Video editing API for creative developers
Automate video production with a video editing API built on native After Effects rendering.
Having Plainly's video API integrated into Open Production has hugely impacted how quickly we are able to scale our video production and it has truly supercharged our speed to market across all video channels.
Patrick Steele, Technical Solutions Lead @ WPP
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/designs \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"designId": "ecommerce-street@v1",
"variantId": "square",
"colorPalette": "CYAN",
"parameters": {
"product": "Primal Track Jacket Blue",
"price": "$129",
"productImage": "https://example.com/primal-jacket.png"
}
}'Video example
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/designs \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"designId": "ecommerce-street@v1",
"variantId": "square",
"colorPalette": "CYAN",
"parameters": {
"product": "Primal Track Jacket Blue",
"price": "$129",
"productImage": "https://example.com/primal-jacket.png"
}
}'Video example
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/renders \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"projectId": "3934539a-d7f1-4308-a33c-ca423c0c916a",
"templateId": "0fade341c-588e-44c2-a9ea-d7435362cbfb",
"parameters": {
"player": "Patrick Mahomes",
"stat": "Rushing Yards",
"statNumber": "99.5",
"playerImage": "https://example.com/patrick.png"
},
"webhook": {
"url": "https://example.com/webhooks/render-complete",
"passthrough": "social_123"
}
}'Video example
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/renders \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"projectId": "3934539a-d7f1-4308-a33c-ca423c0c916a",
"templateId": "0fade341c-588e-44c2-a9ea-d7435362cbfb",
"parameters": {
"player": "Patrick Mahomes",
"stat": "Rushing Yards",
"statNumber": "99.5",
"playerImage": "https://example.com/patrick.png"
},
"webhook": {
"url": "https://example.com/webhooks/render-complete",
"passthrough": "social_123"
}
}'Video example
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/batch \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"projectId": "393324139a-d7f1-4338-a33c-ca523c0c1311",
"templateIds": ["0fa1264c-584e-44c2-a9ca-d743fk72cbfb"],
"reference": "campaign-august",
"webhook": {
"url": "https://example.com/webhooks/batch-complete"
},
"batchData": [
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Fresh Deals Fresh Savings",
"product": "Favorina Mini Croissants 6ct",
"price": "€1.79",
"productImage": "https://example.com/croissants.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "croissants-1"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Unbeatable Prices",
"product": "Parkside Cordless Drill Set",
"price": "€34.99",
"productImage": "https://example.com/drill-set.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "drill-set-2"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Stock Up and Save Big",
"product": "Ocean Sea Fish Fingers 450g",
"price": "€2.29",
"productImage": "https://example.com/fish-fingers.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "fish-fingers-3"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Weekly Deals You Don't Want to Miss!",
"product": "Alesto Mixed Nuts 500g",
"price": "€3.99",
"productImage": "https://example.com/mixed-nuts.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "mixed-nuts-4"
}
]
}'Video example
Request
--url https://api.plainlyvideos.com/api/v2/batch \
--user "YOUR_API_KEY:" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{
"projectId": "393324139a-d7f1-4338-a33c-ca523c0c1311",
"templateIds": ["0fa1264c-584e-44c2-a9ca-d743fk72cbfb"],
"reference": "campaign-august",
"webhook": {
"url": "https://example.com/webhooks/batch-complete"
},
"batchData": [
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Fresh Deals Fresh Savings",
"product": "Favorina Mini Croissants 6ct",
"price": "€1.79",
"productImage": "https://example.com/croissants.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "croissants-1"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Unbeatable Prices",
"product": "Parkside Cordless Drill Set",
"price": "€34.99",
"productImage": "https://example.com/drill-set.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "drill-set-2"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Stock Up and Save Big",
"product": "Ocean Sea Fish Fingers 450g",
"price": "€2.29",
"productImage": "https://example.com/fish-fingers.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "fish-fingers-3"
},
{
"parameters": {
"headline": "Weekly Deals You Don't Want to Miss!",
"product": "Alesto Mixed Nuts 500g",
"price": "€3.99",
"productImage": "https://example.com/mixed-nuts.png"
},
"webhookPassthrough": "mixed-nuts-4"
}
]
}'Video example
How a video editing API works:
Upload your project
Upload your project through the API, the web app, or the After Effects plugin. Plainly checks the files and flags anything missing.
