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1. What is the Opus Clip API?

The Opus Clip API is a server-side interface that lets you send long-form video and receive AI-generated short clips tailored for social media. It’s designed to slot into your own app, CMS, or workflow so you can automate clipping at scale instead of editing everything manually.

Each video you submit becomes a project, and the API gives you endpoints to:

• Create new clipping projects from video URLs or uploads

• Configure curation rules (durations, topics, models, etc.)

• Control layout, captions, and other rendering preferences

• Fetch the resulting clips and their metadata

• Manage brand templates and sharing

• Receive status updates via webhooks

Think of it as a programmable version of the OpusClip editor, tuned for automation and large-scale output.

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2. Key Capabilities of the Opus Clip API

2.1 AI clipping from long videos

The core of the Opus Clip API is its ability to analyze long-form content and extract highlight moments, turning them into short, social-ready clips. The API’s POST /clip-projects endpoint accepts a video URL (YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, Zoom, Twitch, Facebook, X, S3 MP4 links, and more).

Behind the scenes, OpusClip:

• Detects strong “hooks” and segments

• Picks clip durations you define

• Creates a set of shorts optimized for virality and watch-time

2.2 Curation models: ClipBasic vs. ClipAnything

You can choose different curation models:

• ClipBasic – optimized for talking-head content with precise scene selection.

• ClipAnything – a more advanced multimodal model for any type of footage (sports, vlogs, TV, music videos, news, etc.), using prompts and object/action understanding to find key moments.

Configuration happens via curationPref fields, where you can set:

• Target clip durations

• Topic keywords (ClipBasic)

• Ranges within the source video

• Whether to skip clipping entirely and just process the full video

2.3 Brand templates and visual consistency

The API supports brand templates so all generated clips match your brand (or your clients’ brands) without manual editing. You can:

• Configure templates (fonts, colors, caption style, etc.) in the dashboard

• Pass a brandTemplateId when creating projects

• Let OpusClip fall back to your default template if none is specified

This is ideal if you’re an agency, SaaS platform, or media company producing clips for multiple brands.

2.4 Advanced render preferences

Through renderPref, you can control:

• Aspect ratio – portrait, square, landscape, etc.

• Caption behavior – including animated subtitles

• Quickstart configs – for example, automatically removing filler words (like “um” and “uh”) to clean up dialogue.

These render options let you tailor clips for TikTok, Reels, Shorts, LinkedIn, and more without re-editing.

2.5 Multilingual support and import preferences

The API supports 20+ languages and lets you explicitly set the source language via import preferences, which helps transcription and captioning quality for non-English content.

2.6 Webhooks and automation

You can attach webhooks or email notifications inside conclusionActions so your system is notified when processing is finished or when a job fails.

Typical flows:

• Receive webhook → grab clips via GET /clips → push into your app feed or CMS

• Receive failure notification → log error / trigger retry

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3. Core API Workflow: How It Fits Into Your Stack

The Opus Clip API reference defines a clean set of building blocks: Projects, Clips, BrandTemplates, Collections, Webhooks, and Censor Jobs.

A typical integration looks like this:

Step 1 – Get access and API key

Once you’re approved, you’ll find your organization’s API key in the lower-left area of the OpusClip dashboard.

Step 2 – Create a project from a video

Use POST https://api.opus.pro/api/clip-projects to submit a video:

• videoUrl: where the video is hosted

• Optional brandTemplateId: for a preset or custom look

• curationPref: clip durations, model, topics, ranges

• renderPref: layout, caption & audio config

• importPreference: language and other import details

• conclusionActions: webhooks/emails to fire on completion.

Step 3 – Monitor job and fetch clips

Once the project is accepted:

• Poll clip status via GET Get Clips in the API reference

• Or rely on your webhook to know when everything’s ready.

You’ll receive:

• Clip URLs or downloadable assets

• Metadata (timestamps, durations, titles, etc.)

• Links you can pass straight into your player, CDN, or publishing pipeline

Step 4 – Manage brand templates & sharing

Use the BrandTemplates and Share a Project endpoints to:

• Fetch available templates for UI dropdowns

• Share projects programmatically with collaborators or other workspaces.

