Generate images and video
Pick a model, set inputs, write a prompt and run it. Follow progress, batch runs, reuse a setup and see how a result was made.
Pick a model, mark its inputs, write a prompt and run it. The result lands on the board with its model, prompt and inputs attached.
Run a generation
Choose a model
Click Models in the bottom toolbar, click a model card, then close the window. Its name replaces None on the button. See Models and workflows.
Set inputs
Select a reference on the board, then click the + row with its file name in the input slots at the bottom left, or press I, to make it an input. See Inputs and references.
Write the prompt and set options
Click the prompt box and describe the shot. Aspect, duration and other options sit under the box. See Prompt and settings.
Generate
Click Generate at the bottom right of the prompt box. It's the purple button with a sparkle icon and the price. For video models it's called Animate. You can also press ⌘Enter in the prompt box (CtrlEnter on Windows and Linux; the button's tooltip shows the right one for your device). Either way, the paid run starts straight away at the price on the button, with the prompt exactly as it shows in the box. This includes estimated prices that start with ~.
For model runs, Review generation price opens as a safety check when the whole-job price worked out at the moment you click is higher than the button showed. It lists the price; click Generate — $… to start, or close it to cancel. If the inputs or price change after that review, nothing runs and FlashBoards asks you to review again. Ordinary workflows do not use this check; their final charge follows actual usage.
A second click or key press within about a second is ignored, so a double-click doesn't start two runs. A notice says the run has Already started and to try again in a moment if you want another. Holding ⌘Enter also starts just one run.
A placeholder appears in free space next to the selected item, or near the center of your view if nothing is selected. It never covers other items. Several runs from the same item line up in a row beside it. You can keep working and run several generations at once.
If something is missing, clicking Generate tells you what to fix, for example This model requires an image input. Please add one or label inputs on the board. See History and errors.
You can't generate on a shared board, because shared boards are read-only. Make a local copy of the board first. See Shared boards.
Batch one setup over many images
Hold Shift while you generate to run the same setup once per selected item.
Fill every slot except one
Assign inputs to all of the model's media slots except one image or video slot. See Inputs and references.
Select the items to batch
Select two or more items of that slot's type on the board.
Shift+Generate
When the button gets a green ring, hold Shift and click Generate, or press Shift⌘Enter.
Review the batch price
Review batch price lists each selected item with its price, and the Total. Click Generate N — $… to start the batch, or close the window to cancel. Each item gets its own run and placeholder. Workflow prices are estimates, not spending caps.
If batching isn't available, the button tooltip says why. Sequential Lip Sync runs one character at a time and does not support Shift batches.
If the items, settings, Safe Mode or price change while the review is open, its button is disabled: close it and review again. Changing these while the batch is starting stops the remaining runs from starting; runs already started continue.
WarningBatches start one paid run per item
Batching 5 items requests 5 paid runs. Other work can fill your account's slots and stop some runs from starting; see Billing.
Follow progress
Running generations show as chips in a strip above the prompt box, each with the model name and a progress bar.
- Click a chip to jump to its item.
- Hover a chip to see its inputs. Click one to find it on the board.
- Clear all dismisses finished chips and cancels the runs that can be cancelled.
- The strip keeps the last five successful chips, plus any whose result you deleted. Restore to board on a chip brings back a deleted result.
- Audio results land as audio items. Audio descriptions and new voice IDs land as text notes.
Cancel a run
Only workflow runs show Cancel generation (an X). Other runs can't be stopped once started, not even by deleting the item or its board. A cancelled run isn't charged. Any other run is charged if it succeeds.
Reuse a setup
Click Reuse prompt, model, and inputs (copy icon) on a chip, finished or failed. Chips of runs whose board was deleted don't have it, only Dismiss. It restores the model, prompt and inputs. It doesn't restore options such as aspect and duration, and it doesn't start a run. Inputs no longer on the board are skipped. Adjust what you want, then click Generate.
Reusable generations
Reusable generations (the history icon next to Favorites in the bottom toolbar) keeps your Nano Banana 2.1 setups in this browser, for your account. Open Recent for setups recorded when you click Generate, or Saved for the ones you've kept.
- Click the reuse icon on an entry, or open View all, choose an entry and click Reuse. It restores the model, prompt, settings and reference images in their original order. References no longer on the board are added back from a saved copy.
- In View all, use Use prompt only, Use model only, Use parameters only or Use references only to restore one part. For parameters or references only, select Nano Banana 2.1 first.
- Click Save setup on a Recent entry to keep a separate copy in Saved. Use Rename setup, Move setup up and Move setup down to organize it. With a mouse, you can also drag Saved entries into order.
- Delete recent generation removes one Recent entry. Clear asks before clearing Recent and keeps your Saved setups. To remove a Saved setup, click Remove saved setup and confirm.
- Reusing a setup is free; Generate starts the paid generation. Suggest setup name in the rename field is a separate paid text action: review its displayed maximum before clicking. Typing a name yourself is free. Setups need a local board, stay in this browser for your account and can be removed when browser data is cleared.
On phones, View all shows the list first. Choose an entry to inspect it; Saved or Recent at the top takes you back to the list.
Come back later
If you reload or lose your connection mid-run, the placeholder may show Generation interrupted or Still processing. Click Recover or Check to look for the result. The X only removes the placeholder. The run keeps going and is charged if it finishes.
If Check finds a run that can be cancelled still working, the placeholder changes to Still running with two buttons:
- Stop cancels the generation on the server. A cancelled run isn't charged.
- Wait keeps it running and brings back Check, so you can look again later.
Runs that can't be cancelled keep showing Check and the X. See Cancel a run.
Finished runs that lost their placeholder or board appear under Background generations above the prompt box, marked Ready. Click Add result to board to place one on the open board. For supported continuing runs, automatic checks run about every 30 seconds while you are signed in and the tab is visible; errors can slow them. Check background generations checks right away. Results stay there for about 48 hours.
- If a run keeps working for a long time, the automatic checks stop and the group shows "Automatic checks paused. Use Check to refresh these generations." Click Check background generations to look again.
- Dismiss background generation (the X on a row) removes that row, and Clear all background generations (the X in the header) removes every row. Both only tidy the list in this browser: a run keeps going, and a saved result isn't deleted.
- Result unavailable means the finished result can't be fetched any more. Needs review means the result has to be checked before it can be added. Unconfirmed means FlashBoards can't tell yet whether the run started. For all three, Check background generations refreshes the row.
See how an item was made
Select a generated item and click File information in its side menu. The AI Generated section names the Model. For the full record, press Enter to open the preview and click File information again. File Info lists the Prompt, Input Sources, Parameters such as seed, and Generated, each with a copy button.
In Settings → AI Generation, turn on Show connection lines to draw lines from inputs to outputs. Show model name and Show prompt label items on the board. See Settings.
Layered outputs
Some models, such as Qwen Image Layered, return layers. These items have a Layered output badge. Press Enter on one, then use the arrow keys or click a thumbnail (Original preview, Layer 1 and so on) to switch layers.
What you're charged
You pay for runs that succeed, even if the result never reaches your board. See Generation billing.