Set up your template
Select which composition you want to use and mark text, image, video, audio, and more as parameters that you will change for each video.
Render your videos
Send your data as parameters you defined, and Plainly creates the video. The finished file comes back as a link, ready to download or push to your own storage.
Control what changes
Every element you mark becomes a parameter you can change per video and everything else stays exactly as it was designed.
Why developers pick Plainly's API
Plainly is built for developers who would rather not build everything from scratch. Everything between your request and your finished video already exists.
After Effects native
Create templates made in tools you already know and love.
Batch video creation
Send one request with multiple entries of data and get a video for each.
Feature parity with web app
Anything you can do in the dashboard, you can do in code.
Output formats
MP4, MOV and GIF, from Full HD to 4K and above.
Layer scripting
Control how layers behave across every video, with crop, resize, and more.
Generate thumbnails
Every finished render comes back with thumbnails alongside the video.
MCP server
Render videos straight from Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code Copilot.
Webhooks
Your endpoint gets the file URL and your reference when a render lands.
Enterprise security
ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant, with SSO.
How developers use a video editing api
Personalized videos
Connect your customer data and create a unique video for each person, from a single template.
Dynamic video ads
Change product, pricing, CTAs, and copy for every audience and market you target.
Trigger-based videos
Create videos automatically from events and triggers in your own systems and workflows.
White-label video creation
Integrate Plainly's video editing API and let your customers create videos without leaving your app.
What others say about us
We have a great experience working with the team and Plainly. They weren’t shy to break the mold and go the extra mile. Personalization in today’s saturated digital landscape is paramount to cut through the noise and stick out; Plainly offers a great platform, product, and solution for this.
CMO, Y11 Sport & Media Holdings
Working with Plainly was great, their API is robust but simple to set up. After setting up the workflow, we literally forgot about it. The integration with After Effects allowed my team to work with tools they are familiar with and create high-quality video templates.
CTO, Tapni
Plainly allows you to produce large amounts of video content very quickly. A great advantage is that your content can be still very individual and on-brand due to the ability of using Templates made in Adobe After Effects. Its interface is quite intuitive and the software gets new interesting features often.
Motion Designer, Freelance
Try Plainly’s Video Editing API today.
Frequently asked questions
What is a video editing API?
A video editing API lets developers programmatically create, modify, composite, and render videos at scale via the cloud using structured JSON payloads or code. You send a request containing your data, the service renders the video in the cloud, and a finished file comes back. Teams use a video editing API so they can create multiple videos from the same template without editing each one manually.
Can I create videos with coding agents or MCP?
Yes. Plainly has an official MCP server, so AI assistants and coding agents can create videos directly. Your agent can browse your designs and projects, read a template's parameters and preview links, submit renders, and check status. It works with Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code Copilot, and you can test it in the browser through Smithery before installing anything. Read our MCP documentation.
Can I use Plainly’s Video editing API to create thousands of videos at once?
Yes. Send one request per video, or use the batch renders endpoint to submit many in a single call. Plainly queues them and renders in parallel up to the concurrency limit on your plan, so a batch of ten thousand runs the same way a batch of ten does, just for longer. Each render in a batch is handled independently, so one bad payload does not take the rest down with it.
Do I need to know After Effects to use Plainly’s API?
No, developers can work with the API without touching After Effects. However, your video templates do need to be created in After Effects. Once the template is ready, everything else can be automated via API. You can also contact our team if you want us to create a template for you.
How long does a render take?
A few seconds to several minutes, depending on the length of the composition, how many layers it has, and how much data goes into it. You can cut it down by simplifying expressions, pre-rendering what you can, or skipping encoding. There's also a draft render option that produces lower-quality output quickly, which is what you want while you're testing an integration.
Is there a free tier or a way to test the API before committing to a paid plan?
Yes. We offer a free trial with API access so you can test the workflow before upgrading. If you need more time or have a specific use case, we’re happy to help. Just reach out.