Text-to-Image System Design
Design production text-to-image systems: CLIP integration, diffusion models, safety moderation, and large-scale deployment
Text-to-Image System Overview
Modern text-to-image systems combine advanced language understanding (CLIP) with powerful generative models (diffusion) to create high-quality images from textual descriptions. Production systems require careful consideration of safety, scalability, and user experience.
Key Capabilities
- • High-resolution image generation (1024x1024+)
- • Style and composition control
- • Inpainting and outpainting
- • Image-to-image transformation
- • Batch processing for efficiency
Production Challenges
- • Computational intensity (GPU requirements)
- • Content safety and moderation
- • Copyright and IP concerns
- • Generation time optimization
- • Quality consistency at scale
System Components Deep Dive
System Architecture Overview
A production text-to-image system consists of multiple specialized components working together to transform text prompts into high-quality images while maintaining safety and performance standards.
Core Components:
- API Gateway: Request routing, rate limiting, authentication
- Text Encoder (CLIP): Convert prompts to semantic embeddings
- Diffusion Model: Core image generation engine (U-Net)
- VAE Decoder: Convert latents to final images
- Safety Pipeline: Content moderation and filtering
- Asset Storage: Generated image storage and delivery
graph TD
A[User Request] --> B[API Gateway]
B --> C[Safety Check - Prompt]
C --> D[Text Encoder CLIP]
D --> E[Diffusion Pipeline]
E --> F[VAE Decoder]
F --> G[Safety Check - Image]
G --> H[Post Processing]
H --> I[Storage & CDN]
I --> J[Response to User]
subgraph GPU Cluster
D
E
F
end
subgraph Safety Layer
C
G
endProduction Architecture Pattern
Input Processing
Prompt analysis & safety check
Text Encoding
CLIP text embedding
Image Generation
Diffusion process
Post Processing
Safety filter & delivery
class ProductionTextToImageSystem:
def __init__(self, config):
# Core models
self.clip_model = CLIPTextEncoder.from_pretrained(config.clip_model)
self.unet = UNet2DConditionModel.from_pretrained(config.unet_model)
self.vae = AutoencoderKL.from_pretrained(config.vae_model)
self.scheduler = DDIMScheduler.from_pretrained(config.scheduler_config)
# Safety and moderation
self.safety_checker = SafetyChecker()
self.content_filter = ContentFilter()
# Performance optimization
self.memory_efficient = config.memory_efficient
self.attention_slicing = config.attention_slicing
if config.compile_models:
self.unet = torch.compile(self.unet)
self.vae = torch.compile(self.vae)
async def generate_image(self,
prompt: str,
negative_prompt: str = None,
width: int = 1024,
height: int = 1024,
num_inference_steps: int = 50,
guidance_scale: float = 7.5,
safety_check: bool = True) -> GenerationResult:
# Step 1: Input validation and safety
if safety_check:
safety_result = await self.safety_checker.check_prompt(prompt)
if not safety_result.is_safe:
raise SafetyViolationError(safety_result.reason)
# Step 2: Text encoding
with torch.inference_mode():
text_embeddings = self.encode_prompt(prompt, negative_prompt)
# Step 3: Image generation
generation_start = time.time()
# Latent initialization
latents = self.initialize_latents(width, height)
# Denoising loop
self.scheduler.set_timesteps(num_inference_steps)
for i, timestep in enumerate(self.scheduler.timesteps):
# Predict noise
with torch.inference_mode():
noise_pred = self.unet(
latents,
timestep,
encoder_hidden_states=text_embeddings
).sample
# Apply guidance
if guidance_scale > 1.0:
noise_pred_uncond, noise_pred_text = noise_pred.chunk(2)
noise_pred = noise_pred_uncond + guidance_scale * (
noise_pred_text - noise_pred_uncond
)
# Scheduler step
latents = self.scheduler.step(noise_pred, timestep, latents).prev_sample
# Memory optimization
if self.memory_efficient and i % 5 == 0:
torch.cuda.empty_cache()
# Step 4: Decode to image
with torch.inference_mode():
image = self.vae.decode(latents / 0.18215).sample
image = self.postprocess_image(image)
generation_time = time.time() - generation_start
# Step 5: Final safety check
if safety_check:
final_safety = await self.content_filter.check_image(image)
if not final_safety.is_safe:
return GenerationResult(
image=None,
error="Generated content blocked by safety filter",
generation_time=generation_time
)
return GenerationResult(
image=image,
prompt=prompt,
generation_time=generation_time,
parameters={
"steps": num_inference_steps,
"guidance": guidance_scale,
"size": f"{width}x{height}"
}
)
def encode_prompt(self, prompt: str, negative_prompt: str = None):
"""Encode text prompts to embeddings"""
# Tokenize and encode positive prompt
text_input = self.clip_model.tokenizer(
prompt,
padding="max_length",
max_length=77,
truncation=True,
return_tensors="pt"
)
text_embeddings = self.clip_model.text_model(text_input.input_ids)[0]
# Handle negative prompt
if negative_prompt:
negative_input = self.clip_model.tokenizer(
negative_prompt,
padding="max_length",
max_length=77,
