Quickstart

Build your first launch ad

Five minutes. Four API calls. One launch-ready video. We’ll build a 30-second product launch ad for a new pricing tier.

Get Your API Key

If you haven’t already, get your API key from the Babou dashboard and set it as an environment variable:

export BABOU_API_KEY=sk-bab-your-api-key-here

Create a Project

Every video starts with a project. Create one with a name and description:

curl -X POST https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BABOU_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Pricing Page Refresh",
    "description": "Launch campaign for the new Team tier"
  }'

const response = await fetch('https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.BABOU_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'Pricing Page Refresh',
    description: 'Launch campaign for the new Team tier'
  })
});

const project = await response.json();
console.log('Project ID:', project.id);

import os
import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects',
    headers={
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["BABOU_API_KEY"]}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'name': 'Pricing Page Refresh',
        'description': 'Launch campaign for the new Team tier'
    }
)

project = response.json()
print('Project ID:', project['id'])

Response:

{
  "id": "prj_abc123xyz",
  "name": "Pricing Page Refresh",
  "description": "Launch campaign for the new Team tier",
  "created_at": "2025-12-02T10:00:00Z"
}

Save the project.id - you’ll need it for the next steps!

Add a Chapter

Videos are organized into chapters. Let’s add one:

curl -X POST https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/prj_abc123xyz/chapters \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BABOU_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Launch Ad",
    "duration": 30
  }'

const projectId = 'prj_abc123xyz'; // From previous step

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/${projectId}/chapters`,
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.BABOU_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      name: 'Launch Ad',
      duration: 30
    })
  }
);

const chapter = await response.json();
console.log('Chapter ID:', chapter.id);

project_id = 'prj_abc123xyz'  # From previous step

response = requests.post(
    f'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/{project_id}/chapters',
    headers={
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["BABOU_API_KEY"]}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'name': 'Launch Ad',
        'duration': 30
    }
)

chapter = response.json()
print('Chapter ID:', chapter['id'])

Response:

{
  "id": "cht_def456uvw",
  "project_id": "prj_abc123xyz",
  "name": "Launch Ad",
  "duration": 30,
  "created_at": "2025-12-02T10:01:00Z"
}

Submit a Video Prompt

Now for the magic! Submit a text prompt to create video content:

curl -X POST https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/prj_abc123xyz/chapters/cht_def456uvw/prompt \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BABOU_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "content": "30-second product launch ad for the new Team tier. Lead with the headline from our latest release notes, drop in the new pricing screenshot, and resolve brand colors and type from the catalog."
  }'

const projectId = 'prj_abc123xyz';
const chapterId = 'cht_def456uvw';

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/${projectId}/chapters/${chapterId}/prompt`,
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.BABOU_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      content: '30-second product launch ad for the new Team tier. Lead with the headline from our latest release notes, drop in the new pricing screenshot, and resolve brand colors and type from the catalog.'
    })
  }
);

const result = await response.json();
console.log('Status:', result.status);
console.log('Estimated time:', result.estimated_time);

project_id = 'prj_abc123xyz'
chapter_id = 'cht_def456uvw'

response = requests.post(
    f'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/{project_id}/chapters/{chapter_id}/prompt',
    headers={
        'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["BABOU_API_KEY"]}',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    json={
        'content': '30-second product launch ad for the new Team tier. Lead with the headline from our latest release notes, drop in the new pricing screenshot, and resolve brand colors and type from the catalog.'
    }
)

result = response.json()
print('Status:', result['status'])
print('Estimated time:', result['estimated_time'])

Response:

{
  "prompt_id": "int_abc123xyz789",
  "status": "processing",
  "message": "Prompt processing started",
  "estimated_time": "30-90 seconds"
}

The video creation process typically takes 30-90 seconds. The chapter will be updated with the video content automatically.

Export Your Video

Once processing is complete, export the final video:

curl -X POST https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/prj_abc123xyz/export \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BABOU_API_KEY"

const projectId = 'prj_abc123xyz';

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/${projectId}/export`,
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.BABOU_API_KEY}`
    }
  }
);

const exportJob = await response.json();
console.log('Export status:', exportJob.status);
console.log('Estimated time:', exportJob.estimated_time);

project_id = 'prj_abc123xyz'

response = requests.post(
    f'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/{project_id}/export',
    headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["BABOU_API_KEY"]}'}
)

export_job = response.json()
print('Export status:', export_job['status'])
print('Estimated time:', export_job['estimated_time'])

Response:

{
  "status": "queued",
  "message": "Export started",
  "estimated_time": "2-5 minutes"
}

