Name: LTX-Video API: Text and Image to Video by Lightricks
Brand: magicapi
SKU: api-magicapi-high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video
Availability: InStock
Author: API Market

Shashank Agarwal

# 🎬 Text-to-Video Generator API (Lightricks LTX-Video)

## Overview
LTX-Video is a video generation model from Lightricks. Its developer describes it as a DiT-based model that produces 24 FPS video at 768x512 faster than it can be watched.

Send a long, descriptive text `prompt` to generate a video. Add an optional `image` to use as the first frame. Each request returns a list with the URL of one MP4 video.

## Features
- **Text-to-video**: generate a video from a detailed text prompt.
- **Image-to-video**: pass an `image` to use as the starting frame; `image_noise_scale` sets how closely the video sticks to it.
- **Length**: `length` of 97 (default), 129, 161, 193, 225 or 257 frames.
- **Size and shape**: `target_size` from 512 to 1024 pixels and 13 `aspect_ratio` values (ignored when an image is sent).
- **Model choice**: `model` `0.9.1` (default) or `0.9`.
- **Control**: `cfg` (1 to 20), `steps` (1 to 50), `negative_prompt` and `seed`.

## Use Cases
1. **Short clips from descriptions**: product shots, scenery and B-roll from a written scene description.
2. **Animating a still image**: start a clip from a photo or illustration with `image`.
3. **Social formats**: vertical `9:16` or square `1:1` clips.
4. **Storyboards**: quick previews of camera moves and scenes before a shoot.

## Visual Examples
### Example Input
The example asks for a 97-frame, 16:9 close-up of two women in warm evening light.

```json
{
  "cfg": 3,
  "steps": 30,
  "length": 97,
  "prompt": "A woman with long brown hair and light skin smiles at another woman with long blonde hair. The woman with brown hair wears a black jacket and has a small, barely noticeable mole on her right cheek. The camera angle is a close-up, focused on the woman with brown hair's face. The lighting is warm and natural, likely from the setting sun, casting a soft glow on the scene. The scene appears to be real-life footage.",
  "target_size": 640,
  "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
  "negative_prompt": "low quality, worst quality, deformed, distorted, watermark"
}
```

### Example Output
[Watch the example output](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ltx-video-output-y766t06d-api-market.mp4)

## Input Parameters
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `prompt` | string | No | `best quality, 4k, HDR, a tracking shot of a beautiful scene` |  | Text prompt for the video. The model needs long, descriptive prompts; short prompts give lower quality. |
| `negative_prompt` | string | No | `low quality, worst quality, deformed, distorted` |  | Things you do not want to see in the video. |
| `image` | string (URL) | No | none |  | Optional image URL (jpeg, png, gif or webp) to use as the starting frame. |
| `image_noise_scale` | number | No | `0.15` | 0 to 1 | Lower values stick more closely to the input image. |
| `target_size` | integer | No | `640` | `512`, `576`, `640`, `704`, `768`, `832`, `896`, `960`, `1024` | Target size of the output video in pixels. |
| `aspect_ratio` | string | No | `3:2` | `1:1`, `1:2`, `2:1`, `2:3`, `3:2`, `3:4`, `4:3`, `4:5`, `5:4`, `9:16`, `16:9`, `9:21`, `21:9` | Aspect ratio of the output video. Ignored when an image is sent. |
| `cfg` | number | No | `3` | 1 to 20 | How strongly the video follows the prompt. |
| `steps` | integer | No | `30` | 1 to 50 | Number of inference steps. |
| `length` | integer | No | `97` | `97`, `129`, `161`, `193`, `225`, `257` | Length of the output video in frames. |
| `model` | string | No | `0.9.1` | `0.9.1`, `0.9` | Model version to use. |
| `seed` | integer | No | none |  | Seed for reproducible results. Random when omitted. |

## Pricing
- **Pay As You Go (PAYG) pricing**: you only pay for what you use.
- **Price**: $0.105 per API unit.
- **1 API unit = 1 successful request** that uses up to 96 seconds of processing time. A request that needs more processing time is billed one more unit for each started block of 96 seconds (for example, 97 to 192 seconds of processing is 2 units, $0.21).
- Longer `length`, larger `target_size` and more `steps` take longer; a request that runs past 96 seconds of processing uses more than one unit.
- **Example cost**: the example request on this page used 16.8 seconds of processing, so it was billed 1 unit ($0.105).
- **Failed or cancelled predictions are not billed.**
- **GET requests to check prediction status** are free and don't count toward API unit usage.
- **No monthly subscription fee.**

