Vertex AI Imagen model not found: “projects/…/publishers/google/models/imagen-3.0-generate-002”

Google Cloud Build with AI AI APIs
1

Hi, I’m trying to generate images using Vertex AI Imagen (Model: imagen-3.0-generate-002),
but I keep getting a NOT_FOUND error, even though I am using the correct project, region, and publisher model path.

Error message: Publisher Model projects/(PII Removed by Staff)/locations/us-central1/publishers/google/models/imagen-3.0-generate-002not found

My Node.js code is calling the model via PredictionServiceClient:

const endpoint = `projects/${projectId}/locations/us-central1/publishers/google/models/(PII Removed by Staff);

const [response] = await client.predict({
    endpoint,
    instances: [
        {
            prompt: { text: prompt }
        }
    ],
    parameters: {
        sampleCount: 1,
        aspectRatio: "ASPECT_RATIO_1_1"
    }
});

I also checked my gcloud settings:

gcloud config list
Core project: (PII Removed by Staff)
Region: us-central1

And Vertex AI model list:

gcloud ai models list --region=us-central1
Listed 0 items.

My questions:

  1. Is the Imagen model imagen-3.0-generate-002 publicly available in all projects?

  2. Do I need to enable additional APIs or access?

  3. Do I need to apply for allowlist access for this Imagen model?

  4. What is the correct model ID for the current public Imagen API?

Additional context

  • Service account authentication is working.

  • Permission errors (PERMISSION_DENIED) were resolved.

  • Now only the NOT_FOUND error occurs.

  • My goal is to generate images for a temporary prototype (1–2 weeks demo).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

2

Hey,

Hope you’re keeping well.

The imagen-3.0-generate-002 model is not generally available by default in Vertex AI—you won’t see it in gcloud ai models list because publisher models are not part of your project’s model registry. For public access, you need to call the published model using its full resource name exactly as documented, and only in supported regions.

For Imagen 3.0, the current public endpoint is:
```

projects/{PROJECT_ID}/locations/us-central1/publishers/google/models/imagen-3.0-generate


Note the absence of the `-002` suffix—older suffix versions are internal and will return `NOT_FOUND`.

Thanks and regards,  
Taz