How to Start with BytePlus ModelArk — Step by Step

Go to byteplus.com and click Sign Up in the top-right corner. You'll need:

• ✓ A business email address
• ✓ A phone number for SMS verification
• ✓ Your company/business name (even a sole trader name works)

Complete the email and SMS verification. Your account will be ready within a few minutes.

After logging in, you'll land on the BytePlus console dashboard. From the left sidebar or Products menu, find and click ModelArk. If you don't see it, use the Products search bar and type "ModelArk".

In ModelArk, open the Model Catalog or Model Square. Search for "Seedream 5.0". You'll see three variants: Lite, Pro, and Flash.

Click on the variant you want (start with Lite to test), and click Enable or Activate. This adds the model to your account and enables API access.

In the ModelArk dashboard, look for API Access Keys or API Management in the settings or top-right user menu. Click Create Key, give it a name (e.g. "seedream-test"), and copy the key immediately — you won't be able to see it again after leaving the page.

Use the code snippet below to generate your first image. Replace YOUR_API_KEY and YOUR_ENDPOINT with values from your ModelArk console.

# Install: pip install requests
import requests, json, os

api_key = os.getenv("BYTEPLUS_API_KEY")

# Replace with endpoint from your ModelArk console
endpoint = "https://ark.ap-southeast.byteplusapi.com/api/v3/images/generations"

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

payload = {
    "model": "seedream-5-0-lite-250415",  # check your console for model ID
    "prompt": "A minimalist tech office, natural light, wide-angle",
    "n": 1,
    "size": "1024x1024"
}

response = requests.post(endpoint, headers=headers, json=payload)
result = response.json()

print(result["data"][0]["url"])  # image URL

curl -X POST \
  "https://ark.ap-southeast.byteplusapi.com/api/v3/images/generations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BYTEPLUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "seedream-5-0-lite-250415",
    "prompt": "A minimalist tech office, natural light",
    "n": 1,
    "size": "1024x1024"
  }'

In the BytePlus console, go to Billing & Payments → Budget Alerts or equivalent. Set a monthly cap — for testing, $5–$10 is plenty (that covers ~140–280 images on Lite). This protects you from accidental overuse during development.