API quickstart

From zero to your first generation with the AutoReel API. You need a workspace on the Pro or Agency plan and the admin or owner role.

1. Create an API key

1. In your workspace, open Settings → API keys and click to create a key.
2. Name it, choose its scopes (for example generations:write and generations:read) and, if you like, when it expires.
3. Copy the key. It starts with ar_live_ and is shown only once; we keep only a hash of it.

Store it as an environment variable, never in client-side code:

export AUTOREEL_API_KEY="ar_live_…"

2. Make your first request

Check that the key works by reading your credit balance:

curl https://autoreel.app/api/v1/credits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AUTOREEL_API_KEY"

The response shows your balance, split into plan and purchased credits.

3. Pick a model

List the models you can run, optionally by category:

curl "https://autoreel.app/api/v1/models?category=text_to_video" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AUTOREEL_API_KEY"

Each model has an id (use it as model), its inputSchema (the parameters it takes) and its defaults. available is false for premium models your plan doesn't include.

4. Run a generation

curl https://autoreel.app/api/v1/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AUTOREEL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: 6d0f3c52-first-clip" \
  -d '{
    "model": "MODEL_ID_FROM_STEP_3",
    "params": { "prompt": "A barista pours latte art in slow motion, warm morning light" }
  }'

The response is the generation: its id, status (queued at first), estimatedCredits and, once finished, outputs with download links.

Idempotency. Send a unique Idempotency-Key with every create request. If the network drops and you retry with the same key, you get the first response back instead of a second (billed) generation.

5. Wait for the result

Either poll the generation:

curl https://autoreel.app/api/v1/generations/GENERATION_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AUTOREEL_API_KEY"

until status is completed (or failed, canceled, timed_out, in which case nothing is charged), or better, subscribe a webhook to generation.completed and generation.failed. Output download links are valid for an hour; fetch the generation again for fresh ones.

6. Use your own files

Media parameters never take URLs. Upload the file first:

1. POST /v1/files with the filename, contentType and sizeBytes. You get the file's id, a ref and an uploadUrl.
2. PUT the bytes to uploadUrl.
3. POST /v1/files/{id}/complete.
4. Pass the ref (asset: followed by the file id) as the media parameter, for example as a model's image.

7. Build and export a reel

POST /v1/reels takes the same build settings as the Studio's UGC, slideshow and hook + demo pages, and an optional template id. Follow the build with GET /v1/reels/{id} (or the reel.ready webhook), then export it with POST /v1/reels/{id}/export and a resolution of 720p or 1080p. The reel also has an editorUrl, so a person can fine-tune it in AutoReel.

Errors to handle

Every endpoint, schema and example is in the API reference.