OneTimeDesign social-card templates visually, render them from a GET request. Your self-hosted Bannerbear.
Bannerbear charges $49/month — $588 a year — to render social cards from templates. Cardsmith is the same idea on your own hardware: design a template in the visual editor, type {{title}} in a text layer, and it instantly becomes a REST endpoint that returns a PNG. Unlimited renders, no rate limits, no meter.
Cardsmith in 60 seconds
Everything in the box
Visual OG-image templates that become render APIs — unlimited PNGs, bulk CSV, self-hosted.
Visual template editor
Canvas with drag positioning + snap guides, layers panel, and a live preview that matches server output pixel-for-pixel.
Layer types
Text (bundled fonts, weight, align, wrap, auto-shrink to fit), images (upload or URL, cover/contain/fill, radius, opacity), shapes and solid/gradient/image backgrounds.
Sizes for every network
OG/blog 1200×630, X large card 1600×900, Instagram 1080×1080 and 1080×1920 story, LinkedIn 1200×627 — plus fully custom dimensions.
{{variables}}
Type {{title}} in any text layer (or image URL) and the template instantly becomes an API endpoint with that parameter.
Render API
GET /api/render/:templateId?title=...&key=... returns a PNG — deterministic, server-side, bundled Chromium. Point your og:image meta tag straight at it.
Bulk CSV → zip
Upload a CSV, get one PNG per row (up to 500). Batch your podcast back-catalog in one request.
Gallery + starter templates
Every API render logged and browsable with its exact params; 5 polished starter templates included.
100% local
SQLite + filesystem, no telemetry. Your renders never touch a third party.
Pick how you pay
Subscriptions if you want them — but the whole point is the lifetime tier.
Up and running in three steps
Buy once on Whop
One-time $99 for the packaged installer — Chromium and every render dependency pre-wired.
Design a template
Drag layers on the canvas or start from one of 5 starter templates. Type {{title}} wherever dynamic text goes.
Call the API
Drop the render URL into your og:image tag, script it from Node or serverless, or bulk-render a CSV into a zip of PNGs.
Fair questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/og-image-studio-mvp. $99 buys the packaged installer with everything pre-wired, plus updates.
How are images rendered?
Server-side with bundled Chromium (Puppeteer), using the exact same HTML renderer as the editor preview — so WYSIWYG is literal. Fonts are bundled and base64-embedded, making output deterministic and fully offline.
Are renders really unlimited?
Yes — your CPU does the work, so there's no render meter and no rate limit. Bannerbear's Starter tier caps you at 1,000 renders and 10 templates a month.
Can I use it for live og:image tags?
Yes — point your meta tags at the render URL (auth via ?key= or X-Api-Key); images render on demand and log to the gallery. For public traffic, host it on a $5 VPS with the included Docker setup.
What's the honest catch vs Bannerbear?
Bannerbear has no-code integrations (Zapier, Airtable), video/GIF generation and managed infrastructure. Cardsmith is images only, on hardware you run. If you need those integrations without touching a server, Bannerbear earns its fee.
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More about Cardsmith
Every page we publish about this app — comparisons, personas, platforms and the problems it solves.
For you
Platforms
Stop renting. Own Cardsmith.
Visual OG-image templates that become render APIs — unlimited PNGs, bulk CSV, self-hosted.
Get Cardsmith — $99 forever