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migration/imagine-image-quality-nov-2.md 2026-09-02 22:03 UTC to 2026-09-03 16:59 UTC

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2026
Thu 3 16:59

Migration Guides

grok-imagine-image-quality Retirement on November 2, 2026

grok-imagine-image-2.0 now covers everything grok-imagine-image-quality was used for, at a lower price. Effective November 2, 2026, the grok-imagine-image-quality model slug is retired from the xAI API. Its 60-day notice period began on September 2, 2026.

[!CAUTION]

After November 2, 2026, requests to grok-imagine-image-quality are served by grok-imagine-image-2.0 with quality set to low. The slug continues to resolve, so you do not need to change your code to avoid breakage. grok-imagine-image-2.0 is priced differently than the model it replaces.

grok-imagine-image (1.0) is not affected by this change.

How the redirect works

Starting November 2, 2026:

  • Requests to grok-imagine-image-quality on /v1/images/generations and /v1/images/edits are served by grok-imagine-image-2.0 with quality: "low".
  • The request and response shapes are unchanged. Every parameter accepted today is accepted after the switch, and grok-imagine-image-2.0 additionally accepts quality, up to five source images for editing, and the 21:9 and 5:2 aspect ratios.
  • The model field on responses reports the model that served the request, so you can confirm the switch from your logs.
  • Requests to grok-imagine-image-pro, which already redirect to grok-imagine-image-quality, follow it to grok-imagine-image-2.0 at low.

Pricing impact

grok-imagine-image-2.0 at low quality is $0.01 per image cheaper than grok-imagine-image-quality at every resolution. If you keep sending requests to the retired slug after November 2, you are billed at the grok-imagine-image-2.0 low rate. See Pricing for current per-image rates.

We recommend switching to grok-imagine-image-2.0 explicitly before November 2. Doing so lets you choose the quality you pay for, rather than accepting the low default applied by the redirect.

Model being retired Redirect target after November 2
grok-imagine-image-quality grok-imagine-image-2.0 with quality: "low"

Migrating is a one-line change to the model field. grok-imagine-image-2.0 also accepts an optional quality parameter:

  • low is what the redirect uses. It ranks #2 on the Arena Image Edit leaderboard and #3 on Text-to-Image, and is the closest match in cost to grok-imagine-image-quality.
  • medium spends more compute on each image for finer detail; choose it where output quality matters more than cost.
  • auto (the default when quality is omitted) currently serves low for generation and medium for editing, and you are billed at the quality served.
import xai_sdk

client = xai_sdk.Client()

response = client.image.sample(
    prompt="A watercolor painting of a lighthouse at dawn",
    model="grok-imagine-image-2.0",
    quality="low",
)

print(response.url)

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.x.ai/v1",
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
)

response = client.images.generate(
    model="grok-imagine-image-2.0",
    prompt="A watercolor painting of a lighthouse at dawn",
    extra_body={"quality": "low"},
)

print(response.data[0].url)

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
    apiKey: process.env.XAI_API_KEY,
    baseURL: "https://api.x.ai/v1",
});

const response = await client.images.generate({
    model: "grok-imagine-image-2.0",
    prompt: "A watercolor painting of a lighthouse at dawn",
    quality: "low",
});

console.log(response.data[0].url);

curl -X POST https://api.x.ai/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $XAI_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "grok-imagine-image-2.0",
    "prompt": "A watercolor painting of a lighthouse at dawn",
    "quality": "low"
  }'

The same model change applies to image editing requests on /v1/images/edits.

Need help?

If you have questions or need assistance with this migration, reach out to support@x.ai.