Agent setup: If your agent doesn't auto-load skills (e.g. Claude Code), see agent-compatibility.md once per session.

Qwen Vision (Image & Video Understanding)

Analyze images and videos using Qwen VL and QVQ models. This skill is part of qwencloud/qwencloud-ai.

Skill directory

Use this skill's internal files to execute and learn. Load reference files on demand when the default path fails or you need details.

Location	Purpose
`scripts/analyze.py`	Image/video understanding, multi-image, thinking mode
`scripts/reason.py`	Visual reasoning (QVQ, chain-of-thought, streaming)
`scripts/ocr.py`	OCR text extraction
`scripts/vision_lib.py`	Shared helpers (base64, upload, streaming)
`references/execution-guide.md`	Fallback: curl, code generation
`references/curl-examples.md`	Curl for base64, multi-image, video, OCR
`references/visual-reasoning.md`	QVQ and thinking mode details
`references/prompt-guide.md`	Query prompt templates by task, thinking mode decision
`references/ocr.md`	OCR parameters and examples
`references/sources.md`	Official documentation URLs
`references/agent-compatibility.md`	Agent self-check: register skills in project config for agents that don't auto-load

Security

NEVER output any API key or credential in plaintext. Always use variable references (

$DASHSCOPE_API_KEY

in shell,

os.environ["DASHSCOPE_API_KEY"]

in Python). Any check or detection of credentials must be non-plaintext: report only status (e.g. "set" / "not set", "valid" / "invalid"), never the value. Never display contents of

.env

or config files that may contain secrets.

When the API key is not configured, NEVER ask the user to provide it directly. Instead, help create a

.env

file with a placeholder (

DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here

) and instruct the user to replace it with their actual key from the QwenCloud Console. Only write the actual key value if the user explicitly requests it.

Key Compatibility

Scripts require a standard QwenCloud API key (

sk-...

). Coding Plan keys (

sk-sp-...

) cannot be used for direct API calls and do not support dedicated vision models (qwen3-vl-plus, qvq-max, etc.). The scripts detect

sk-sp-

keys at startup and print a warning. If qwencloud-ops-auth is installed, see its

references/codingplan.md

for full details.

Model Selection

Model	Use Case
qwen3.5-plus	Preferred — unified multimodal (text+image+video). Thinking on by default.
qwen3.5-flash	Fast multimodal — cheaper, faster. Thinking on by default.
qwen3-vl-plus	High-precision — object localization (2D/3D), document/webpage parsing.
qwen3-vl-flash	Fast vision — lower latency, 33 languages.
qvq-max	Visual reasoning — chain-of-thought for math, charts. Streaming only.
qwen-vl-ocr	OCR — text extraction, table parsing, document scanning.
qwen-vl-max	Qwen2.5-VL — best-performing in 2.5 series.
qwen-vl-plus	Qwen2.5-VL — faster, good balance of performance and cost, 11 languages.

User specified a model → use directly.
Consult the qwencloud-model-selector skill when model choice depends on requirement, scenario, or pricing.
No signal, clear task →
```
qwen3.5-plus
```
. Use
```
qwen3-vl-plus
```
for precise localization or 3D detection.

⚠️ Important: The model list above is a point-in-time snapshot and may be outdated. Model availability changes frequently. Always check the official model list for the authoritative, up-to-date catalog before making model decisions.

Execution

Prerequisites

API Key: Check that
```
DASHSCOPE_API_KEY
```
(or
```
QWEN_API_KEY
```
) is set using a non-plaintext check only (e.g. in shell:
```
[ -n "$DASHSCOPE_API_KEY" ]
```
; report only "set" or "not set", never the key value). If not set: run the * qwencloud-ops-auth* skill if available; otherwise guide the user to obtain a key from QwenCloud Console and set it via
```
.env
```
file (
```
echo 'DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here' >> .env
```
in project root or current directory) or environment variable. The script searches for
```
.env
```
in the current working directory and the project root. Skills may be installed independently — do not assume qwencloud-ops-auth is present.
Python 3.9+ (stdlib only, no pip install needed)

Environment Check

Before first execution, verify Python is available:

bash

python3 --version  # must be 3.9+

python3

is not found, try

python --version

py -3 --version

. If Python is unavailable or below 3.9, skip to Path 2 (curl) in execution-guide.md.

Default: Run Script

Script path: Scripts are in the

scripts/

subdirectory of this skill's directory (the directory containing this SKILL.md). You MUST first locate this skill's installation directory, then ALWAYS use the full absolute path to execute scripts. Do NOT assume scripts are in the current working directory. Do NOT use

cd

to switch directories before execution. Shared infrastructure lives in

scripts/vision_lib.py

Execution note: Run all scripts in the foreground — wait for stdout; do not background.

Discovery: Run

python3 <this-skill-dir>/scripts/analyze.py --help

(or

reason.py

ocr.py

) first to see all available arguments.