truncation=True,
return_tensors="pt"
)
negative_embeddings = self.clip_model.text_model(negative_input.input_ids)[0]
else:
negative_embeddings = torch.zeros_like(text_embeddings)
# Concatenate for classifier-free guidance
return torch.cat([negative_embeddings, text_embeddings])
def initialize_latents(self, width: int, height: int):
"""Initialize random latents for generation"""
latent_height = height // self.vae.config.scaling_factor
latent_width = width // self.vae.config.scaling_factor
latents = torch.randn(
(1, self.unet.config.in_channels, latent_height, latent_width),
device=self.device,
dtype=self.unet.dtype
)
return latents * self.scheduler.init_noise_sigmaPerformance Optimization Strategies
Inference Optimization
- Model Compilation:
TorchScript, TensorRT, or torch.compile for 20-30% speedup
- Attention Optimization:
Flash Attention, attention slicing, xFormers integration
- Memory Management:
Model offloading, gradient checkpointing, CPU fallback
- Batch Processing:
Dynamic batching, queue management, priority scheduling
Quality vs Speed Trade-offs
Ultra-Fast (2-5s)
20 steps, 512x512, DDIM scheduler
Balanced (8-15s)
50 steps, 1024x1024, DPM++ scheduler
High Quality (30-60s)
100 steps, 1536x1536, PLMS scheduler
class OptimizedInferenceEngine:
def __init__(self, config):
self.config = config
self.batch_queue = asyncio.Queue()
self.processing_batches = {}
# Model optimization
self.setup_optimizations()
# Start batch processor
asyncio.create_task(self.batch_processor())
def setup_optimizations(self):
"""Apply various optimization techniques"""
# 1. Enable memory efficient attention
if self.config.memory_efficient_attention:
self.pipeline.enable_attention_slicing()
self.pipeline.enable_memory_efficient_attention()
# 2. Model compilation
if self.config.compile_models:
import torch._dynamo as dynamo
dynamo.config.suppress_errors = True
self.pipeline.unet = torch.compile(
self.pipeline.unet,
mode="reduce-overhead"
)
# 3. Enable xFormers if available
try:
self.pipeline.enable_xformers_memory_efficient_attention()
except ImportError:
logger.warning("xFormers not available, skipping optimization")
async def batch_processor(self):
"""Process requests in optimized batches"""
while True:
batch_requests = []
# Collect requests for batching
try:
# Wait for at least one request
first_request = await self.batch_queue.get()
batch_requests.append(first_request)
# Collect additional requests (non-blocking)
while (len(batch_requests) < self.config.max_batch_size and
not self.batch_queue.empty()):
try:
request = self.batch_queue.get_nowait()
batch_requests.append(request)
except asyncio.QueueEmpty:
break
# Process batch
await self.process_batch(batch_requests)
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"Batch processing error: {e}")
await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
async def process_batch(self, requests):
"""Process a batch of generation requests"""
try:
# Group requests by similar parameters
grouped_requests = self.group_by_parameters(requests)
for group in grouped_requests:
# Extract common parameters
prompts = [req.prompt for req in group]
common_params = group[0].params
# Batch generation
start_time = time.time()
with torch.inference_mode():
images = self.pipeline(
prompt=prompts,
**common_params
).images
generation_time = time.time() - start_time
# Send results back
for i, request in enumerate(group):
result = GenerationResult(
image=images[i],
generation_time=generation_time / len(group),
batch_size=len(group)
)
request.result_queue.put_nowait(result)
except Exception as e:
# Send error to all requests in batch
for request in requests:
request.result_queue.put_nowait(
GenerationResult(error=str(e))
)
def group_by_parameters(self, requests):
"""Group requests with similar parameters for efficient batching"""
groups = {}
for request in requests:
# Create parameter hash for grouping
param_key = (
request.params.get('width', 1024),
request.params.get('height', 1024),
request.params.get('num_inference_steps', 50),
request.params.get('guidance_scale', 7.5)
)
if param_key not in groups:
groups[param_key] = []
groups[param_key].append(request)
return list(groups.values())
async def generate(self, prompt: str, **params) -> GenerationResult:
"""Public API for image generation"""
result_queue = asyncio.Queue()
request = GenerationRequest(
prompt=prompt,
params=params,
result_queue=result_queue
)
await self.batch_queue.put(request)
return await result_queue.get()Business & Legal Considerations
Content Safety
- • NSFW content detection
- • Violence and hate speech filtering
- • Celebrity and public figure protection
- • Age-appropriate content controls
- • Cultural sensitivity measures
Intellectual Property
- • Copyrighted material detection
- • Artist style attribution
- • Trademark infringement prevention
- • Fair use compliance
- • Usage rights and licensing
Business Model
- • API pricing strategies
- • Quality tier differentiation
- • Usage analytics and billing
- • Enterprise vs consumer tiers
- • Partner ecosystem development