## API Documentation

### Base URL
All API requests go to: `https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video`

### Authentication
Send your api.market API key in the `x-api-market-key` header:
```
x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY
```

### Asynchronous Processing
**IMPORTANT**: This API is asynchronous. The flow is:
1. Send a POST request to `/predictions`. A successful request returns **201 Created** with a prediction `id` and a `status` of `starting` or `processing`.
2. Poll GET `/predictions/{id}` with that ID.
3. Keep polling while `status` is `starting` or `processing`.
4. Stop when `status` is `succeeded` (read `output`), `failed` or `canceled` (read `error`).

A polling interval of 1 second and an overall timeout of 600 seconds (10 minutes) work well.

### Endpoints

#### Create a Prediction
```bash
curl -X POST "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video/predictions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "version": "8c47da666861d081eeb4d1261853087de23923a268a69b63febdf5dc1dee08e4",
    "input": {
      "cfg": 3,
      "steps": 30,
      "length": 97,
      "prompt": "A woman with long brown hair and light skin smiles at another woman with long blonde hair. The woman with brown hair wears a black jacket and has a small, barely noticeable mole on her right cheek. The camera angle is a close-up, focused on the woman with brown hair'\''s face. The lighting is warm and natural, likely from the setting sun, casting a soft glow on the scene. The scene appears to be real-life footage.",
      "target_size": 640,
      "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
      "negative_prompt": "low quality, worst quality, deformed, distorted, watermark"
    }
  }'
```

Response (201 Created):
```json
{
  "id": "y766t06dhhrmr0d1d11aqtw9hm",
  "version": "8c47da666861d081eeb4d1261853087de23923a268a69b63febdf5dc1dee08e4",
  "status": "starting",
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T10:16:11.152Z"
}
```

#### Check Prediction Status
```bash
curl -X GET "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video/predictions/{id}" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
```

Response when the prediction has finished (200 OK):
```json
{
  "id": "y766t06dhhrmr0d1d11aqtw9hm",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "output": [
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ltx-video-output-y766t06d-api-market.mp4"
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T10:16:11.152Z",
  "started_at": "2026-10-23T10:17:18.970Z",
  "completed_at": "2026-10-23T10:17:35.741Z"
}
```

`output` is a list with one URL pointing to the generated MP4 video.

### Status Codes
- **201 Created**: prediction created (POST `/predictions`). This is the normal success response.
- **200 OK**: prediction details returned (GET `/predictions/{id}`).
- **400 Bad Request**: invalid input, for example a `length` that is not one of the listed frame counts or a `target_size` that is not in the list.
- **401 Unauthorized**: missing or invalid API key.
- **404 Not Found**: no prediction with that ID.
- **429 Too Many Requests**: rate limit exceeded.
- **500 Internal Server Error** or **503 Service Unavailable**: temporary server problem; retry later.

## Rate Limits
All plans allow 10 requests per second. Requests above that return `429 Too Many Requests`; back off before retrying and honour any `Retry-After` header. Polling a prediction with GET is free but still counts toward the per-second limit, so poll every 1 to 5 seconds rather than in a tight loop.

## Error Handling
- Check the HTTP status code of every request and read the response body for the error message.
- A prediction can also end with `status` set to `failed`; the `error` field then explains why. Failed predictions are not billed.
- Retry 429, 500 and 503 responses with exponential backoff. Fix the input before retrying a 400.

