Seedance Video Generation

Generate AI videos using ByteDance Seedance models via the Volcengine Ark API.

Prerequisites

The user must set the ARK_API_KEY environment variable. You can set it by running:

export ARK_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Base URL: https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3

Supported Models

Default model: doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215 (latest, supports audio)

Execution (Recommended: Python CLI Tool)

A Python CLI tool is provided at ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py for robust execution with proper error handling, automatic retries, and local image base64 conversion. Prefer using this tool over raw curl commands.

Quick Examples with Python CLI

# Text-to-video (create + wait + download)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "小猫对着镜头打哈欠" --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Image-to-video from local file
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "人物缓缓转头微笑" --image /path/to/photo.jpg --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Image-to-video from URL
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "风景画面缓缓推进" --image "https://example.com/image.jpg" --wait --download ~/Desktop

# First + last frame
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "花朵从含苞到盛开" --image first.jpg --last-frame last.jpg --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Reference images (Lite I2V)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "[图1]的人物在跳舞" --ref-images ref1.jpg ref2.jpg --model doubao-seedance-1-0-lite-i2v-250219 --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Custom parameters
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "城市夜景延时摄影" --ratio 21:9 --duration 8 --resolution 1080p --generate-audio false --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Draft mode (cheaper preview)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --prompt "海浪拍打沙滩" --draft true --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Generate final video from draft
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py create --draft-task-id <DRAFT_TASK_ID> --resolution 720p --wait --download ~/Desktop

# Query task status
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py status <TASK_ID>

# Wait for an existing task
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py wait <TASK_ID> --download ~/Desktop

# List tasks
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py list --status succeeded

# Delete/cancel task
python3 ~/.claude/skills/seedance-video/seedance.py delete <TASK_ID>

Alternative: Raw curl Commands

Step 1: Create Video Generation Task

Determine the generation mode based on user input, then call the API.

Mode A: Text-to-Video

TASK_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "YOUR_PROMPT_HERE"
      }
    ],
    "ratio": "16:9",
    "duration": 5,
    "resolution": "720p",
    "generate_audio": true
  }')

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
echo "Task created: $TASK_ID"

Mode B: Image-to-Video (First Frame)

The user provides one image as the first frame. The image can be a URL or local file path (convert to base64).

With image URL:

TASK_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "YOUR_PROMPT_HERE"
      },
      {
        "type": "image_url",
        "image_url": { "url": "IMAGE_URL_HERE" },
        "role": "first_frame"
      }
    ],
    "ratio": "adaptive",
    "duration": 5,
    "resolution": "720p",
    "generate_audio": true
  }')

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
echo "Task created: $TASK_ID"

With local image file (convert to base64):

IMG_PATH="/path/to/image.png"
IMG_EXT="${IMG_PATH##*.}"
IMG_EXT_LOWER=$(echo "$IMG_EXT" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
IMG_BASE64=$(base64 < "$IMG_PATH" | tr -d '\n')
IMG_DATA_URL="data:image/${IMG_EXT_LOWER};base64,${IMG_BASE64}"

TASK_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "YOUR_PROMPT_HERE"
      },
      {
        "type": "image_url",
        "image_url": { "url": "'"$IMG_DATA_URL"'" },
        "role": "first_frame"
      }
    ],
    "ratio": "adaptive",
    "duration": 5,
    "resolution": "720p",
    "generate_audio": true
  }')

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
echo "Task created: $TASK_ID"

Mode C: Image-to-Video (First + Last Frame)

Requires two images. Supported by: Seedance 1.5 Pro, 1.0 Pro, 1.0 Lite I2V.

TASK_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "YOUR_PROMPT_HERE"
      },
      {
        "type": "image_url",
        "image_url": { "url": "FIRST_FRAME_IMAGE_URL" },
        "role": "first_frame"
      },
      {
        "type": "image_url",
        "image_url": { "url": "LAST_FRAME_IMAGE_URL" },
        "role": "last_frame"
      }
    ],
    "ratio": "adaptive",
    "duration": 5,
    "resolution": "720p",
    "generate_audio": true
  }')

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
echo "Task created: $TASK_ID"

Mode D: Reference Image-to-Video (Seedance 1.0 Lite I2V only)

Provide 1-4 reference images. Use [图1], [图2] in prompt to reference specific images.

