El Bruno

⚠️ This blog post was created with the help of AI tools. Yes, I used a bit of magic from language models to organize my thoughts and automate the boring parts, but the geeky fun and the 🤖 in C# are 100% mine.

Hi!

I just shipped t2i, a terminal-first CLI tool for ElBruno.Text2Image. Generate images from your shell in two commands — no UI, no browser, just a simple cli interface to image generation from the cloud.

This is the Lite edition (cloud-only, ~2.4 MB on NuGet) — perfect for CI/CD pipelines, deployment scripts, batch jobs, and developers who live in the terminal.

🛠️ Install

Option 1: .NET Tool (recommended)

If you have .NET 8+ installed:

dotnet tool install --global ElBruno.Text2Image.Cli

Then use t2i from anywhere on your machine.

Option 2: Self-Contained Binaries

No .NET? Download pre-built binaries from the release page. Currently available for:

• Windows x64
• Linux x64
• macOS arm64 (Intel coming back soon)

Just extract and run. One file, no dependencies.

🚀 First Image in 30 Seconds

Ready to generate? Two commands:

t2i config

This launches an interactive setup wizard (powered by Spectre.Console, so it’s pretty). Pick your provider, enter your API key, and you’re done. The CLI stores everything securely.

Then generate:

t2i "a robot painting a landscape"

That’s it. The image appears in your current directory.

🔐 Where Do My Secrets Live?

Short version: t2i config stores credentials securely on your machine — DPAPI-encrypted on Windows, 0600-permissioned file on macOS/Linux. Env vars are for CI only. CLI --api-key is for one-off tests.

For the full resolution chain, CI/CD guidance, and the do/don’t table, see docs/cli-secrets.md.

☁️ Providers in Lite

This release ships with two cloud providers on Azure AI Foundry:

More providers (Anthropic, OpenAI) coming in future releases.

📋 Useful Commands

Here’s the CLI cheat sheet:

# List available providers
t2i providers
# Run health checks (config + API connectivity)
t2i doctor
# Show stored secrets (redacted)
t2i secrets list
# Display version + commit SHA
t2i version
# Interactive config setup
t2i config
# Generate with default provider
t2i "a cyberpunk cityscape at night"
# Generate with specific provider, dimensions, and output file
t2i "my prompt" \
  --provider foundry-mai2 \
  --width 1024 \
  --height 1024 \
  --output ./my-image.png
# Show help
t2i --help
t2i generate --help
# Teach your AI agent
t2i init

🔄 Switching Models (v0.10.0+)

Both providers support multiple model variants. By default, foundry-mai2 uses MAI-Image-2 and foundry-flux2 uses FLUX.2-pro. To switch models:

# Use MAI-Image-2e
t2i config set foundry-mai2.model MAI-Image-2e
# Use FLUX.2 Flex for text-heavy design and logos
t2i config set foundry-flux2.model FLUX.2-flex
# View your configuration
t2i config show

The config show command displays your endpoint and model in plain text, with only the API key masked. This makes it easy to verify your setup without revealing sensitive credentials.

🤖 Teach Your AI Agent — t2i init

Inspired by Aspire’s agent init pattern, t2i now ships with a skill file your AI coding agent can read. Run this in any repo:

t2i init

That writes a SKILL.md to both .github/skills/t2i/ and .claude/skills/t2i/. From that point on, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and any MCP-aware agent know:

• Which t2i commands exist and when to use each one
• How to set up secrets safely (env vars first, never commit keys)
• The full provider list and which one to default to
• Common workflows: first-time setup, single image, batch loops

Want only one target?

t2i init --target github   # only .github/skills/t2i/
t2i init --target claude   # only .claude/skills/t2i/
t2i init --force           # overwrite existing skill files

The canonical version of this skill also lives in this repo at .github/skills/t2i/SKILL.md — that means if you open the ElBruno.Text2Image source itself in Copilot or Claude Code, your agent already knows how to drive the CLI.

📦 Coming Soon — Other Platforms

winget

The manifest stub is already in the repo (winget/manifests/E/ElBruno/Text2Image/0.10.0/). First submission to microsoft/winget-pkgs is queued. Automation will come in v0.2.0.

Homebrew

Tap elbruno/elbruno is planned for v0.2.0.

macOS Intel (osx-x64)

GitHub’s macOS-13 runner queue has been a bit slow lately. Intel Mac users should use dotnet tool install for now. The self-contained binary will return once the runners stabilize.

Full Edition (Local GPU)

The Cli.Full edition — supporting local inference with ONNX Runtime (CPU, CUDA, DirectML, NPU) — is coming in a future release. ~200 MB, separate package.

🎨 Sample Usages

Here are some fun one-liners to try:

t2i "a cyberpunk taco truck at sunset, cinematic lighting, volumetric fog"
t2i "a low-poly 3D render of a friendly robot waving" --provider foundry-mai2
t2i "minimalist line art of a cat reading a book" --width 1024 --height 1024 --output cat.png
t2i "watercolor painting of the Madrid skyline at dusk, golden hour" --output madrid.png

Tip: The better your prompt, the better the image. Be specific about style (cinematic, watercolor, line art), mood (peaceful, energetic), and composition (wide-angle, close-up). Models reward detail.

🤝 Let’s Go

Download it now, run t2i config, and start generating. Found a bug? File an issue.

Links:

• 📦 NuGet: ElBruno.Text2Image.Cli/0.10.0
• 📂 Release: github.com/elbruno/ElBruno.Text2Image/releases/tag/cli-v0.10.0
• 📖 Full Docs: docs/cli-tool.md
• 🖼️ Hero image prompt: docs/blogs/20260420-introducing-t2i-cli-image-prompt.md
• 🐛 Issues: github.com/elbruno/ElBruno.Text2Image/issues