Check Export Status

Poll the export endpoint to check when your video is ready:

curl https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/prj_abc123xyz/export \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BABOU_API_KEY"

async function waitForExport(projectId: string) {
  while (true) {
    const response = await fetch(
      `https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/${projectId}/export`,
      {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.BABOU_API_KEY}`
        }
      }
    );

    const status = await response.json();

    if (status.status === 'completed') {
      console.log('✓ Video ready!');
      console.log('Download URL:', status.download_url);
      return status;
    }

    if (status.status === 'failed') {
      console.error('✗ Export failed');
      return status;
    }

    console.log('Still processing...');
    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000)); // Wait 5s
  }
}

await waitForExport('prj_abc123xyz');

import time

def wait_for_export(project_id):
    while True:
        response = requests.get(
            f'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1/projects/{project_id}/export',
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {os.environ["BABOU_API_KEY"]}'}
        )

        status = response.json()

        if status['status'] == 'completed':
            print('✓ Video ready!')
            print('Download URL:', status['download_url'])
            return status

        if status['status'] == 'failed':
            print('✗ Export failed')
            return status

        print('Still processing...')
        time.sleep(5)  # Wait 5 seconds

wait_for_export('prj_abc123xyz')

Response (when completed):

{
  "status": "completed",
  "download_url": "https://assets.babou.ai/exports/prj_abc123xyz.mp4",
  "started_at": "2025-12-02T10:05:00Z",
  "completed_at": "2025-12-02T10:08:00Z",
  "duration_seconds": 180
}

Complete Example

Here’s a complete script that creates a video from start to finish:

const BABOU_API_KEY = process.env.BABOU_API_KEY;
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1';

async function createVideo() {
  // 1. Create project
  const projectRes = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/projects`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${BABOU_API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      name: 'Pricing Page Refresh',
      description: 'Launch campaign for the new Team tier'
    })
  });
  const project = await projectRes.json();
  console.log('✓ Project created:', project.id);

  // 2. Add chapter
  const chapterRes = await fetch(
    `${BASE_URL}/projects/${project.id}/chapters`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${BABOU_API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        name: 'Launch Ad',
        duration: 30
      })
    }
  );
  const chapter = await chapterRes.json();
  console.log('✓ Chapter created:', chapter.id);

  // 3. Submit prompt
  const promptRes = await fetch(
    `${BASE_URL}/projects/${project.id}/chapters/${chapter.id}/prompt`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${BABOU_API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        content: 'Product launch ad for the new Team tier, pulling the headline from our release notes'
      })
    }
  );
  console.log('✓ Prompt submitted, processing...');

  // Wait for processing
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 60000));

  // 4. Export video
  await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/projects/${project.id}/export`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${BABOU_API_KEY}` }
  });
  console.log('✓ Export started...');

  // 5. Wait for completion
  while (true) {
    const statusRes = await fetch(
      `${BASE_URL}/projects/${project.id}/export`,
      {
        headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${BABOU_API_KEY}` }
      }
    );
    const status = await statusRes.json();

    if (status.status === 'completed') {
      console.log('✓ Video ready!');
      console.log('Download:', status.download_url);
      break;
    }

    await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
  }
}

createVideo();

import os
import time
import requests

BABOU_API_KEY = os.environ['BABOU_API_KEY']
BASE_URL = 'https://api.babou.ai/api/v1'
HEADERS = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {BABOU_API_KEY}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

def create_video():
    # 1. Create project
    project = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/projects',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json={
            'name': 'Pricing Page Refresh',
            'description': 'Launch campaign for the new Team tier'
        }
    ).json()
    print(f'✓ Project created: {project["id"]}')

    # 2. Add chapter
    chapter = requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/projects/{project["id"]}/chapters',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json={
            'name': 'Launch Ad',
            'duration': 30
        }
    ).json()
    print(f'✓ Chapter created: {chapter["id"]}')

    # 3. Submit prompt
    requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/projects/{project["id"]}/chapters/{chapter["id"]}/prompt',
        headers=HEADERS,
        json={
            'content': 'Product launch ad for the new Team tier, pulling the headline from our release notes'
        }
    )
    print('✓ Prompt submitted, processing...')

    # Wait for processing
    time.sleep(60)

    # 4. Export video
    requests.post(
        f'{BASE_URL}/projects/{project["id"]}/export',
        headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {BABOU_API_KEY}'}
    )
    print('✓ Export started...')

    # 5. Wait for completion
    while True:
        status = requests.get(
            f'{BASE_URL}/projects/{project["id"]}/export',
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {BABOU_API_KEY}'}
        ).json()

        if status['status'] == 'completed':
            print('✓ Video ready!')
            print(f'Download: {status["download_url"]}')
            break

        time.sleep(5)

create_video()

Next Steps

Upload Assets

Learn how to upload and use custom images, videos, and audio

Video Creation Workflow

Deep dive into creating complex multi-chapter videos

API Reference

Explore all available endpoints and options

MCP Server

Integrate with AI agents like Claude

Getting Started

Guides

Build your first launch ad

Complete Example

Next Steps

Upload Assets

Video Creation Workflow

API Reference

MCP Server

​Build your first launch ad

​Complete Example

​Next Steps

Upload Assets

Video Creation Workflow

API Reference

MCP Server

Build your first launch ad

Complete Example

Next Steps