Integrate Video Generation

PREREQUISITE: Run +check-compatibility first. Run +fetch-api-reference to load the latest API reference before integrating. Requires +setup-api-key for API credentials. Requires +integrate-uploads when the user has local files to use as input.

Help users add Runway video generation to their server-side code.

Available Models

Model	Best For	Input	Cost	Speed
gen4.5	Highest quality, general purpose	Text and/or Image	12 credits/sec	Standard
gen4_turbo	Fast, image-driven	Image required	5 credits/sec	Fast
gen4_aleph	Video editing/transformation	Video + Text/Image	15 credits/sec	Standard
veo3	Premium Google model	Text/Image	40 credits/sec	Standard
veo3.1	High quality Google model	Text/Image	20-40 credits/sec	Standard
veo3.1_fast	Fast Google model	Text/Image	10-15 credits/sec	Fast

Model selection guidance:

• Default recommendation: gen4.5 — best balance of quality and cost
• Budget-conscious: gen4_turbo (requires image) or veo3.1_fast
• Highest quality: veo3 (most expensive)
• Video-to-video editing: gen4_aleph (only option)

Endpoints

Text-to-Video: POST /v1/text_to_video

Generate video from a text prompt only.

Compatible models: gen4.5, veo3, veo3.1, veo3.1_fast

// Node.js SDK
import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';

const client = new RunwayML();

const task = await client.textToVideo.create({
  model: 'gen4.5',
  promptText: 'A golden retriever running through a field of wildflowers at sunset',
  ratio: '1280:720',
  duration: 5
}).waitForTaskOutput();

// task.output is an array of signed URLs
const videoUrl = task.output[0];

# Python SDK
from runwayml import RunwayML

client = RunwayML()

task = client.text_to_video.create(
    model='gen4.5',
    prompt_text='A golden retriever running through a field of wildflowers at sunset',
    ratio='1280:720',
    duration=5
).wait_for_task_output()

video_url = task.output[0]

Image-to-Video: POST /v1/image_to_video

Animate a still image into a video.

Compatible models: gen4.5, gen4_turbo, veo3, veo3.1, veo3.1_fast

// Node.js SDK
const task = await client.imageToVideo.create({
  model: 'gen4.5',
  promptImage: 'https://example.com/landscape.jpg',
  promptText: 'Camera slowly pans right revealing a mountain range',
  ratio: '1280:720',
  duration: 5
}).waitForTaskOutput();

# Python SDK
task = client.image_to_video.create(
    model='gen4.5',
    prompt_image='https://example.com/landscape.jpg',
    prompt_text='Camera slowly pans right revealing a mountain range',
    ratio='1280:720',
    duration=5
).wait_for_task_output()

If the user has a local image file, use +integrate-uploads first to upload it:

// Upload local file first
import fs from 'fs';

const upload = await client.uploads.createEphemeral(
  fs.createReadStream('/path/to/image.jpg')
);

const task = await client.imageToVideo.create({
  model: 'gen4.5',
  promptImage: upload.runwayUri,  // Use the runway:// URI
  promptText: 'The scene comes to life with gentle wind',
  ratio: '1280:720',
  duration: 5
}).waitForTaskOutput();

Video-to-Video: POST /v1/video_to_video

Transform an existing video with a text prompt and/or reference image.

Compatible models: gen4_aleph

// Node.js SDK
const task = await client.videoToVideo.create({
  model: 'gen4_aleph',
  promptVideo: 'https://example.com/source.mp4',
  promptText: 'Transform into an animated cartoon style',
  ratio: '1280:720',
  duration: 5
}).waitForTaskOutput();

Character Performance: POST /v1/character_performance

Animate a character with facial/body performance.

Compatible models: act_two

const task = await client.characterPerformance.create({
  model: 'act_two',
  promptImage: 'https://example.com/character.jpg',
  promptPerformance: 'https://example.com/performance.mp4',
  ratio: '1280:720',
  duration: 5
}).waitForTaskOutput();

Common Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
model	string	Model ID (required)
promptText	string	Text prompt describing the video
promptImage	string	URL, data URI, or runway:// URI of input image
ratio	string	Aspect ratio, e.g. '1280:720', '720:1280'
duration	number	Video length in seconds (2-10)

Integration Pattern

When helping the user integrate, follow this pattern:

1. Determine the use case — What type of video generation? (text-to-video, image-to-video, etc.)
2. Check for local files — If the user has local images/videos, use +integrate-uploads first
3. Select the model — Recommend based on quality/cost/speed needs
4. Write the server-side handler — Create an API route or server function
5. Handle the output — Download and store the video, don't serve signed URLs to clients
6. Add error handling — Wrap in try/catch, handle TaskFailedError

Example: Express.js API Route

import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';
import express from 'express';

const client = new RunwayML();
const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

app.post('/api/generate-video', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { prompt, imageUrl, model = 'gen4.5', duration = 5 } = req.body;

    const params = {
      model,
      promptText: prompt,
      ratio: '1280:720',
      duration
    };

    let task;
    if (imageUrl) {
      task = await client.imageToVideo.create({
        ...params,
        promptImage: imageUrl
      }).waitForTaskOutput();
    } else {
      task = await client.textToVideo.create(params).waitForTaskOutput();
    }

    res.json({ videoUrl: task.output[0] });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Video generation failed:', error);
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

Example: Next.js API Route

// app/api/generate-video/route.ts
import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';

const client = new RunwayML();

export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  const { prompt, imageUrl } = await request.json();

  try {
    const task = imageUrl
      ? await client.imageToVideo.create({
          model: 'gen4.5',
          promptImage: imageUrl,
          promptText: prompt,
          ratio: '1280:720',
          duration: 5
        }).waitForTaskOutput()
      : await client.textToVideo.create({
          model: 'gen4.5',
          promptText: prompt,
          ratio: '1280:720',
          duration: 5
        }).waitForTaskOutput();

    return NextResponse.json({ videoUrl: task.output[0] });
  } catch (error) {
    return NextResponse.json(
      { error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Generation failed' },
      { status: 500 }
    );
  }
}

Example: FastAPI Route

from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from pydantic import BaseModel
from runwayml import RunwayML

app = FastAPI()
client = RunwayML()

class VideoRequest(BaseModel):
    prompt: str
    image_url: str | None = None
    model: str = "gen4.5"
    duration: int = 5

@app.post("/api/generate-video")
async def generate_video(req: VideoRequest):
    try:
        if req.image_url:
            task = client.image_to_video.create(
                model=req.model,
                prompt_image=req.image_url,
                prompt_text=req.prompt,
                ratio="1280:720",
                duration=req.duration
            ).wait_for_task_output()
        else:
            task = client.text_to_video.create(
                model=req.model,
                prompt_text=req.prompt,
                ratio="1280:720",
                duration=req.duration
            ).wait_for_task_output()

        return {"video_url": task.output[0]}
    except Exception as e:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))

Tips

• Output URLs expire in 24-48 hours. Download videos to your own storage (S3, GCS, local filesystem) immediately after generation.
• gen4_turbo requires an image — it cannot do text-only generation.
• gen4_aleph is the only video-to-video model — use it for editing/transforming existing videos.
• Duration range is 2-10 seconds. Longer videos require chaining multiple generations.
• waitForTaskOutput() has a default 10-minute timeout. For long-running generations, you may want to implement your own polling loop or increase the timeout.
• For local files, always use +integrate-uploads to upload first, then pass the runway:// URI.