Prompt adherence over guesswork
Where earlier generators reinterpreted your prompt and quietly dropped details, DALL-E 3 rendered what you actually described, including multi-part scenes with specific placement.
Image by OpenAI
DALL-E 3 API
OpenAI's third-generation text-to-image model (Oct 2023 - May 2026), best known for turning plain-English descriptions into images that actually match what you asked for. Now retired; superseded by OpenAI's GPT Image models.
Integrate DALL-E 3 with a single API call — one key, one unified endpoint, and shared billing across every model on Apiframe.
model: "dall-e-3" 
What's special about DALL-E 3
A language model did the heavy lifting
Prompts were rewritten by GPT-4 into richer, structured descriptions before generation, so even a vague request produced a detailed result.
Legible text in images
One of the first models that could reliably spell words, making it genuinely useful for posters, logos, and signage.
Conversational iteration
Living inside ChatGPT meant you could refine by chatting ("make it nighttime," "warmer palette," "add a smile") with no prompt-engineering syntax to learn.
Built-in guardrails
It declined to depict public figures or mimic the style of living artists, and blocked violent or hateful content.
Flexible aspect ratios
It handled square, portrait, and landscape outputs natively, so images came out ready to use without cropping.
Made with DALL-E 3
A few outputs generated through the DALL-E 3 API on Apiframe.
A wide-angle photo of a futuristic, cozy living room. On the left, a sleek holographic fish tank glows with neon blue jellyfish. In the center, a fluffy orange tabby cat is asleep on a green velvet armchair. On the right, a floor-to-ceiling window reveals a rainy cyberpunk city skyline at night.
A minimalist vintage travel poster for Mars. The background features giant red sand dunes and a small dome colony. At the top, the words 'VISIT MARS' are written in a crisp, bold, retro-futuristic font.
A macro close-up photograph of an intricate, antique pocket watch resting on weathered dark wood. Every metallic gear, scratch on the glass face, and speck of dust is visible, with soft warm lighting casting long shadows.
A surrealist oil painting where a massive ocean wave morphs seamlessly into a galloping herd of wild white horses, breaking against a rocky coastline under a dramatic stormy sky.
An editorial interior design photo of a modern minimalist kitchen. It features matte black cabinets, raw concrete countertops, a waterfall island, and warm under-cabinet LED lighting, looking clean and professional.
A vibrant digital illustration of a bustling Tokyo street intersection at night, rendered in a beautiful blend of traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock style and neon synthwave aesthetics.
Overview
- Endpoint
- POST /v2/images/generate
- Model ID
- dall-e-3
- Params key
- dalleParams
- Modality
- Image
- Provider
- OpenAI
- Avg. completion
- ~20s
Capabilities
Aspect ratios1:1, 3:2, 2:3
Avg. time~20s
Quick start
Send a single POST /v2/images/generate request with your API key to
generate with DALL-E 3. The call returns a jobId you can poll or
receive via webhook.
curl -X POST https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/images/generate \
-H "X-API-Key: afk_your_api_key_here" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"prompt": "a sleek silver sports car on a coastal highway at sunset, hyper-realistic",
"model": "dall-e-3",
"dalleParams": {
"style": "vivid"
}
}'import requests
response = requests.post(
"https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/images/generate",
headers={
"X-API-Key": "afk_your_api_key_here",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
json={
"prompt": "a sleek silver sports car on a coastal highway at sunset, hyper-realistic",
"model": "dall-e-3",
"dalleParams": {
"style": "vivid"
}
},
)
print(response.json()) # { "jobId": "...", "status": "QUEUED" }const response = await fetch("https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/images/generate", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"X-API-Key": "afk_your_api_key_here",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"prompt": "a sleek silver sports car on a coastal highway at sunset, hyper-realistic",
"model": "dall-e-3",
"dalleParams": {
"style": "vivid"
}
}),
});
const { jobId } = await response.json();
console.log(jobId);Response & job lifecycle
Generation is asynchronous. A successful submission returns 202 Accepted with a jobId. Poll GET /v2/jobs/{id} (or supply a webhook_url) until the status is COMPLETED; the result field then holds the output URL(s).
1. Submission response (202)
{
"jobId": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f23456789012",
"status": "QUEUED"
}2. Poll for the result
curl https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/jobs/JOB_ID \
-H "X-API-Key: afk_your_api_key_here"import requests, time
while True:
job = requests.get(
"https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/jobs/JOB_ID",
headers={"X-API-Key": "afk_your_api_key_here"},
).json()
if job["status"] in ("COMPLETED", "FAILED"):
break
time.sleep(2)
print(job["result"])let job;
do {
await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 2000));
job = await fetch("https://api.apiframe.ai/v2/jobs/JOB_ID", {
headers: { "X-API-Key": "afk_your_api_key_here" },
}).then((r) => r.json());
} while (job.status !== "COMPLETED" && job.status !== "FAILED");
console.log(job.result);Input schema
Request parameters accepted by the DALL-E 3 endpoint. Model-specific options are nested under the params object shown below.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Allowed / range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prompt | string | required | — | — | Text description of what to generate. |
| model | string | required | "dall-e-3" | "dall-e-3" | The model identifier for this endpoint. |
| dalleParams.style | string | optional | "vivid" | "vivid", "natural" | Style |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the DALL-E 3 API.
Is DALL-E 3 free to use?
While it is a heavy premium model, it can be accessed for free via Microsoft Copilot (formerly Bing Image Creator). Direct, unlimited conversational access within ChatGPT requires a ChatGPT Plus, Team, or Enterprise subscription.
Can I use DALL-E 3 images commercially?
Yes. OpenAI's terms specify that you own the images you create using DALL-E 3, giving you the right to reprint, sell, or merchandise them, regardless of whether you generated them via a free tier or paid subscription.
Why does DALL-E 3 refuse some of my prompts?
This is usually due to its safety filters. It will reject prompts that name living artists, feature contemporary political or public figures, or contain keywords flagged for violence, explicit content, or copyright infringement.
How does DALL-E 3 compare to Midjourney?
DALL-E 3 wins heavily on understanding complex prompts and text generation, making it incredibly easy to use. Midjourney is often preferred by digital artists for its raw, ultra-stylized, and cinematic aesthetic output, but it requires learning specific prompt syntax.
Could you use DALL-E 3 without ChatGPT?
Yes, via Apiframe, Bing Image Creator and Microsoft Designer/Copilot.
Could it generate text inside images?
Yes, that was DALL-E 3's strength.
Still have questions?
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