What kind of figures can Paper Banana generate?

Paper Banana generates two main types of academic figures: methodology diagrams (system architectures, model pipelines, experimental workflows, algorithm flowcharts) and statistical plots (bar charts, line graphs, scatter plots, heatmaps, confusion matrices). All outputs are exported as high-resolution PNG images suitable for direct insertion into journal papers, conference submissions, theses, and presentation slides.

How does the Paper Banana 5-agent AI pipeline work?

Your input passes through five specialized AI agents in sequence. The Retriever searches a curated database of reference diagrams from top venues like NeurIPS and ICML. The Planner translates your text into a detailed structural description. The Stylist applies academic visual standards. The Visualizer renders the final image. Finally, the Critic evaluates the output against your source text and triggers refinements if needed.

How many credits does each generation cost?

Each iteration costs 5 credits. With the default 3 iterations, a typical generation uses 15 credits. The Critic agent may approve the result early, in which case unused iteration credits are not charged.

Are the generated figures suitable for journal publication?

Yes. Paper Banana applies formatting conventions from top academic venues including NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, Nature, IEEE, and ACM. Output resolution goes up to 4K, and figures are exported as PNG — the standard format accepted by all major publishers and LaTeX document systems.

Do I need any design skills to use Paper Banana?

No. Just paste your paper text or data and describe what you want in plain English. Paper Banana handles all visual design decisions — layout, color palette, typography, arrow routing, spacing — automatically, based on the conventions of your target venue.

How long does generation take?

A typical generation with 3 iterations takes about 2 minutes. The main time cost is the image rendering step (~60 seconds per iteration). You can monitor real-time progress in the Pipeline Log.

Paper Banana API Reference

The Paper Banana API lets you generate academic illustrations and scientific diagrams programmatically.

Paper Banana API Overview

The Paper Banana API provides a simple RESTful interface for generating high-quality academic illustrations, scientific diagrams, and research figures. Integrate Paper Banana API into your workflow to automate figure creation for papers, posters, and presentations.

Base URL: https://paperbanana.run/api/v1

All API requests must be made over HTTPS. HTTP requests will be rejected.

Paper Banana API Authentication

All Paper Banana API requests require authentication via a Bearer token. Include your API key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key-here

API keys can be created and managed from your API Keys dashboard. Keys are prefixed with sk-.

Important: Keep your API keys secret. Do not share them in client-side code, public repositories, or any publicly accessible location.

Team Plans

API access requires an active Team plan. Three tiers are available:

Plan	Price	Credits/Year	API Keys	Rate Limit
Team Basic	$999/year	75,000	3	120 RPM
Team Pro	$1,499/year	115,000	10	300 RPM
Team Enterprise	$2,999/year	225,000	25	600 RPM

API Rate Limiting

Paper Banana API requests are rate-limited based on your Team plan tier. Rate limits are applied per API key.

When you exceed the rate limit, the API returns a 429 Too Many Requests response. Wait and retry with exponential backoff.

Paper Banana API Endpoints

GET/api/v1/credits

Get your current credit balance and plan info.

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "remaining_credits": 45000,
    "team_plan": "team-pro",
    "rate_limit_rpm": 300
  }
}

POST/api/v1/generate

Generate an image. Supports two modes: standard (Nano Banana) and pipeline (Paper Banana academic illustration).

Request Body

Field	Type	Required	Description
`type`	string	Yes	"standard" or "pipeline"
`prompt`	string	Yes	Text description (max 10,000 chars)
`model`	string	No	"nano-banana-pro" (default), "nano-banana", "nano-banana-2"
`options.resolution`	string	No	"1K" (default), "2K", "4K"
`options.aspect_ratio`	string	No	"1:1" (default), "16:9", "9:16", etc.
`options.image_input`	string[]	No	Reference image URLs (max 10, HTTPS only)
`options.content`	string	No	Paper content for pipeline mode (max 100K chars)

Example: Standard Generation

curl -X POST https://paperbanana.run/api/v1/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "standard",
    "prompt": "A detailed diagram of a neural network architecture",
    "model": "nano-banana-pro",
    "options": {
      "resolution": "2K",
      "aspect_ratio": "16:9"
    }
  }'

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "task_id": "abc123-def456",
    "type": "standard",
    "model": "nano-banana-pro",
    "credits_used": 15,
    "status": "processing"
  }
}

GET/api/v1/tasks

List your generation tasks. Supports pagination and filtering.

Query Parameters

Param	Default	Description
`page`	1	Page number
`limit`	20	Items per page (max 100)
`type`	all	"standard" or "pipeline"
`status`	all	"pending", "processing", "success", "failed"

GET/api/v1/task/:taskId

Get the status and result of a specific task.

Response (completed)

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "task_id": "abc123-def456",
    "type": "standard",
    "status": "success",
    "prompt": "A neural network diagram",
    "model": "nano-banana-pro",
    "resolution": "2K",
    "credits_used": 15,
    "output_urls": [
      "https://image.paperbanana.run/result.png"
    ],
    "created_at": "2026-04-15T10:00:00Z",
    "completed_at": "2026-04-15T10:00:45Z"
  }
}

Paper Banana API Credit Costs

Paper Banana API calls consume credits at full price (no resolution discount).

Type	Resolution	Credits
Standard / Pipeline	1K	10
Standard / Pipeline	2K	15
Standard / Pipeline	4K	25

API Error Codes

Status	Meaning
`400`	Bad Request — Invalid parameters
`401`	Unauthorized — Invalid or missing API key
`402`	Payment Required — Insufficient credits
`403`	Forbidden — No Team plan or exceeded limits
`404`	Not Found — Task does not exist
`429`	Too Many Requests — Rate limit exceeded
`500`	Internal Server Error
`502`	Bad Gateway — Upstream generation service error

All error responses include an error field with a human-readable message.

Paper Banana API Quick Start

1. Check your credits

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  https://paperbanana.run/api/v1/credits

2. Generate an image

curl -X POST https://paperbanana.run/api/v1/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "standard",
    "prompt": "A red apple on a white background",
    "model": "nano-banana-pro"
  }'

3. Check task status

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  https://paperbanana.run/api/v1/task/TASK_ID_HERE

4. List all tasks

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  "https://paperbanana.run/api/v1/tasks?page=1&limit=10"