diff --git a/apps/rowboat/app/lib/project_templates.ts b/apps/rowboat/app/lib/project_templates.ts
index 62a89810..56c4f851 100644
--- a/apps/rowboat/app/lib/project_templates.ts
+++ b/apps/rowboat/app/lib/project_templates.ts
@@ -1,30 +1,35 @@
-import { WorkflowTemplate } from "./types/workflow_types";
+import { WorkflowTemplate, WorkflowTool } from "./types/workflow_types";
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
 // Provide a minimal default template to satisfy legacy code paths that
 // still reference `templates.default`. Real templates are DB-backed.
+const tools: z.infer<typeof WorkflowTool>[] = [];
+
+// Only include the image generation tool if GOOGLE_API_KEY is present
+if (process.env.GOOGLE_API_KEY) {
+    tools.push({
+        name: "Generate Image",
+        description: "Generate an image using Google Gemini given a text prompt. Returns base64-encoded image data and any text parts.",
+        isGeminiImage: true,
+        parameters: {
+            type: 'object',
+            properties: {
+                prompt: { type: 'string', description: 'Text prompt describing the image to generate' },
+                modelName: { type: 'string', description: 'Optional Gemini model override' },
+            },
+            required: ['prompt'],
+            additionalProperties: true,
+        },
+    });
+}
+
 const defaultTemplate: z.infer<typeof WorkflowTemplate> = {
     name: 'Blank Template',
     description: 'A blank canvas to build your assistant.',
     startAgent: "",
     agents: [],
     prompts: [],
-    tools: [
-        {
-            name: "Generate Image",
-            description: "Generate an image using Google Gemini given a text prompt. Returns base64-encoded image data and any text parts.",
-            isGeminiImage: true,
-            parameters: {
-                type: 'object',
-                properties: {
-                    prompt: { type: 'string', description: 'Text prompt describing the image to generate' },
-                    modelName: { type: 'string', description: 'Optional Gemini model override' },
-                },
-                required: ['prompt'],
-                additionalProperties: true,
-            },
-        },
-    ],
+    tools,
     pipelines: [],
 };