Name: Video to Frames API: Extract PNG Frames from Video
Brand: magicapi
SKU: api-magicapi-video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames
Availability: InStock
Author: API Market

Shashank Agarwal

# 🎞️ Video to Frames Extractor API (fofr video-to-frames)

## Overview
This API splits a video into still frames. Send a `video` URL and it returns a list of PNG image URLs, one per extracted frame.

By default it takes 1 frame per second of video (`fps`). Set `extract_all_frames` to `true` to get every frame of the video instead.

## Features
- **Frames per second**: `fps` (default 1, minimum 1) sets how many images are taken per second of video.
- **Every frame**: `extract_all_frames` returns every frame and ignores `fps`. Its developer notes this is slow for large videos.
- **PNG output**: each frame is returned as a PNG image URL, in order.

## Use Cases
1. **Thumbnails**: pick a still from a video to use as a cover or preview image.
2. **Video review**: scan the content of a clip one frame per second without playing it.
3. **Dataset preparation**: turn video clips into image sets for labelling or training.
4. **Image pipelines**: feed individual frames into other image tools, such as captioning or background removal.

## Visual Examples
### Example Input
[Watch the example input video](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-input-api-market.mp4)

Settings: `fps` 1 (`extract_all_frames` left at `false`).

### Example Output
The request returned 11 PNG frames. The first three:

![Frame 1 extracted from the example video](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-1-z16gxdgk-api-market.png)

![Frame 2 extracted from the example video](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-2-z16gxdgk-api-market.png)

![Frame 3 extracted from the example video](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-3-z16gxdgk-api-market.png)

The full list of 11 frame URLs is shown in the status response below.

## Input Parameters
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `video` | string (URL) | Yes |  |  | Video to split into frames |
| `fps` | integer | No | `1` | 1 or more | Number of images per second of video, when not exporting all frames |
| `extract_all_frames` | boolean | No | `false` |  | Get every frame of the video. Ignores `fps`. Slow for large videos |

## Pricing
- **Pay As You Go (PAYG) pricing**: you only pay for what you use.
- **Price**: $0.0024 per API unit.
- **1 API unit = 1 successful request with up to 21 seconds of processing.** A request that runs longer is billed one more unit for each started 21-second block (for example, 30 seconds of processing is 2 units, $0.0048). Long videos, a high `fps` or `extract_all_frames` take longer to process.
- The example request above took 1.9 seconds of processing, which is 1 unit, so it cost $0.0024.
- **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/video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames`

### 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/video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames/predictions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "version": "ad9374d1b385c86948506b3ad287af9fca23e796685221782d9baa2bc43f14a9",
    "input": {
      "fps": 1,
      "video": "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-input-api-market.mp4"
    }
  }'
```

Response (201 Created):
```json
{
  "id": "z16gxdgkadrmt0d1d8fssa9ncg",
  "version": "ad9374d1b385c86948506b3ad287af9fca23e796685221782d9baa2bc43f14a9",
  "status": "starting",
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T18:56:24.056Z"
}
```

#### Check Prediction Status
```bash
curl -X GET "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames/predictions/{id}" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
```

Response when the prediction has finished (200 OK):
```json
{
  "id": "z16gxdgkadrmt0d1d8fssa9ncg",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "output": [
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-1-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-2-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-3-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-4-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-5-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-6-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-7-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-8-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-9-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-10-z16gxdgk-api-market.png",
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-output-11-z16gxdgk-api-market.png"
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-10-23T18:56:24.056Z",
  "started_at": "2026-10-23T18:56:25.056Z",
  "completed_at": "2026-10-23T18:56:29.056Z"
}
```

`output` is an array of PNG image URLs, one per extracted frame, in the order they appear in the 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 missing `video` or an `fps` below 1.
- **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/video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames";

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: "ad9374d1b385c86948506b3ad287af9fca23e796685221782d9baa2bc43f14a9", 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({
  "fps": 1,
  "video": "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-input-api-market.mp4"
}).then((frames) => console.log(`${frames.length} frames`, frames));
```

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

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/video-frame-extractor-fofr-video-to-frames"


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": "ad9374d1b385c86948506b3ad287af9fca23e796685221782d9baa2bc43f14a9", "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")


frames = create_and_wait_for_prediction({
    "fps": 1,
    "video": "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/video-to-frames-input-api-market.mp4"
})
print(len(frames), "frames")
for url in frames:
    print(url)
```

## FAQ
- **How many frames will I get?**
  - About `fps` frames per second of video. The example used `fps` 1 and returned 11 frames. With `extract_all_frames` set to `true` you get every frame.
- **What format are the frames?**
  - PNG. `output` is an array of image URLs in video order.
- **Can I pick frames at a fraction of a frame per second?**
  - No. `fps` is an integer with a minimum of 1.
- **How is a request billed?**
  - By processing time: $0.0024 covers up to 21 seconds of processing, and each further started 21-second block adds one unit. The number of frames returned does not change the price by itself.
- **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, check that the video URL is reachable 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.


Extract still PNG frames from a video URL, one or more per second or every frame. $0.0024 per request up to 21 seconds of processing, pay as you go.