image input uses an array of content parts in the message — a text part
plus an image_url part — not a plain string content. Sending a string with
a URL in it won’t attach the image.
Still stuck?
See the Mesh API error reference or email contact@meshapi.ai.