Seedream 5.0 Lite API

About Seedream 5.0 Lite

Unified multimodal image model that reasons through prompts before rendering, producing high-resolution and consistent edits and brand visuals.

Also known as Seedream Lite, ByteDance Seedream 5.0 Lite, Seedream-5.0-Lite, seedream-5-0-lite

Seedream 5.0 Lite specs

Model ID

seedream-5-0-lite

Provider

ByteDance

Category

Image Generation

Released

Feb 13, 2026

Input

TextImage

Output

Image

Region

Malaysia

Endpoints

POST/v1/images/generations

Alternate model IDs

bytedance/seedream-5-liteseedream-5-lite

Seedream 5.0 Lite API pricing

Live pay-as-you-go rates from the EmpirioLabs catalog. You are billed only for what you use, with no monthly minimum.

How to call the Seedream 5.0 Lite API

Seedream 5.0 Lite runs through POST /v1/images/generations. The request returns a job_id right away; poll GET /v1/jobs/{job_id} until the job completes and read the output URLs from the result. Or add "sync": true to skip polling: the request stays open and returns the finished OpenAI-style image response directly, so OpenAI SDKs work as-is. Get an API key from the EmpirioLabs dashboard.

curl https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "seedream-5-0-lite",
    "prompt": "Describe what you want Seedream 5.0 Lite to generate."
  }'

curl https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/jobs/JOB_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/images/generations",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY"},
    json={
        "model": "seedream-5-0-lite",
        "prompt": "Describe what you want Seedream 5.0 Lite to generate.",
    },
)
job = response.json()

# Generation runs as an async job. Poll until it completes.
import time
while True:
    status = requests.get(
        f"https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/jobs/{job['job_id']}",
        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY"},
    ).json()
    if status.get("status") in ("completed", "failed"):
        print(status)
        break
    time.sleep(5)

Seedream 5.0 Lite API parameters

Request parameters supported by the Seedream 5.0 Lite API on EmpirioLabs. Defaults apply when a field is omitted.

Good to know

Multi-image reference combine and edit. Stronger reasoning before rendering than 4.0. Per generated image is billed; batch mode bills per actual image returned.

Content safety

• Generated images pass an automated content-safety check. An image flagged as explicit is not returned. Because the image is generated before the check runs, a flagged generation is still billed.

Seedream 5.0 Lite API: common questions

How much does the Seedream 5.0 Lite API cost?

On EmpirioLabs, Seedream 5.0 Lite is billed pay as you go: Standard $0.0350 per image. The live rate card on this page always matches what the API charges.

Which endpoint does Seedream 5.0 Lite use?

Seedream 5.0 Lite is served through POST /v1/images/generations on api.empiriolabs.ai with standard bearer-token authentication.

Can I try Seedream 5.0 Lite in the browser before integrating?

Yes. The EmpirioLabs playground runs Seedream 5.0 Lite in the browser with the same parameters the API exposes, so you can test prompts before writing code.

How do I get a Seedream 5.0 Lite API key?

Create an EmpirioLabs account, then generate a key under API Keys in the dashboard. Billing is pay-as-you-go credits, so you only pay for the requests you make.