--- title: Prompting — Seedream 5.5 | Runware Docs url: https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting description: "How to write text-to-image prompts for Seedream 5.5: choosing between resolution tiers and exact sizes, layering a prompt into directives, and setting exact copy on the image." --- ### [Introduction](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#introduction) Seedream 5.5 turns **a prompt and a size into an image**, and ByteDance built this version around visual realism and aesthetic quality. Write the prompt **as a brief**: what the image is for, then the subject, the setting, the light, the lens and the framing, each in a clause of its own. ![A woman with a short dark bob in a mustard rain jacket riding a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, rim-lit by the low sun, with a river and a hazy skyline behind her and open sky on the left](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-hero.BcDfELsN_ZPwf8j.jpg) > **Prompt**: A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos. **Composition is a clause like any other.** "She rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left" is the line that leaves the campaign room for its headline, and the lens and aperture set how far the skyline falls out of focus. This guide covers the request and its two ways of setting the size, how to layer a prompt, and how to put exact copy on the image. Starting from images you already have is covered in [editing images](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/editing-images) and [multi-reference composition](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/multi-reference-composition). Cut-outs and layered files have their own guides, [transparent backgrounds](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/transparent-backgrounds) and [layer decomposition](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/layer-decomposition). ### [The request](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#the-request) A text-to-image request is a prompt plus a size. This is the request behind the hero: **TypeScript**: ```typescript import { createClient } from '@runware/sdk' const client = await createClient({ apiKey: process.env.RUNWARE_API_KEY }) await client.connect() const [result] = await client.run({ model: 'bytedance:seedream@5.5', positivePrompt: 'A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos.', width: 2560, height: 1440 }) ``` **Python**: ```python import asyncio import os from runware import Runware async def main(): async with Runware(api_key=os.environ["RUNWARE_API_KEY"]) as client: results = await client.run({ "model": "bytedance:seedream@5.5", "positivePrompt": "A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos.", "width": 2560, "height": 1440 }) asyncio.run(main()) ``` **cURL**: ```bash curl https://api.runware.ai/v1 \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNWARE_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '[ { "taskType": "imageInference", "taskUUID": "4c8e1f2a-7b3d-4e9a-b6c5-0d2f8a1e3b74", "model": "bytedance:seedream@5.5", "positivePrompt": "A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos.", "width": 2560, "height": 1440 } ]' ``` **CLI**: ```bash runware run bytedance:seedream@5.5 \ positivePrompt="A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos." \ width=2560 \ height=1440 ``` **JSON**: ```json { "taskType": "imageInference", "taskUUID": "4c8e1f2a-7b3d-4e9a-b6c5-0d2f8a1e3b74", "model": "bytedance:seedream@5.5", "positivePrompt": "A wide editorial lifestyle photograph for a city bike-share campaign. A woman in her late twenties with a short dark bob, wearing a mustard rain jacket over a gray hoodie and dark jeans, rides a mint-green bicycle across a steel truss bridge at sunrise, mid-pedal, looking ahead with a relaxed half smile. The low sun sits behind her to the left, a warm rim light runs along her jacket and the bicycle frame, and long soft shadows stretch across the bridge deck. A calm river and a hazy city skyline fill the background. Shot at eye level from the edge of the sidewalk with a 50mm lens at f/2.8, she rides on the right third of the frame with open sky to the left. Natural skin texture, fine fabric detail, true-to-life color, editorial campaign photography, no text, no logos.", "width": 2560, "height": 1440 } ``` - `positivePrompt` describes the image. ByteDance recommends keeping it **under about 600 English words**. - The size comes from either `resolution` or `width` and `height`, **never both**, and a request with no reference image **needs one of them**. - `resolution` is a tier: `1K`, `1.5K` or `2K`. - `width` × `height` has to land **between 921,600 and 4,624,220 pixels**, with an aspect ratio from 1:16 to 16:1. That runs from 1280 × 720 at 16:9 up to about 2150 × 2150 at 1:1. ### [Choosing the size](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#choosing-the-size) The two size fields answer different questions. A tier says **how many pixels**, explicit dimensions say **exactly which frame**. #### [Resolution tiers](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#resolution-tiers) A tier sets the pixel budget and **the prompt sets the shape**. With `resolution` alone the model picks the aspect ratio from the prompt, so a tier request should **name its orientation in words**. The travel hero below asked for "a wide 16:9 website hero" at `2K` and sent no dimensions. ![A turquoise lagoon from a low drone angle with a white beach and palms along the left, a row of thatched overwater villas on the right, a wooden longboat in the shallows and coral visible through clear water](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-tier-wide.D9ZPPNoc_hoXmF.jpg) *2736 × 1536, chosen by the model* > **Prompt**: A wide 16:9 website hero for a travel booking site. A turquoise lagoon seen from a low drone angle, a curved white sand beach on the left, a line of thatched overwater villas on stilts stretching toward the horizon on the right, a single wooden longboat anchored in the shallows, coral shapes visible through the clear water. Late-morning sun with crisp shadows, a few small cumulus clouds in a deep blue sky. Calm open water across the left half of the frame, left empty for a headline. Photoreal travel photography, clean saturated color, no text, no people. **The tier is a budget, not a fixed size.