Name: Text2Video-Zero API: Zero-Shot Text to Video
Brand: magicapi
SKU: api-magicapi-text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero
Availability: InStock
Author: API Market

Shashank Agarwal

# 🎬 Text-to-Video Generator API (cjwbw Text2Video-Zero)

## Overview
Text2Video-Zero turns a text-to-image diffusion model into a video generator without extra training. Its developer describes the method as "text-to-image diffusion models are zero-shot video generators".

Send a text `prompt` and the model returns the URL of one short MP4 clip. You choose the image model it builds on (`model_name`), the clip length (`video_length`), the frame rate (`fps`) and how much the scene moves between frames (`motion_field_strength_x`, `motion_field_strength_y`, `timestep_t0`, `timestep_t1`).

## Features
- **Text to video**: describe a scene in `prompt` and get a short animated clip.
- **Choice of base model**: `model_name` takes a Stable Diffusion model ID from Hugging Face (default `dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0`).
- **Length and frame rate**: `video_length` (default `20`) and `fps` (default `4`).
- **Motion control**: `motion_field_strength_x` and `motion_field_strength_y` (each -20 to 20, default `12`) set the camera-like motion across the frame.
- **Frame variance**: `timestep_t0` and `timestep_t1` (defaults `44` and `47`) set the denoising range; a larger gap gives more variation between frames. `timestep_t0` must be lower than `timestep_t1`.
- **Negative prompt and seed**: list what to avoid in `negative_prompt`, and set `seed` to repeat a result.

## Use Cases
1. **Short animated clips** from a one-line scene description.
2. **Motion tests and storyboards**: try a scene with different motion strengths before producing it another way.
3. **Stylized loops**: pick a base image model with a particular look and animate prompts in that style.

## Visual Examples
### Example Input
Prompt: "A horse galloping on a street"

Settings: `model_name` `dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0`, `video_length` `8`, `fps` `4`, `timestep_t0` `44`, `timestep_t1` `47`, `motion_field_strength_x` `12`, `motion_field_strength_y` `12`.

### Example Output
[Watch the example output](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/text2video-zero-output-wfspm0rj-api-market.mp4)

## Input Parameters
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `model_name` | string | No | `dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0` |  | Base image model to use. The model must be available on Hugging Face |
| `prompt` | string | No | `A horse galloping on a street` |  | Input prompt |
| `negative_prompt` | string | No | `""` |  | Negative prompt |
| `timestep_t0` | integer | No | `44` |  | Perform DDPM steps from t0 to t1. The larger the gap between t0 and t1, the more variance between the frames. Ensure t0 < t1 |
| `timestep_t1` | integer | No | `47` |  | Perform DDPM steps from t0 to t1. The larger the gap between t0 and t1, the more variance between the frames. Ensure t0 < t1 |
| `motion_field_strength_x` | integer | No | `12` | -20 to 20 | Strength of the motion field along the x axis |
| `motion_field_strength_y` | integer | No | `12` | -20 to 20 | Strength of the motion field along the y axis |
| `video_length` | integer | No | `20` |  | Video length in seconds |
| `fps` | integer | No | `4` |  | Video frames per second |
| `seed` | integer | No | random |  | Random seed. Leave blank to randomize the seed |

## Pricing
- **Pay As You Go (PAYG) pricing**: you only pay for what you use.
- **Price**: $0.175 per API unit.
- **1 API unit = 1 successful request with up to 112 seconds of processing.** A longer job bills one more unit for each started block of 112 seconds (for example, 150 seconds of processing is 2 units, $0.35).
- Processing time grows with `video_length` and `fps`.
- **Example cost**: the example request (`video_length` 8, `fps` 4) took 67.8 seconds of processing, which is 1 unit, so $0.175.
- **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/text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero`

### 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 2 seconds and an overall timeout of 900 seconds (15 minutes) work well.

### Endpoints

#### Create a Prediction
```bash
curl -X POST "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero/predictions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "version": "e671ffe4e976c0ec813f15a9836ebcfd08857ac2669af6917e3c2549307f9fae",
    "input": {
      "fps": 4,
      "prompt": "A horse galloping on a street",
      "model_name": "dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0",
      "timestep_t0": 44,
      "timestep_t1": 47,
      "video_length": 8,
      "motion_field_strength_x": 12,
      "motion_field_strength_y": 12
    }
  }'
```

Response (201 Created):
```json
{
  "id": "wfspm0rjb1rne0d1d8ebe07sag",
  "version": "e671ffe4e976c0ec813f15a9836ebcfd08857ac2669af6917e3c2549307f9fae",
  "status": "starting",
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T18:53:07.220Z"
}
```

#### Check Prediction Status
```bash
curl -X GET "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero/predictions/{id}" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
```

Response when the prediction has finished (200 OK):
```json
{
  "id": "wfspm0rjb1rne0d1d8ebe07sag",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "output": "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/text2video-zero-output-wfspm0rj-api-market.mp4",
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T18:53:07.220Z",
  "started_at": "2026-10-23T18:53:08.220Z",
  "completed_at": "2026-10-23T18:54:08.220Z"
}
```

`output` is a single URL string 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 `motion_field_strength_x` outside -20 to 20.
- **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.
- A `model_name` that cannot be loaded, or a `timestep_t0` that is not lower than `timestep_t1`, makes the prediction fail.
- 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/text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero";

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: "e671ffe4e976c0ec813f15a9836ebcfd08857ac2669af6917e3c2549307f9fae", 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 = 900000;
  const pollInterval = 2000;
  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 15 minutes");
}

createAndWaitForPrediction({
  "fps": 4,
  "prompt": "A horse galloping on a street",
  "model_name": "dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0",
  "timestep_t0": 44,
  "timestep_t1": 47,
  "video_length": 8,
  "motion_field_strength_x": 12,
  "motion_field_strength_y": 12
}).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/text-to-video-generator-cjwbw-text2video-zero"


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": "e671ffe4e976c0ec813f15a9836ebcfd08857ac2669af6917e3c2549307f9fae", "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 = 900
    poll_interval = 2
    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 15 minutes")


print(create_and_wait_for_prediction({
    "fps": 4,
    "prompt": "A horse galloping on a street",
    "model_name": "dreamlike-art/dreamlike-photoreal-2.0",
    "timestep_t0": 44,
    "timestep_t1": 47,
    "video_length": 8,
    "motion_field_strength_x": 12,
    "motion_field_strength_y": 12
}))
```

## FAQ
- **How do I make the clip longer or smoother?**
  - Raise `video_length` for a longer clip and `fps` for more frames per second. Both increase processing time, which can add API units.
- **How do I change the amount of motion?**
  - Use `motion_field_strength_x` and `motion_field_strength_y` (integers from -20 to 20, default 12) to set the motion along each axis, and widen the gap between `timestep_t0` and `timestep_t1` for more variation between frames.
- **Can I use a different visual style?**
  - Yes. Set `model_name` to another Stable Diffusion model ID available on Hugging Face. If the model cannot be loaded, the prediction fails and is not billed.
- **What does one request cost?**
  - $0.175 when processing takes up to 112 seconds, plus one more unit for each further started 112-second block.
- **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 short MP4 clips from text with Text2Video-Zero, choosing the base image model, clip length, frame rate and motion strength.