Ruby SDK
+ Pictify

Official Ruby gem for Rails and Ruby applications.

SDKs & Libraries

About Integration

The Pictify Ruby gem provides a clean, Ruby-idiomatic interface for image generation. Includes Rails helpers and integrations for seamless use in Rails applications.

Key Capabilities

Rails integration

ActiveJob support

Ruby-idiomatic API

Faraday-based HTTP

Common Use Cases

Rails applications

Background jobs

Admin dashboards

API backends

Integration Guide

5 minutes

Prerequisites

Ruby 3.0 or higher
A Pictify account with an API key
A template created in Pictify

Install the Gem

Add Pictify to your Gemfile or install directly.

Code

# Add to Gemfile
gem 'pictify'

# Then run
bundle install

# Or install directly
gem install pictify

Configure the Client

Set up Pictify with your API key. In Rails, use an initializer.

Code

# config/initializers/pictify.rb (Rails)
Pictify.configure do |config|
  config.api_key = ENV['PICTIFY_API_KEY']
  config.timeout = 30 # seconds
end

# Or configure inline (standalone Ruby)
require 'pictify'

client = Pictify::Client.new(api_key: ENV['PICTIFY_API_KEY'])

Store your API key in Rails credentials or environment variables.

Generate an Image

Use the render method to generate images from templates.

Code

# Using the global client (after configuration)
result = Pictify.render(
  template_id: 'your-template-id',
  variables: {
    title: 'Hello from Ruby',
    subtitle: 'Generated with the Pictify gem',
    accent_color: '#667eea'
  },
  format: :png,
  width: 1200,
  height: 630
)

puts result.image_url
# => "https://cdn.pictify.io/renders/abc123.png"

# Or using an instance
client = Pictify::Client.new(api_key: ENV['PICTIFY_API_KEY'])
result = client.render(template_id: 'your-template-id', variables: { title: 'Test' })

Download Image

Save the generated image to disk or get raw bytes.

Code

# Download as bytes
image_data = Pictify.render(
  template_id: 'your-template-id',
  variables: { title: 'Download Test' },
  download: true
)

# Save to file
File.binwrite('output.png', image_data)

# Or use the convenience method
Pictify.render_to_file(
  template_id: 'your-template-id',
  variables: { title: 'File Test' },
  output_path: 'my-image.png'
)

Rails Integration with ActiveJob

Generate images in the background using ActiveJob.

Code

# app/jobs/generate_og_image_job.rb
class GenerateOgImageJob < ApplicationJob
  queue_as :default

  def perform(post_id)
    post = Post.find(post_id)

    result = Pictify.render(
      template_id: 'blog-og-template',
      variables: {
        title: post.title,
        author: post.author.name,
        date: post.published_at.strftime('%B %d, %Y'),
        category: post.category.name
      }
    )

    post.update!(og_image_url: result.image_url)
  end
end

# Trigger from controller or callback
class PostsController < ApplicationController
  def publish
    @post.publish!
    GenerateOgImageJob.perform_later(@post.id)
  end
end

Use ActiveJob for any render that doesn't need to block the request.

Batch Processing

Generate multiple images efficiently.

Code

products = Product.where(needs_image: true).limit(100)

results = Pictify.render_batch(
  template_id: 'product-card',
  items: products.map do |product|
    {
      variables: {
        name: product.name,
        price: helpers.number_to_currency(product.price),
        image_url: product.photo_url
      }
    }
  end
)

# Update products with generated images
products.each_with_index do |product, i|
  product.update!(card_image_url: results[i].image_url)
end

View Helper for Rails

Use the included helper to generate image URLs in views.

Code

# In your view (ERB)
<%= pictify_image_tag(
  template_id: 'social-card',
  variables: { title: @post.title },
  width: 1200,
  height: 630,
  alt: @post.title,
  class: 'og-preview'
) %>

# Or just get the URL
<meta property="og:image" content="<%= pictify_url(
  template_id: 'og-image',
  variables: { title: @post.title }
) %>" />

The helper caches URLs by default. Pass cache: false to disable.