Skills

Skills are ready-to-use bundles of prompts and instructions that teach an AI agent how to generate media with Picsart's models. Add a skill to Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or ChatGPT, and the agent knows which model to use, how to structure the request, and which command to run — you just describe what you want.

Official page: picsart.com/gen-ai-skills

How skills relate to the CLI and MCP

A skill is the knowledge layer — it tells the agent what Picsart can do and how to call it. The gen-ai CLI is the execution engine that runs the actual generation. Skills drive the CLI under the hood, and the whole stack speaks MCP so it works natively inside agents.

Setup order:

1. Install the CLI — see Installation.
2. Authenticate once: gen-ai login.
3. Add a skill to your agent (see below).

The gen-ai-use skill

The flagship skill, gen-ai-use, gives an agent access to all 201 models across image, video, and audio generation. It works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.

Once added, you drive it in plain English:

• "Make three banner concepts for the spring sale in 16:9 and 1:1."
• "Animate these 10 product stills into a 9:16 reel with background music."
• "Generate a hero image in the style of the reference shot, then upscale it to 4K."

The agent picks the right model, builds the prompt, and runs the generation in the background.

Installing a skill

Claude Code

The fastest path is the Claude Code plugin marketplace:

claude plugin marketplace add PicsArt/gen-ai-skills

Then activate it inside Claude Code:

/plugin install picsart@picsart

Alternatively, install via npx:

npx skills add PicsArt/gen-ai-skills

Or download the .zip manually from picsart.com/gen-ai-skills and place it in ~/.claude/skills/.

After installing, invoke the skill with /gen-ai-use or just describe a task — Claude Code picks it up automatically.

Cursor and Windsurf

1. Download the skill .zip from picsart.com/gen-ai-skills.
2. Place it in the agent's skill or rules directory (see your agent's settings for the exact path).
3. Ask in plain English: "Generate a product photo on a white background using Flux 2 Pro."

For a dedicated Cursor or Windsurf setup guide, see Cursor integration or Windsurf integration.

ChatGPT

Attach the skill .zip to a conversation or to a custom GPT configuration. Once attached, ChatGPT can call gen-ai commands directly when you describe a generation task.

Codex (OpenAI)

Install the CLI, then add the skill via npx:

npx skills add PicsArt/gen-ai-skills

Or download the .zip from picsart.com/gen-ai-skills and attach it to your Codex session. See Codex integration for the full setup.

What to generate with skills

Skills are particularly effective for:

• Hero images — on-brand key art in multiple aspect ratios from a single prompt.
• Reels and short video — chain stills into social video with motion models and an AI audio track.
• Batch catalogs — generate or edit assets across many SKUs with a single instruction to the agent.
• Background removal and replacement — swap out image backgrounds without leaving the agent conversation.
• Voice and narration — generate voiceovers with ElevenLabs voices directly from a script.

Browse the full model catalog — which the skill has access to — at picsart.com/ai-playground or via gen-ai models.

FAQ

Do I need to run gen-ai login if I install via the Claude plugin marketplace?

Yes. Skills call the gen-ai CLI internally, and the CLI needs an authenticated session. Run gen-ai login once on your machine before using any skill, regardless of which install method you used.

Can I add more than one skill?

Yes. Each skill is a separate bundle. You can have gen-ai-use for general generation plus any specialized skills alongside it. Skills do not conflict with each other.

The agent says it can't find gen-ai. What do I do?

The CLI is not installed or is not on the PATH the agent sees. Run gen-ai --version in a terminal to verify the install, then restart your agent. See Installation for install steps.

Is there a skill specifically for Cursor vs. one for Claude Code?

The same gen-ai-use skill bundle works across all supported agents. The skill itself is agent-agnostic — the differences are only in how you install it (marketplace command vs. ZIP drop).

Do skills work offline?

No. Skills call the Picsart platform for every generation. An internet connection and a valid Picsart account with credits are required.

Where are the generated files saved?

By default, files are downloaded to ./output in the directory the CLI was invoked from. Pass --save-to-drive to push results to your Picsart Drive instead. See Files and Drive.