## Implementation Guide
### Example Code

#### JavaScript
```javascript
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY";
const baseUrl = "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video";

async function createAndWaitForPrediction(input) {
  const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/predictions`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "x-api-market-key": apiKey
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ version: "8c47da666861d081eeb4d1261853087de23923a268a69b63febdf5dc1dee08e4", input })
  });

  if (response.status !== 201) {
    throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status} ${await response.text()}`);
  }

  const prediction = await response.json();
  return pollForResults(prediction.id);
}

const delay = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));

async function pollForResults(predictionId) {
  const maxTimeout = 600000;
  const pollInterval = 1000;
  const startTime = Date.now();

  while (Date.now() - startTime < maxTimeout) {
    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/predictions/${predictionId}`, {
      headers: { "x-api-market-key": apiKey }
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status} ${await response.text()}`);
    }

    const prediction = await response.json();

    if (prediction.status === "succeeded") {
      return prediction.output;
    }

    if (prediction.status === "failed" || prediction.status === "canceled") {
      throw new Error(`Prediction ${prediction.status}: ${prediction.error || "Unknown error"}`);
    }

    await delay(pollInterval);
  }

  throw new Error("Prediction timed out after 10 minutes");
}

createAndWaitForPrediction({
    "cfg": 3,
    "steps": 30,
    "length": 97,
    "prompt": "A woman with long brown hair and light skin smiles at another woman with long blonde hair. The woman with brown hair wears a black jacket and has a small, barely noticeable mole on her right cheek. The camera angle is a close-up, focused on the woman with brown hair's face. The lighting is warm and natural, likely from the setting sun, casting a soft glow on the scene. The scene appears to be real-life footage.",
    "target_size": 640,
    "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
    "negative_prompt": "low quality, worst quality, deformed, distorted, watermark"
  }).then((output) => console.log(output));
```

#### Python
```python
import time
import requests

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/high-quality-video-generation-lightricks-ltx-video"


def create_and_wait_for_prediction(input_data):
    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json", "x-api-market-key": API_KEY}
    response = requests.post(
        f"{BASE_URL}/predictions",
        headers=headers,
        json={"version": "8c47da666861d081eeb4d1261853087de23923a268a69b63febdf5dc1dee08e4", "input": input_data},
    )

    if response.status_code != 201:
        raise Exception(f"API error: {response.status_code} {response.text}")

    return poll_for_results(response.json()["id"])


def poll_for_results(prediction_id):
    max_timeout = 600
    poll_interval = 1
    headers = {"x-api-market-key": API_KEY}
    start_time = time.time()

    while time.time() - start_time < max_timeout:
        response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/predictions/{prediction_id}", headers=headers)

        if response.status_code != 200:
            raise Exception(f"API error: {response.status_code} {response.text}")

        prediction = response.json()

        if prediction["status"] == "succeeded":
            return prediction["output"]

        if prediction["status"] in ("failed", "canceled"):
            raise Exception(f"Prediction {prediction['status']}: {prediction.get('error') or 'Unknown error'}")

        time.sleep(poll_interval)

    raise Exception("Prediction timed out after 10 minutes")


print(create_and_wait_for_prediction({
    "cfg": 3,
    "steps": 30,
    "length": 97,
    "prompt": "A woman with long brown hair and light skin smiles at another woman with long blonde hair. The woman with brown hair wears a black jacket and has a small, barely noticeable mole on her right cheek. The camera angle is a close-up, focused on the woman with brown hair's face. The lighting is warm and natural, likely from the setting sun, casting a soft glow on the scene. The scene appears to be real-life footage.",
    "target_size": 640,
    "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
    "negative_prompt": "low quality, worst quality, deformed, distorted, watermark"
}))
```

## FAQ
- **How long is the video?**
  - It depends on `length` (97 to 257 frames). Its developer describes the output as 24 FPS, so 97 frames is about 4 seconds and 257 frames about 10.7 seconds.
- **Why does a short prompt give a poor video?**
  - The model needs long, descriptive prompts. Describe the subject, action, camera angle, lighting and setting.
- **Can I start from my own image?**
  - Yes. Pass it as `image`. `aspect_ratio` is then ignored, and `image_noise_scale` sets how closely the video follows the image.
- **Is the 201 response from POST an error?**
  - No. 201 Created means the prediction was accepted. Use the returned `id` to poll GET `/predictions/{id}` until `status` is `succeeded`, `failed` or `canceled`.
- **What if my prediction fails?**
  - Failed predictions are not billed. Read the `error` field, adjust the input and try again.

## Contact Us
If you have any questions, reach out to us through the chat on the bottom right of the page. You can also email our support team at hello@magicapi.com.


Generate videos from text or a starting image with Lightricks LTX-Video, 97 to 257 frames per clip. $0.105 per API unit, pay as you go.