Step 5 – Feed your own product or app

From here, you’re free to:

• Publish clips to your own TikTok-style feed or creator dashboard

• Attach them to CRM or email campaigns

• Pipe them into social schedulers and analytics tools

OpusClip itself supports native publishing to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts in its product, which shows how well it fits cross-platform workflows.

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4. Access, Pricing & Availability

As of late 2025, Opus Clip API access is not fully open self-serve:

• The API is described as “currently in closed beta”.

• It is offered only to paid large-volume annual Pro plan users, specifically those on plans with 20+ packs annually.

• To be considered, you must apply via their contact form.

On the API pricing side, the API documentation mentions:

• You need sufficient credits, and

• 1 credit equals 1 minute of video processing, with limits on duration, size, and concurrency.

Because access terms and pricing can change, you should always:

1. Check the API overview and limitations pages.

2. Contact OpusClip directly if you’re planning a high-volume or enterprise-grade integration.

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5. Limits & Technical Considerations

From the official API overview:

• Rate limit: ~30 requests per minute per API key.

• Video duration: up to 10 hours per video.

• Max file size: around 30 GB.

• Concurrency: up to 50 projects running at the same time.

• Storage: projects typically expire after 30 days by default (auto-save can keep them longer depending on your plan).

For a robust integration, you’ll want to:

• Implement retry logic for rate limits or transient errors.

• Queue incoming jobs if you’re at risk of hitting concurrency caps.

• Track credits and storage usage to avoid unexpected failures.

• Log webhook events and reconcile them with your own job records.

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6. Who Should Use the Opus Clip API?

The official marketing page calls out several target users, and they align well with real-world use cases:

• Developers & SaaS founders – building creator tools, dashboards, or automation products.

• Media & news companies – turning shows, interviews, and broadcasts into feeds of clips.

• Agencies & marketing teams – mass-producing branded clips for multiple clients.

• Podcasters & livestream platforms – auto-clipping highlights for clips channels and social.

• Creator platforms & marketplaces – offering “AI clipping” as a built-in feature.

If you already use OpusClip’s web app and are bumping into usage or workflow limits, the API is the natural next step.

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7. Integration Ideas & Example Use Cases

Here are concrete ways to use the Opus Clip API in your own products:

1. YouTube automation dashboard

   • Users connect their channels.

   • Your backend auto-ingests new uploads, sends them to OpusClip, and populates a queue of Shorts and Reels clips ready to post.

2. News or sports app feed

   • Send shows, matches, or live streams to OpusClip.

   • Use returned highlights to populate a TikTok-style vertical feed, updated in near real-time.

3. Podcast platform

   • Generate multiple vertical clips per episode, each with captioned hooks.

   • Expose them as embeddable snippets or promotional assets creators can share.

4. Agency client portal

   • Let clients upload long video assets.

   • Behind the scenes, you call the API with different brand templates per client, and deliver “done-for-you” social clips directly in the portal.

5. Education / course platforms

   • Students or instructors upload lectures or webinars.

   • Your integration generates short, captioned clips for marketing, summaries, or micro-lessons.

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8. Best Practices for Using the Opus Clip API

To get the most out of the Opus Clip API, keep these guidelines in mind:

• Tune curation preferences per content type

  • Use ClipBasic for standard interviews and talking-head content.

  • Switch to ClipAnything for dynamic, multi-scene footage (sports, vlogs, music videos, etc.).

• Standardize brand templates

  • Pre-configure templates for each client or channel in the dashboard and store template IDs in your database.

  • This ensures every clip you generate is on-brand without extra work.

• Respect limits and plan for scale

  • Implement backoff when you approach rate limits.

  • Batch your project creation so you stay under concurrency caps.

• Use webhooks for reliability

  • Webhooks drastically reduce polling and let you react instantly when clips are ready or when a project fails.

• Handle language explicitly

  • For non-English content, always set the sourceLang import preference to improve transcription and captions.

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9. Quick Start Checklist

If you’re ready to build with the Opus Clip API, here’s a concise checklist:

1. Apply for API access (closed beta, large-volume Pro users only).

2. Get your API key from the OpusClip dashboard.

3. Set up brand templates and default settings for your workspace.

4. Implement POST /clip-projects with:

   • videoUrl

   • curationPref (model, durations, topics)

   • renderPref (aspect ratio, caption behavior, etc.)

