heygen

Original skill document

Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.

HeyGen API (Deprecated)

This skill is deprecated. Use the focused skills instead: - `create-video` — Generate videos from a text prompt (Video Agent API) - `avatar-video` — Build videos with specific avatars, voices, scripts, and scenes (v2 API)

This skill remains for backward compatibility but will be removed in a future release.

AI avatar video creation API for generating talking-head videos, explainers, and presentations.

Tool Selection

If HeyGen MCP tools are available (mcp__heygen__*), prefer them over direct HTTP API calls — they handle authentication and request formatting automatically.

Task	MCP Tool	Fallback (Direct API)
Generate video from prompt	`mcp__heygen__generate_video_agent`	`POST /v1/video_agent/generate`
Check video status / get URL	`mcp__heygen__get_video`	`GET /v2/videos/{video_id}`
List account videos	`mcp__heygen__list_videos`	`GET /v2/videos`
Delete a video	`mcp__heygen__delete_video`	`DELETE /v2/videos/{video_id}`

If no HeyGen MCP tools are available, use direct HTTP API calls with X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY header as documented in the reference files.

Default Workflow

Prefer Video Agent for most video requests. Always use prompt-optimizer.md guidelines to structure prompts with scenes, timing, and visual styles.

With MCP tools:

Write an optimized prompt using prompt-optimizer.md → visual-styles.md
Call mcp__heygen__generate_video_agent with prompt and config (durationsec, orientation, avatarid)
Call mcp__heygen__get_video with the returned video_id to poll status and get the download URL

Without MCP tools (direct API):

Write an optimized prompt using prompt-optimizer.md → visual-styles.md
POST /v1/video_agent/generate — see video-agent.md
GET /v2/videos/<id> — see video-status.md

Only use v2/video/generate when user explicitly needs:

Exact script without AI modification
Specific voice_id selection
Different avatars/backgrounds per scene
Precise per-scene timing control
Programmatic/batch generation with exact specs

Quick Reference

Task	MCP Tool	Read
Generate video from prompt (easy)	`mcp__heygen__generate_video_agent`	prompt-optimizer.md → visual-styles.md → video-agent.md
Generate video with precise control	—	video-generation.md, avatars.md, voices.md
Check video status / get download URL	`mcp__heygen__get_video`	video-status.md
Add captions or text overlays	—	captions.md, text-overlays.md
Transparent video for compositing	—	video-generation.md (WebM section)
Use with Remotion	—	remotion-integration.md

Reference Files

Foundation

references/authentication.md - API key setup and X-Api-Key header
references/quota.md - Credit system and usage limits
references/video-status.md - Polling patterns and download URLs
references/assets.md - Uploading images, videos, audio

Core Video Creation

references/avatars.md - Listing avatars, styles, avatar_id selection
references/voices.md - Listing voices, locales, speed/pitch
references/scripts.md - Writing scripts, pauses, pacing
references/video-generation.md - POST /v2/video/generate and multi-scene videos
references/video-agent.md - One-shot prompt video generation
references/prompt-optimizer.md - Writing effective Video Agent prompts (core workflow + rules)
references/visual-styles.md - 20 named visual styles with full specs
references/prompt-examples.md - Full production prompt example + ready-to-use templates
references/dimensions.md - Resolution and aspect ratios

Video Customization

references/backgrounds.md - Solid colors, images, video backgrounds
references/text-overlays.md - Adding text with fonts and positioning
references/captions.md - Auto-generated captions and subtitles

Advanced Features

references/templates.md - Template listing and variable replacement
references/photo-avatars.md - Creating avatars from photos
references/webhooks.md - Webhook endpoints and events

Integration

references/remotion-integration.md - Using HeyGen in Remotion compositions