Script	Purpose	Default Model
`scripts/analyze.py`	Image understanding, multi-image, video, thinking mode, high-res	`qwen3.5-plus`
`scripts/reason.py`	Visual reasoning with chain-of-thought, video reasoning (always streaming)	`qvq-max`
`scripts/ocr.py`	OCR text extraction from documents, receipts, tables	`qwen-vl-ocr`

Input type fields (use exactly one in

--request

JSON):

Field	Use for	Example
`"image"`	Single image (URL or local path)	`"image": "photo.jpg"`
`"images"`	Multi-image comparison (array)	`"images": ["a.jpg", "b.jpg"]`
`"video"`	Video file (URL or local path)	`"video": "clip.mp4"`
`"video_frames"`	Video as frame array	`"video_frames": ["f1.jpg", "f2.jpg"]`

⚠️ Common mistake: Do NOT use
"image"
for video files — use
"video"
instead.

bash

# Image analysis
python3 <this-skill-dir>/scripts/analyze.py \
  --request '{"prompt":"What is in this image?","image":"https://example.com/photo.jpg"}' \
  --output output/qwencloud-vision/result.json --print-response

# Video analysis (local file — add --upload-files for files >= 7 MB)
python3 <this-skill-dir>/scripts/analyze.py \
  --request '{"prompt":"Describe what happens in this video","video":"clip.mp4"}' \
  --upload-files --print-response

python3 <this-skill-dir>/scripts/reason.py \
  --request '{"prompt":"Solve this math problem step by step","image":"problem.png"}' \
  --print-response

python3 <this-skill-dir>/scripts/ocr.py \
  --request '{"image":"invoice.jpg"}' \
  --print-response

Argument	Description
`--request '{...}'`	JSON request body
`--file path.json`	Load request from file
`--output path`	Save response JSON to path
`--print-response`	Print response to stdout
`--stream`	Enable streaming (auto for thinking/QVQ)
`--upload-files`	Upload local files to temp storage (for files > 7 MB)
`--schema path.json`	JSON Schema for structured extraction

Verify Result

Exit code
```
0
```
+ output contains valid JSON with
```
choices
```
field → success
Non-zero exit, HTTP error, empty response, or JSON with
```
"code"
```
/
```
"message"
```
error → fail
Post-execution check: When
```
--output
```
is used, verify the response JSON file exists and contains expected content
MANDATORY — stderr signal check: After confirming the result, scan the command's stderr output for
```
[ACTION_REQUIRED]
```
or
```
[UPDATE_AVAILABLE]
```
. If either signal is present, you MUST follow the instructions in Update Check below before responding to the user.

On Failure

If scripts fail, match the error output against the diagnostic table below to determine the resolution. If no match, read execution-guide.md for alternative paths: curl commands (Path 2), code generation (Path 3), and autonomous resolution (Path 5).

If Python is not available at all → skip directly to Path 2 (curl) in execution-guide.md.

Error Pattern	Diagnosis	Resolution
`command not found: python3`	Python not on PATH	Try `python` or `py -3` ; install Python 3.9+ if missing
`Python 3.9+ required`	Script version check failed	Upgrade Python to 3.9+
`SyntaxError` near type hints	Python < 3.9	Upgrade Python to 3.9+
`QWEN_API_KEY/DASHSCOPE_API_KEY not found`	Missing API key	Obtain key from QwenCloud Console; add to `.env` : `echo 'DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=sk-...' >> .env` ; or run qwencloud-ops-auth if available
`HTTP 401`	Invalid or mismatched key	Run qwencloud-ops-auth (non-plaintext check only); verify key is valid
`SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED`	SSL cert issue (proxy/corporate)	macOS: run `Install Certificates.command` ; else set `SSL_CERT_FILE` env var
`URLError` / `ConnectionError`	Network unreachable	Check internet; set `HTTPS_PROXY` if behind proxy
`HTTP 429`	Rate limited	Wait and retry with backoff
`HTTP 5xx`	Server error	Retry with backoff
`PermissionError`	Can't write output	Use `--output` to specify writable directory

File Input

The API accepts: HTTP/HTTPS URL, Base64 data URI, and oss://
URL. Local file paths are NOT directly supported — scripts handle conversion automatically. Pass local paths directly; no manual upload step needed.

Large file rule: If the local file is >= 7 MB, always add
--upload-files
. Base64 encoding inflates size by ~33% and will exceed the 10 MB API limit. Small files (including short video clips < 7 MB) can use the default base64 path.