TASK_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-0-lite-i2v-250219",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "text",
        "text": "[图1]的人物在跳舞"
      },
      {
        "type": "image_url",
        "image_url": { "url": "REF_IMAGE_URL_1" },
        "role": "reference_image"
      }
    ],
    "ratio": "16:9",
    "duration": 5,
    "resolution": "720p"
  }')

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")
echo "Task created: $TASK_ID"

Step 2: Poll for Task Completion

Video generation is asynchronous. Poll the task status until it completes.

echo "Waiting for video generation to complete..."
while true; do
  STATUS_RESULT=$(curl -s -X GET "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks/${TASK_ID}" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY")

  STATUS=$(echo "$STATUS_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['status'])")

  if [ "$STATUS" = "succeeded" ]; then
    echo "Video generation succeeded!"
    VIDEO_URL=$(echo "$STATUS_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['content']['video_url'])")
    echo "Video URL: $VIDEO_URL"
    break
  elif [ "$STATUS" = "failed" ]; then
    ERROR_MSG=$(echo "$STATUS_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('error',{}).get('message','Unknown error'))" 2>/dev/null || echo "Unknown error")
    echo "Video generation failed: $ERROR_MSG"
    break
  elif [ "$STATUS" = "expired" ]; then
    echo "Video generation task expired."
    break
  else
    echo "Status: $STATUS - still processing..."
    sleep 15
  fi
done

Step 3: Download and Open Video

OUTPUT_PATH="$HOME/Desktop/seedance_video_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).mp4"
curl -s -o "$OUTPUT_PATH" "$VIDEO_URL"
echo "Video saved to: $OUTPUT_PATH"
open "$OUTPUT_PATH"

Optional Parameters Reference

Additional Operations

Query Task Status

curl -s -X GET "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks/${TASK_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" | python3 -m json.tool

List Tasks

# List all tasks (paginated)
curl -s -X GET "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks?page_num=1&page_size=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" | python3 -m json.tool

# Filter by status
curl -s -X GET "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks?page_num=1&page_size=10&filter.status=succeeded" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" | python3 -m json.tool

Cancel or Delete Task

curl -s -X DELETE "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks/${TASK_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY"

Note: queued tasks will be cancelled; succeeded/failed/expired tasks will be deleted from history.

Generate Consecutive Videos (Using Last Frame)

Set return_last_frame: true on the first task, then use the returned last_frame_url as the first frame of the next task.

# Get last frame URL from completed task
LAST_FRAME_URL=$(curl -s -X GET "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks/${TASK_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['content']['last_frame_url'])")

# Use it as first frame for the next video
# ... (use Mode B with LAST_FRAME_URL as the image URL)

Draft Mode (Seedance 1.5 Pro)

Generate a cheap preview first, then produce the final video if satisfied:

# Step 1: Create draft
DRAFT_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      { "type": "text", "text": "YOUR_PROMPT_HERE" }
    ],
    "draft": true,
    "resolution": "480p"
  }')
DRAFT_TASK_ID=$(echo "$DRAFT_RESULT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['id'])")

# Step 2: After draft succeeds, generate final video from draft
FINAL_RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/contents/generations/tasks" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215",
    "content": [
      {
        "type": "draft_task",
        "draft_task": { "id": "'"$DRAFT_TASK_ID"'" }
      }
    ],
    "resolution": "720p"
  }')

Image Requirements

• Formats: jpeg, png, webp, bmp, tiff, gif (1.5 Pro also supports heic, heif)
• Aspect ratio (width/height): between 0.4 and 2.5
• Dimensions: 300-6000 px per side
• Max file size: 30 MB

Rules

1. Always check that ARK_API_KEY is set before making API calls: [ -z "$ARK_API_KEY" ] && echo "Error: ARK_API_KEY not set" && exit 1
2. Default to Seedance 1.5 Pro (doubao-seedance-1-5-pro-251215) unless user requests a specific model.
3. Default to 720p, 16:9, 5 seconds, with audio for text-to-video.
4. Default to adaptive ratio for image-to-video (auto-adapts to the input image).
5. Poll interval: 15 seconds between status checks.
6. Video URLs expire in 24 hours - always download immediately after generation.
7. Task history is kept for 7 days only.
8. For local image files, convert to base64 data URL format before sending.
9. Always show the user the task ID so they can check status later.
10. When generation fails, display the error message clearly and suggest possible fixes.