   • importPreference (language)

   • conclusionActions (webhooks)

5. Create a worker that:

   • Listens for webhooks

   • Calls GET /clips to fetch results

   • Stores URLs and metadata

6. Wire clips into your product (feeds, schedulers, dashboards, or export tools).

7. Monitor credits, rate limits, and errors and adjust your workload accordingly.

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Top 25 FAQs About the Opus Clip API (With Clear, Updated Answers)

1. Does Opus Clip actually have an API for automation?

Answer: Yes. Opus Clip offers an official OpusClip API that lets you send long-form videos and get back AI-generated short clips, captions, and social-ready exports programmatically.

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2. Is the Opus Clip API open to everyone or in closed beta?

Answer: Access is currently limited. Third-party docs and integration pages note that you generally need to be on a large-volume annual Pro plan (around 20+ packs per year) and apply for API access, which functions like a closed beta for higher-spend customers.

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3. How do I get an Opus Clip API key?

Answer: After your account is approved for API use, you can find your organization’s API key in the OpusClip dashboard—usually in the lower-left area or under an API / integrations section. You paste this key into your app or no-code connector (Make/Zapier, etc.) to authenticate requests.

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4. What can I actually do with the Opus Clip API?

Answer: The API lets you:

• Create “clip projects” from video URLs or uploads

• Configure clipping rules (durations, models, topics)

• Control captions, layout, aspect ratios, and brand templates

• Fetch generated clips and metadata

• Share projects and manage templates at scale

It’s designed to power an autonomous video pipeline for Shorts/Reels/TikTok content.

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5. What are the main rate limits and technical caps?

Answer: According to the limitations page, the default limits are:

• 30 requests per minute per API key

• Up to 50 projects processing at the same time

• Maximum video duration: 10 hours

• Maximum file size: 30 GB

• Projects typically expire after 30 days unless auto-save/storage settings keep them longer.

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6. Is the Opus Clip API priced separately, or does it use the same credits/minutes as the app?

Answer: The API uses the same credit/minute model as the core platform: you need enough credits in your account before submitting new projects. Some reviews and guides describe this as a way to create shorts “at scale with ease,” but pricing details and packs are tied to your main Opus Clip subscription. Always check the current pricing page or talk to sales for exact numbers.

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7. Can I use the Opus Clip API with Make.com, Zapier, or other no-code tools?

Answer: Yes. Community-built apps on Make.com and similar platforms expose modules like “Create Project”, “Get Clips”, “Get Brand Templates”, and “Custom API Call” that sit on top of OpusClip’s official endpoints. You still need an API key and usually must be on a qualifying paid plan to use them.

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8. Does the API support multiple languages for captions?

Answer: Yes. Marketing pages highlight that OpusClip can auto-generate captions and reframes in 20+ languages, and this multilingual capability is available through the API too, via import and caption preferences when you create a project.

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9. Can I clip livestreams or real-time events via the API?

Answer: OpusClip promotes that the API can detect, clip, and post key moments from livestreams in near real time, which is especially useful for streamers and event organizers. Implementation details vary, but in practice you send either the recorded stream or chunked segments into the API and hook it up to your publishing stack.

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10. How do brand templates work with the API?

Answer: Brand templates are presets for logos, fonts, colors, caption styles, and intros/outros. Through the API you can fetch available templates, choose one by ID, and apply it to clip projects, which keeps clips on-brand across clients, shows, or channels without manual editing.

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11. Can the Opus Clip API post directly to TikTok, Reels, or YouTube Shorts?

Answer: The platform itself supports workflow integration and scheduled posting to multiple social channels, and its docs mention using developer APIs of TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and X for the scheduler. When you build your own integration, you typically use OpusClip’s API only to generate clips, then call each social network’s own API (or a scheduler) to publish them.

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12. How reliable is the API? Do people see downtime?

Answer: Older Reddit threads mention occasional upload failures and slow support from earlier days of the product, but more recent discussions and case studies focus on the API being used by TV networks, YouTubers, and enterprises at scale. As with any SaaS API, you should still implement retries and error handling around rate limits or transient failures.