Method	When to use	How
Online URL	File already hosted	Pass URL directly — preferred for large files
Base64 (default)	Local files < 7 MB (images or short video clips)	Script auto-converts to `data:` URI
Temp upload	Local files >= 7 MB	Add `--upload-files` flag → uploads to DashScope temp storage ( `oss://` URL, 48h TTL)

Production: Default temp storage has 48h TTL and 100 QPS upload limit — not suitable for production, high-concurrency, or load-testing. To use your own OSS bucket, set
QWEN_TMP_OSS_BUCKET
and
QWEN_TMP_OSS_REGION
in
.env
, install
pip install alibabacloud-oss-v2
, and provide credentials via
QWEN_TMP_OSS_AK_ID
/
QWEN_TMP_OSS_AK_SECRET
or the standard
OSS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
/
OSS_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET
. Use a RAM user with least-privilege (
oss:PutObject
+
oss:GetObject
on target bucket only). The
--upload-files
flag is still required for vision scripts to trigger upload. If qwencloud-ops-auth is installed, see its
references/custom-oss.md
for the full setup guide.

Input from Other Skills

When the input file comes from another skill's output (e.g., image-gen, video-gen):

Pass the URL directly (e.g.,
```
"image": "<image_url from image-gen>"
```
) — do NOT download the URL first
Downloading and re-passing as a local path wastes bandwidth and triggers unnecessary base64 encoding or OSS upload
All URL types are supported:
```
https://
```
,
```
oss://
```
,
```
data:
```

Thinking Mode

Model	Thinking Default	Notes
`qwen3.5-plus` / `qwen3.5-flash`	On	Disable with `enable_thinking: false` for simple tasks.
`qwen3-vl-plus` / `qwen3-vl-flash`	Off	Enable with `enable_thinking: true` .
`qvq-max`	Always on	Streaming output required.

See visual-reasoning.md for details.

OCR (qwen-vl-ocr)

Optimized for text extraction. Supports multi-language, skewed images, tables, formulas. See ocr.md for parameters and examples.

Input Limits

Images: BMP/JPEG/PNG/TIFF/WEBP/HEIC. Min 10px sides, aspect ratio <= 200:1. Max 20 MB (URL, Qwen3.5) / 10 MB (others).

Videos: MP4/AVI/MKV/MOV/FLV/WMV. Duration 2s–2h (Qwen3.5) / 2s–10min (others). Max 2 GB (URL) / 10 MB (base64). fps range [0.1, 10], default 2.0.

Error Handling

HTTP	Meaning	Action
401	Invalid or missing API key	Run qwencloud-ops-auth if available; else prompt user to set key (non-plaintext check only)
400	Bad request (invalid format)	Verify messages format and image URL/format
429	Rate limited	Retry with exponential backoff
5xx	Server error	Retry with exponential backoff

Output Location

Prefer the current working directory. Default subdirectory:

./output/qwencloud-vision/

Write prohibition: NEVER write output files into this skill's installation directory or any

skills/

hierarchy. All generated content must go to

output/

under the current working directory or a user-specified path.

Update Check (MANDATORY Post-Execution)

After script execution, check stderr for action signals. The script automatically detects update status and emits structured signals. You MUST act on them. This section also applies when the user explicitly asks to check for updates.

Signal:

[ACTION_REQUIRED] qwencloud-update-check skill is not installed

When stderr contains this signal, you MUST present the following options to the user and wait for their response before proceeding. Do NOT silently skip this.

The update-check skill is not installed. It keeps you informed about new qwencloud/qwencloud-ai features and bug fixes.

Install now — I'll run the install command for you

Skip for now — do nothing this time

Never remind me — permanently suppress this prompt

After the user responds:

User chooses 1 → run:

npx skills add QwenCloud/qwencloud-ai --skill qwencloud-update-check -y

, then run:

python3 <this-skill-scripts-dir>/gossamer.py --dismiss

User chooses 2 → run:

python3 <this-skill-scripts-dir>/gossamer.py --dismiss

, then continue normally

User chooses 3 → run:

python3 <this-skill-scripts-dir>/gossamer.py --never-install

, then continue normally

Signal:

[UPDATE_AVAILABLE]

When stderr contains this signal, you MUST append a brief update notice to your response, including the version info and the update command shown in the stderr output.

No signal in stderr

If stderr contains neither

[ACTION_REQUIRED]

nor

[UPDATE_AVAILABLE]

, no action is needed — the skill is installed and up to date (or cached within 24h).

Explicit user request

When the user explicitly asks to check for updates (e.g. "check for updates", "check version"):

Look for
```
qwencloud-update-check/SKILL.md
```
in sibling skill directories.

If found — run:

python3 <qwencloud-update-check-dir>/scripts/check_update.py --print-response

and report the result.

If not found — present the install options above.

References

execution-guide.md — Fallback paths (curl, code generation, autonomous)
curl-examples.md — Curl templates (base64, multi-image, video, OCR)
api-guide.md — API supplementary guide
visual-reasoning.md — QVQ visual reasoning guide
ocr.md — Qwen-VL-OCR text extraction guide
sources.md — Official documentation URLs

qwencloud-vision

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content