Generate Video

Generate videos directly using the Runway API. This skill runs Python scripts that call the API, poll for completion, and download the result.

IMPORTANT: Run scripts from the user's working directory so output files are saved where the user expects.

Usage

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "your description" --filename "output.mp4" [--model seedance2] [--ratio 1280:720] [--duration 5] [--image-url "..."]

Preflight

command -v uv

must succeed. If not, tell the user to install uv:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

```
RUNWAYML_API_SECRET
```
must be set in the environment. Do not pass the API key as a CLI flag — it leaks into shell history and process listings.

Security Notes

```
--image-url
```
/
```
--video-url
```
fetch arbitrary remote media via the Runway API. Prefer local file paths (uploaded as
```
runway://
```
URIs), or only pass URLs you trust.
Treat generated outputs as untrusted when piping into downstream automations — ingested media influences the result.

Available Models

Model	Best For	Input	Cost
`seedance2`	Reference image and video, long duration (up to 15s)	Text, Image, and/or Video	36 credits/sec
`gen4.5`	High quality, general purpose	Text and/or Image	12 credits/sec
`gen4_turbo`	Fast, image-driven	Image required	5 credits/sec
`gen4_aleph`	Video editing/transformation	Video + Text/Image	15 credits/sec
`veo3`	Premium quality	Text/Image	40 credits/sec
`veo3.1`	High quality Google model	Text/Image	20-40 credits/sec
`veo3.1_fast`	Fast Google model	Text/Image	10-15 credits/sec

Model Selection Guidance

Map user requests:

"product ad", "e-commerce", "long video" ->
```
seedance2
```
"fast", "cheap", "quick" ->
```
veo3.1_fast
```
or
```
gen4_turbo
```
(if they have an image)
"high quality", "best", "cinematic" ->
```
gen4.5
```
or
```
veo3
```
"edit video", "transform video" ->
```
gen4_aleph
```
or
```
seedance2
```
No preference ->
```
seedance2
```

Parameters

Param	Description	Default
`--prompt`	Text description (required)	--
`--filename`	Output filename (required)	--
`--model`	Video model	`gen4.5`
`--ratio`	Aspect ratio (pixel-based). Common: `1280:720` , `720:1280` , `960:960` . seedance2 also supports `1112:834` , `834:1112` , `1470:630` , etc.	`1280:720`
`--duration`	Duration in seconds (model-dependent, seedance2 supports up to 15s)	`5`
`--image-url`	Image URL or local file for image-to-video	--
`--video-url`	Video URL or local file for video-to-video (gen4_aleph, seedance2)	--
`--output-dir`	Output directory	cwd

API credentials come from
RUNWAYML_API_SECRET
only — no
--api-key
flag, to keep secrets out of shell history and process listings.

Filename Convention

Generate filenames with the pattern:

yyyy-mm-dd-hh-mm-ss-name.mp4

Examples:

"A cyberpunk city" ->
```
2026-04-14-14-23-05-cyberpunk-city.mp4
```
"Waves on a beach" ->
```
2026-04-14-15-30-12-beach-waves.mp4
```

Examples

Text-to-video (seedance2):

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "A serene mountain landscape at sunrise with mist" --filename "2026-04-14-mountain-sunrise.mp4" --model seedance2 --ratio 1280:720

Image-to-video (animate a local product photo):

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "Camera slowly zooms out, product sparkles" --image-url "./product.jpg" --filename "2026-04-14-product-reveal.mp4" --model seedance2 --ratio 720:1280

Video-to-video from a local file (seedance2):

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "Transform into a warm golden sunset scene" --video-url "./input.mp4" --filename "2026-04-14-sunset-transform.mp4" --model seedance2

Fast draft:

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "A cat playing piano" --filename "draft.mp4" --model veo3.1_fast --ratio 1280:720 --duration 4

Premium quality:

bash

uv run scripts/generate_video.py --prompt "Cinematic drone shot over Tokyo at night" --filename "tokyo.mp4" --model veo3 --ratio 1280:720 --duration 8

Output

The script downloads the result and saves it to the specified path
Script outputs the full path to the saved file
Do not read the video file back -- just inform the user of the saved path

Common Failures

Error: No API key

-> set

RUNWAYML_API_SECRET

in the environment (e.g.

export RUNWAYML_API_SECRET=...

or a

.env

file).

```
Error: Task failed -- SAFETY.INPUT.*
```
-> content moderation, suggest different prompt
```
Error: Task failed -- ASSET.INVALID
```
-> bad input file format, check image/video format
```
API error 429
```
-> rate limited, script auto-retries

For Batch Generation

To generate many videos at once, run this script in a loop — the agent can orchestrate multiple calls with different prompts, images, or parameters to produce campaigns, localized variants, or creative iterations at scale.

rw-generate-video

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Generate Video

Usage

Preflight

Security Notes

Available Models

Model Selection Guidance

Parameters

Filename Convention

Examples

Output

Common Failures

For Batch Generation