** `1K` lands around 1 megapixel, `1.5K` around 2.4 and `2K` around 4.2, and the exact width and height follow the ratio the model picks. Read the dimensions from the file rather than assuming them. #### [Exact sizes](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#exact-sizes) Send `width` and `height` when **the layout has a fixed slot**, such as a 1080 × 1920 story or a banner of a known size. Explicit dimensions are **honored exactly**, so the file drops into the slot with no crop or resize step. ![An overhead view of a bowl of tonkotsu ramen with chashu, a halved soft-boiled egg, nori and scallions in a black bowl on dark slate, with empty slate across the top of the vertical frame](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-story.PE2itRFr_Z29c0H0.jpg) *1080 × 1920, as requested* > **Prompt**: A vertical social story for a food delivery app, shot looking straight down from above. A steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen in a matte black ceramic bowl on a dark slate table, with slices of chashu pork, a halved soft-boiled egg with a jammy yolk, nori sheets, sliced scallions and bamboo shoots arranged around the noodles, and a pair of wooden chopsticks laid across the rim. The bowl sits low in the frame, in the bottom half. The top third of the frame is empty dark slate with nothing on it, kept clear for an offer banner. Soft directional light from the upper left, gentle steam rising, glossy highlights on the broth. Photoreal food photography, rich warm color, no text. The size fixes the frame, and **the prompt still plans the layout inside it**. "The top third of the frame is empty dark slate" keeps the food clear of the strip the app covers with its offer banner. ### [Structuring the prompt](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#structuring-the-prompt) Every clause is **a decision you take away from the model**. A short prompt leaves the setting, the light, the lens and the framing to the model's defaults. The two kettles below share a subject, and only the second prompt makes those decisions. ![A sage green electric kettle beside a matching canister on a busy kitchen counter with jars, bottles and a bowl of greens](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-structure-short.DVc0azng_ZKKnnq.jpg) *Short prompt* > **Prompt**: A sage green electric kettle on a kitchen counter. ![A matte sage green kettle with a steel base and cream handle centered on a pale oak counter, lit from the right, with a soft-focus white tiled backsplash, a jar of wooden spoons and basil behind it](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-structure-layered.C6AQXWPy_ZYtXnz.jpg) *Layered prompt* > **Prompt**: A product hero photo for a home appliance store. A matte sage green electric kettle with a brushed steel base, a curved handle in glossy cream-colored plastic and a small round temperature dial, standing on a pale oak kitchen counter. Behind it, slightly out of focus, a white tiled backsplash, a ceramic jar of wooden spoons and a sprig of fresh basil in a glass. Soft morning window light from the right, a gentle highlight along the curved body of the kettle, a soft contact shadow on the counter. Shot at counter height with an 85mm lens, the kettle centered and filling the middle third of the frame. Photoreal commercial product photography, crisp material detail, true-to-life color, no text, no logos. The layered prompt, clause by clause: **[Deliverable]** A product hero photo for a home appliance store, **[Subject]** A matte sage green electric kettle with a brushed steel base, a curved handle in glossy cream-colored plastic and a small round temperature dial, **[Setting]** standing on a pale oak kitchen counter. Behind it, slightly out of focus, a white tiled backsplash, a ceramic jar of wooden spoons and a sprig of fresh basil in a glass, **[Lighting]** Soft morning window light from the right, a gentle highlight along the curved body of the kettle, a soft contact shadow on the counter, **[Camera]** Shot at counter height with an 85mm lens, the kettle centered and filling the middle third of the frame, **[Style]** Photoreal commercial product photography, crisp material detail, true-to-life color, **[Exclusions]** no text, no logos **Open with the deliverable.** "A product hero photo for a home appliance store" names the use before any detail, the way a brief to a photographer would. **Describe the product in materials and parts.** "A brushed steel base, a curved handle in glossy cream-colored plastic and a small round temperature dial" gives the model three surfaces to render. The short prompt gave it a color. **Close with what to leave out.** "No text, no logos" keeps an invented brand mark off a product that does not have one. ### [Text in the image](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#text-in-the-image) Seedream 5.5 **sets the copy you write** into the prompt. Put each line **in double quotes** and give it a position, a type style and a color, so the model treats it as copy to set rather than a description to paraphrase. ![A book cover showing a lighthouse on a rocky headland at dusk with its beam cutting through sea fog, the title THE SALT ROAD in tall off-white serif capitals at the top, A NOVEL below it and MARA ELLISON at the bottom](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-book-cover.D3gOVfuS_142Glq.jpg) > **Prompt**: A hardcover book cover for a literary thriller, in portrait 2:3 orientation. A lone lighthouse on a rocky headland at dusk, its beam cutting through low sea fog, a narrow coastal road winding toward it from the bottom of the frame, deep teal and slate blue tones with a single warm amber light in the lighthouse window. At the top, the title "THE SALT ROAD" in large, tall, condensed serif capitals in off-white, widely letter-spaced. Just below the title, the line "A NOVEL" in small spaced capitals. At the bottom, the author name "MARA ELLISON" in medium serif capitals in off-white. Matte printed cover finish, cinematic painterly photography, clean typographic hierarchy, no other text. The cover prompt gives each line **its own size and position**, and that order is the cover's hierarchy. Ending on **"no other text"** leaves the model no room to add a tagline or a publisher mark nobody asked for. ### [Tips](https://runware.ai/docs/models/bytedance-seedream-5-5/guides/prompting#tips) 1. **Name the orientation in tier requests.** With `resolution` alone the prompt decides the shape, so write "wide 16:9", "vertical" or "square" into it. 2. **Set exact dimensions for fixed slots.** Explicit `width` and `height` come back exactly as sent, which saves a crop for stories and banners. 3. **Open with the deliverable.** A product hero and a book cover set a different register for every clause that follows. 4. **Give each decision its own clause.** Subject, setting, light, lens and framing left out of the prompt fall back to the model's defaults. 5. **Reserve space in words.** "Open sky to the left" or "plain slate across the top third" keeps the subject out of the area your layout covers. 6. **Quote every line of copy.** Give each line a position and a type style, and end with "no other text". 7. **Keep prompts under about 600 words.** That is ByteDance's own recommendation for this model.