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13. What kind of content is the API best for—podcasts, webinars, vlogs?

Answer: OpusClip is strongest with long-form video that has clear speech and moments of interest—webinars, podcasts with video, interviews, talk shows, educational content, and event recordings. The API is optimized to repurpose that into short-form clips rather than creating videos from scratch.

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14. Is there an official “Opus Clip API” SDK?

Answer: As of now, OpusClip focuses on REST API documentation, not an official multi-language SDK. Many teams call the HTTP endpoints directly or wrap them in their own internal client, and no-code platforms provide their own connectors on top.

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15. Can I fully control clip length and number of clips via the API?

Answer: Yes, to a point. When you create a project you can specify clip duration ranges, preferred models, and other curation preferences, and the system generates multiple clips that try to fit those rules. However, as Redditors often note, you still need to review outputs because AI doesn’t always pick the perfect moments.

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16. How does the API handle storage and expiration of projects?

Answer: By default, projects created via the API expire after about 30 days, according to the limitations doc. If your account has auto-save enabled and extra storage, OpusClip can keep projects longer, but you should still download or move clips you need to permanent storage (S3, GCS, etc.).

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17. Is the Opus Clip API good enough to replace manual editors?

Answer: Most Reddit users see it as a massive time-saver, not a full replacement. It’s great at finding highlight moments and laying down captions, but many editors still tweak framing, trim clips, or re-cut sequences after the fact—especially for high-stakes brand work. The API shines when you need lots of clips quickly that you can later refine.

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18. How does Opus Clip API compare with competitors like Pictory, Munch, or Clipsmagic?

Answer: Comparisons vary, but reviews often say OpusClip’s strengths are AI clipping quality, branding, and automation, especially with its API and integrations; some creators prefer other tools for more granular editing or different pricing. A few Reddit threads recommend alternatives like Clipsmagic for specific workflows, so the “best” choice depends on your budget, editing needs, and how much custom control you want.

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19. Can I manage team workflows and multiple brands through the API?

Answer: Yes. OpusClip’s team workspace and brand template features are designed for agencies and businesses; the API lets advanced users integrate those templates with their own CMS or DAM, so different clients or shows can each have standardized styling and clip pipelines.

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20. Is there any “official” documentation beginners should start with?

Answer: The best starting point is OpusClip’s API Overview and API Requests / Limitations pages in the Help Center. They walk through authentication, key endpoints, and constraints before you dive into more advanced topics like brand templates and webhook-based workflows.

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21. Are there examples of companies actually using the Opus Clip API in production?

Answer: Yes. OpusClip’s own marketing highlights usage by a major Spanish-language TV network, a top science YouTuber with 70M+ subs, and a top 20 livestreamer who used the API to clip event highlights for over 1.4M viewers. These case studies show the API is being used for real, high-volume pipelines.

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22. Does the API support advanced features like virality scores or autoposting?

Answer: The virality score and autoposting features are part of OpusClip’s broader product, and some of that metadata and scheduling logic can be integrated via API or via official integrations. Exact access depends on your plan and integration method, so most developers still build their own scheduling logic and just use OpusClip for clipping and captions.

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23. What happens if I hit the API rate limit or concurrency cap?

Answer: If you exceed 30 requests per minute or 50 concurrent projects, the API returns HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests). Recommended best practice is to implement exponential backoff, queue new jobs, and monitor your usage so you don’t hammer the API during peak times.

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24. Is using Opus Clip API safe for client data and compliance?

Answer: OpusClip markets enterprise-grade security (SOC 2 Type II) and positions its API as suitable for professional creators, agencies, and media companies. Still, you should review their security/privacy docs and, if needed, sign data-processing agreements for sensitive or regulated industries.

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25. Where can I learn more or see unofficial guides on the Opus Clip API?

Answer: Besides OpusClip’s own docs, there are several blog guides and tutorials that break down real-world automation setups—how to wire OpusClip API into CMS systems, how to combine it with Zapier/Make, and how to design full clipping workflows. Searching for “Opus Clip API guide” or “Opus Pro API workflow” surfaces walkthroughs from independent creators and tool reviewers.

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