Quickstart
Make your first request and walk away with a vertical MP4 clip.
In this guide you check the key with a call that charges nothing, analyze a video, generate the clips and download the best one rendered.
You will need: a Cut.Pro account, an API key and curl. The complete examples at the end use Node.js 18+ or Python 3.9+.
1. Create the key
Open API keys, click New key and copy the value. It appears only once.
export CUTPRO_API_KEY="paste_your_key_here"2. Check the key
GET /workspace charges no credits and shows which workspace the key operates on.
curl https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/workspace \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY"{
"id": "7401220118845503",
"name": "Ana's Studio",
"is_personal": true,
"status": "active",
"role": "admin",
"plan_name": "Pro",
"plan_is_free": false,
"credits": 120,
"credits_unlimited": false,
"created_at": "2026-03-02T14:11:09.000Z"
}Got 401 UNAUTHORIZED? The key is wrong or was revoked. Got 400 MISSING_WORKSPACE_ID? The key reaches more than one workspace: see Authentication.
3. Analyze the video
Analyzing is free. The response carries the clipping cost and your balance.
curl -X POST https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/clips/info \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{ "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }'{
"id": "7412908365112823",
"title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up",
"platform": "youtube",
"duration": 213,
"credits_cost": 4,
"current_balance": 120
}Keep the id: it is the video_id for the next steps.
4. Generate the clips
This is the step that charges. The credits_cost amount leaves the balance immediately, and comes back if you cancel before it finishes.
curl -X POST https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/clips \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{ "video_id": "7412908365112823" }'{
"id": "7412908371004912",
"video_id": "7412908365112823",
"status": "queued",
"credits_charged": 4
}5. Wait for it to finish
Poll the submission every 5 to 10 seconds until status becomes completed or failed.
curl https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/clips/7412908365112823/submissions/7412908371004912 \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY"{
"id": "7412908371004912",
"video_id": "7412908365112823",
"status": "completed",
"error_code": null,
"clips_count": 9,
"completed_at": "2026-10-29T18:04:51.000Z"
}6. Get the best clip
Each clip has a score from 0 to 10. Sort by it and ask for one.
curl "https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/clips/7412908365112823/submissions/7412908371004912/clips?sort=rating&order=desc&limit=1" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY"{
"clips": [
{
"id": "7412908412887301",
"title": "The chorus everyone knows",
"rating": 9.2,
"start_time": 42.5,
"end_time": 71.0,
"language": "en",
"has_template_applied": false,
"edit_id": null
}
],
"pagination": { "current_page": 1, "total_pages": 9, "total_count": 9, "has_next_page": true, "has_previous_page": false, "limit": 1 }
}7. Render and download
Request the clip render. Without a template, it comes out with the default settings.
curl -X POST https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/clips/7412908365112823/submissions/7412908371004912/clips/7412908412887301/render \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY"{
"id": "7412908490112774",
"edit_id": "7412908488820131",
"status": "queued",
"output_resolution": "1080p",
"from_cache": false,
"download_url": null
}Poll GET /renders/7412908490112774 until status becomes completed, then ask for the link:
curl https://api.cut.pro/api/v1/renders/7412908490112774/download \
-H "X-Api-Key: $CUTPRO_API_KEY"{
"url": "https://...",
"filename": "the-chorus-everyone-knows.mp4"
}The link is valid for 1 hour. Done: that is your clip.
The whole flow in one file
Steps 3 to 7 chained, with the waiting handled. Swap the URL and run it.
const API = "https://api.cut.pro/api/v1";
const headers = { "X-Api-Key": process.env.CUTPRO_API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json" };
const PENDING = ["queued", "active", "waiting_quality"];
async function call(path, init) {
const response = await fetch(`${API}${path}`, { ...init, headers });
const body = await response.json();
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`${response.status} ${body.code}`);
return body;
}
const wait = (seconds) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, seconds * 1000));
const video = await call("/clips/info", {
method: "POST",
body: JSON.stringify({ url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ" }),
});
console.log(`${video.title}: ${video.credits_cost} credits`);
const submission = await call("/clips", { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({ video_id: video.id }) });
const base = `/clips/${video.id}/submissions/${submission.id}`;
let state = submission;
while (state.status !== "completed") {
if (state.status === "failed") throw new Error(state.error_code);
await wait(10);
state = await call(base);
}
const { clips: [best] } = await call(`${base}/clips?sort=rating&order=desc&limit=1`);
const render = await call(`${base}/clips/${best.id}/render`, { method: "POST" });
let url = render.download_url;
while (!url) {
await wait(10);
const job = await call(`/renders/${render.id}`);
if (job.status === "completed") url = (await call(`/renders/${render.id}/download`)).url;
else if (!PENDING.includes(job.status)) throw new Error(job.status);
}
console.log(best.title, url);Tweak the code
- Cut only one section: send
timeframe: { "start": 600, "end": 1800 }inPOST /clipsto clip from minute 10 to 30. - Apply your style: pass a
template_idfromGET /templatesinPOST /clipsand every clip comes out with your captions and your framing. - Translate the captions:
translate_to: "es"inPOST /clipsgenerates the captions in Spanish. It costs more than plain clipping, andcredits_chargedshows how much was charged. - Use your own file: replace step 3 with the upload, which returns the same
video_id.