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AI Tool Radar
OSI-openMedia, design and video

Nova Image Studio

tianjiangqiji

Self-hosted, bring-your-own-API image-generation workbench with an infinite canvas and PWA.

202 stars(as of 2026-07-11)View on GitHubHomepage

What is Nova Image Studio?

A self-hosted TypeScript web workbench that front-ends external image models you configure with your own API keys and endpoints - it does not run models itself. It offers five modes (text-to-image, image-to-image, an AI agent chat, reverse-prompt, and GIF generation), a real-time task queue over WebSocket with HTTP fallback, an infinite canvas, a prompt gallery, and SQLite task persistence. Installable as a PWA across desktop and mobile.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Clean self-hosted UI over whatever image APIs you already pay for
  • Infinite canvas, task queue and PWA install make it more than a thin wrapper
  • SQLite persistence and per-model endpoint config give real flexibility

Cons

  • Does not generate images locally - you still need external paid model APIs
  • AGPL-3.0 source-disclosure obligations apply if you host a modified version
  • Young (36 commits), and docs plus description are primarily in Chinese

License

AGPL-3.0 (OSI-open)

AGPL-3.0 is a genuine OSI license, but its network-copyleft clause means offering a modified hosted version obliges you to publish your changes.

When it is interesting

You want one self-hosted canvas UI in front of several commercial image APIs.

When it is too early

If you expected local or offline generation, or need an English-first, mature codebase.

Commercial alternative & related

  • Commercial counterpart: Krea

This repo featured in the 2026-07 edition of the Open-Source AI Radar.