DeepSeek-v4-flash-vision-exp

DeepSeek released deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp, a vision-language model that accepts images alongside text via the OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions API, supporting JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP formats. The model can be accessed through three input methods: base64-encoded inline images (up to 48 MiB request body limit), external image URLs (max 8192 characters, 32 MiB file, 60-second download), or Files API file_id references (up to 64 MiB).

Vision The deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp model accepts images alongside text, so you can ask the model to describe pictures, read text from screenshots, analyze charts, and more. Supported image formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP . The format is detected from the actual file content, not from the file name or the declared MIME type. Sending Images There are three ways to provide an image to the model. All of them use the standard OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions format, where content is an array of blocks instead of a plain string. The same three methods are also available in the Responses API /guides/responses api image-input , where images are carried in input image content parts. The base url for the examples below is https://api.deepseek.com . 1. Base64-encoded image inline Encode the image and embed it directly in the request as a data: URL. This is the simplest option for local files. The encoded data counts toward the 48 MiB request body limit see Limits limits . python import base64from openai import OpenAIclient = OpenAI api key="<DeepSeek API Key ", base url="https://api.deepseek.com" with open "image.jpg", "rb" as f: b64 = base64.b64encode f.read .decode "utf-8" response = client.chat.completions.create model="deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", messages= { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "text", "text": "What is in this image?"}, { "type": "image url", "image url": {"url": f"data:image/jpeg;base64,{b64}"}, }, , } , print response.choices 0 .message.content curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <DeepSeek API Key " \ -d '{ "model": "deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", "messages": { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "text", "text": "What is in this image?"}, {"type": "image url", "image url": {"url": "data:image/jpeg;base64,<BASE64 DATA "}} } }' 2. External image URL Pass a publicly accessible http s link and the model downloads the image for you. The URL must be at most 8192 characters , the image file may be at most 32 MiB , and the download must complete within 60 seconds . If your link is longer, use a base64 data URL or the Files API instead. response = client.chat.completions.create model="deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", messages= { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "text", "text": "Describe this image."}, { "type": "image url", "image url": {"url": "https://example.com/image.jpg"}, }, , } , print response.choices 0 .message.content 3. Reference a file uploaded via the Files API Upload an image once with the Files API /guides/files api , then reference its file id in your requests. This is the best option when you reuse the same image across multiple requests, or when the image pushes the request body over the 48 MiB inline limit. Unlike inline images, images referenced via Files API file id may be up to 64 MiB and are not subject to the 32 MiB per-image check. Use a file content block with the returned file id which has the form file-api-... : response = client.chat.completions.create model="deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", messages= { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "text", "text": "What is in this image?"}, {"type": "file", "file id": "file-api-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"}, , } , print response.choices 0 .message.content Alternatively, a file block can carry the image inline as base64 via file data instead of file id the two are mutually exclusive : { "type": "file", "file data": "data:image/jpeg;base64,<BASE64 DATA ", "filename": "image.jpg"} Detail Level For image url inputs you can optionally set a detail field to control how the image is processed: | Value | Behavior | |---|---| low | The image is downscaled to 512×512 before inference. Faster and cheaper when fine visual detail is not important. | high | Keeps the original image. Provided for compatibility; equivalent to original . | original | Keeps the original image. | auto | Automatic selection. Currently equivalent to original . | { "type": "image url", "image url": {"url": "https://example.com/image.jpg", "detail": "low"}} When to Use the Files API Inline images base64 or file data count toward the request body size limit of 48 MiB . Consider the Files API /guides/files api when: - A single request would exceed the body size limit. - The image is larger than 32 MiB, which is only possible through the Files API. - You reference the same image in multiple requests and want to avoid re-uploading it each time. Token Usage Images are converted into tokens based on their dimensions, and these tokens are billed together with your text tokens. Before inference, every image is automatically resized: - Images with a total pixel count below roughly 384×384 are scaled up while preserving their aspect ratio. - Larger images are scaled down while preserving their aspect ratio, so that the total pixel count after resizing is roughly that of an 800×800 image. As a result, there is an upper bound of 384 tokens per image: for example, a 2000×2000 image and a 5000×5000 image consume the same number of tokens after resizing. When a request contains multiple images, each image is counted independently under the same rule — there is no separate calculation for multi-image requests. To estimate the token cost of an image of a specific size, use the image token calculator on the Token & Token Usage /quick start/token usage page. Limits | Limit | Value | |---|---| | Supported formats | JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP | | External URL length | 8192 characters | | Request body size | 48 MiB | | Max single image size base64 / external URL | 32 MiB | Max single image size Files API file id | 64 MiB | | Max images per request | 600 | | Max total image size per request | 64 MiB without file id images; up to 200 MiB including file id images | | Max image dimension | 8192 px per side; drops to 4096 px per side when a request contains 15 or more images | For storage and upload quotas of files uploaded via the Files API, see Files API: Limits /guides/files api limits . Restrictions - Images are supported in user messages only: images in system or assistant messages return a 400 error. - Only vision models deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp accept images; other models return a 400 error "This model does not support image" . - User text containing the reserved image placeholder token is rejected with a 400 error. Using Images with the Anthropic API In addition to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint above, you can send images through the Anthropic-compatible /messages endpoint base url = https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic . For general setup, see Anthropic API /guides/anthropic api . The difference is the shape of the image content block. Instead of image url , Anthropic uses an image block with a source object whose type is one of base64 , url , or file : python import anthropicclient = anthropic.Anthropic ANTHROPIC BASE URL=https://api.deepseek.com/anthropicmessage = client.messages.create model="deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", max tokens=1024, messages= { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "text", "text": "What is in this image?"}, { "type": "image", "source": { "type": "base64", "media type": "image/jpeg", "data": "<BASE64 DATA ", }, }, , } , print message.content The three source variants mirror the OpenAI methods above: source.type | Equivalent OpenAI method | Notes | |---|---|---| base64 | Base64-encoded image | Requires a media type field image/jpeg , image/png , image/gif , or image/webp . | url | External image URL | Max 8192 characters. | file | Files API file id | Requires the header anthropic-beta: files-api-2025-04-14 . | Using Images with the Responses API The deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp model also accepts images through the OpenAI-compatible Responses API /guides/responses api image-input . The same three input methods base64 data URL, external http s URL, Files API file id and the same limits limits apply; only the content part shape differs — images are carried in input image parts, either in user / developer messages or in the output of function call output / custom tool call output items: response = client.responses.create model="deepseek-v4-flash-vision-exp", input= { "role": "user", "content": {"type": "input text", "text": "What is in this image?"}, {"type": "input image", "image url": "https://example.com/image.jpg", "detail": "low"}, , } , print response.output text The input image part supports a detail field with the same semantics as above low / high / original / auto . detail is ignored when the image is provided via file id , and image url and file id are mutually exclusive. For field semantics, restrictions images in system / assistant messages are rejected with a 400 error , and tool-output images, see the Responses API guide /guides/responses api image-input .