# Shotstack (slim)

> Shotstack is a cloud video editor driven by JSON. It renders video, images and audio from edits and templates with merge fields. Agents reach it through the Edit API, a hosted MCP server or a CLI with an agent skill.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/shotstack.md (~8,050 tokens) · this version ~2,080 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/shotstack.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/shotstack
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

**B · 65.3/100 · rank #297 of 842 · #1 in Programmatic asset production · not agent-ready · confidence medium**


Assessment: A public OpenAPI definition, Markdown docs, a hosted MCP server with OAuth and a free watermarked sandbox let an agent draft, check and render video with little setup. API keys have no scopes, webhooks are unsigned, no security contact or certification of Shotstack's own was found, and the published Node and Python SDKs date from July 2024.

## Facts

- Kind: HTTP API · vendor: ShotStack Pty Ltd · category: Programmatic asset production · legal entity: ShotStack Pty Ltd · provenance 84/100
- Endpoint: `https://api.shotstack.io/edit/v1` (HTTP, Streamable HTTP)
- Auth: OAuth or key · pricing: Pay per use · x402: no · licence: Proprietary service under Shotstack's Terms and Conditions. The CLI and skill are Apache-2.0, the schemas package and SDKs are MIT, and the Studio SDK is under PolyForm Shield 1.0.0
- Probe metrics: not measured yet (probes haven't run)
- APIs: Edit API at `https://api.shotstack.io/edit/{v1|stage}` (14 operations for renders, templates, media inspection, AI generation and models), Serve API at `/serve/{version}` for hosted assets, Ingest API at `/ingest/{version}` for uploads and renditions. One OpenAPI 3.0.1 definition, release 1.22.0
- MCP server: Hosted at `https://mcp.shotstack.io/` over Streamable HTTP. OAuth sign-in or an `x-api-key` header. 15 tools by the vendor's guide, among them `studio`, `render_video`, `get_render_status`, `render_template`, `quote_generation` and `generate_asset`
- CLI and skill: `@shotstack/cli` 0.10.0 (5 October 2026, Apache-2.0) with `render`, `status`, `validate`, `studio`, `template`, `models`, `generate` and `ingest`, `--output json` and exit codes 0, 1 and 2. An agent skill installs with `npx skills add shotstack/shotstack-cli`
- Read and write: Renders create and read. Templates create, list, read, update and delete. Hosted assets and ingested sources can be deleted. Updating a template replaces it
- Output formats: mp4, gif, jpg, png, bmp and mp3, up to 1080p on the lower plans and 4K from Pro
- Render speed: Asynchronous. `POST /render` answers 201 with an id, then poll or set a `callback`. The guide gives about 20 seconds per minute of video
- Rate limits: Per API key per fixed 60 seconds. Edit 300 in production and 150 in the sandbox, Serve 600 and 300, Ingest 300 and 120. A 429 carries `rate_limit_error`
- Errors: `{"errors": [{"status", "title", "detail"}]}` on a 401, seen first-hand. Generation endpoints document 400, 402, 403, 409, 429 and 503 with a `code`
- Sandbox: `stage` renders are free and watermarked, limited to 10 minutes, and need at least one credit in the balance. AI generation in `stage` is charged
- Free tier: 10 credits on signup, valid 30 days, no card
- AI generation: Image, video, speech and music models from several providers, charged per model in credits. `POST /generate/quote` prices a request without charging, and identical requests reuse the stored result at no charge
- Hosting and retention: Rendered files go to a CDN at `cdn.shotstack.io/au/` by default. The `url` in the render status expires after 24 hours. Source files are cached for 24 hours. Ingested sources stay until deleted, in AWS Sydney
- Webhooks: `callback` URL per render, retried 10 times with backoff over about 49 minutes. Payloads are not signed
- SLA: 99.9 per cent monthly uptime for the API with a 10 per cent credit, free plans excluded, in Schedule 2 of the terms
- SDKs: Node, Python, PHP, Ruby and TypeScript repositories under github.com/shotstack. npm `shotstack-sdk` 0.2.9 (30 July 2024) and PyPI `shotstack-sdk` 0.2.8 (19 July 2024), MIT. `@shotstack/schemas` 1.22.0 has TypeScript types and Zod schemas
- Sub-processors: AWS (Sydney and United States), Sentry, AssemblyAI, fal and Anthropic, each with purpose and location, seven days' notice of additions
- Prices: Pay as you go credit $0.20 per credit; Starter $39 per month (plan); Pro $99 per month (plan); Scale $199 per month (plan); Volume $499 per month (plan)

- Scores: Reliability 85, Performance pending, Schema & documentation 88, Agent ergonomics 63, Security & auth 48, Payments & pricing 45, Task success pending, Maintenance & community 73, Transparency & trust 73 · negative events -3 · total over the 7 assessed categories
- Why: Reliability, Hosted lines. · Schema & documentation, Public OpenAPI 3.0.1 definition of the Edit API with 14 operations and 122 schemas. · Agent ergonomics, 15 MCP tools by the vendor's list, with the authoring guide loaded on demand through `get_shotstack_guide` and skill references read only wh… · Security & auth, The MCP server uses OAuth authorisation code with PKCE S256 and dynamic client registration, with one scope, `mcp:tools`. · Payments & pricing, No x402, MPP or L402 (0). · Maintenance & community, CLI 0.10.0 on 5 October 2026 and API definition 1.22.0 on 4 October 2026, three and four days before the check (30). · Transparency & trust, Closed service under published terms, with the CLI under Apache-2.0 and the schemas and SDKs under MIT (15).
- Sources: 27, open questions: 11, both in the full twin
- Capabilities: design.templates, design.render, video.edit, video.generate, image.generate, speech.tts, audio.music
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/shotstack.json
- Verify (for the vendor): the badge `https://www.anchorterminal.com/badges/shotstack.svg` or a link to https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/shotstack from a page on shotstack.io or one of its subdomains, or the README of github.com/shotstack/shotstack-cli, then `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/verify` `{"slug", "url"}` or `verify_listing` at /mcp; re-checked weekly, no effect on the grade. Snippets in the full twin.

## Before you call it

1. Fetch `https://shotstack.io/docs/api/api.edit.json` and the conventions guide before writing an edit. Track order is reversed, so the first track renders on top
2. Render in `stage` first. It is free and watermarked, but AI generation there is charged from the production credit balance
3. Call `POST /generate/quote` before `POST /generate`, and send an `Idempotency-Key` header on generation. `POST /render` has no idempotency key, so do not resubmit blindly
4. Do not store the `url` from the render status response. It expires after 24 hours. Use the CDN address built from `owner` and the render id
5. On a 429, wait for the 60-second window to reset and retry with backoff. Limits are per API key, 300 a minute on the Edit API in production

## Connect

```bash
npm install -g @shotstack/cli
```

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.shotstack.io/edit/stage/render -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "x-api-key: $SHOTSTACK_API_KEY" -d @edit.json
```

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http shotstack https://mcp.shotstack.io
```
Full config and headless snippets are in the full page. Through letme (picks today, calling later): https://letme.dev/shotstack

## Similar tools

| Tool | Grade | Score | Shared capabilities | Slim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Osmo CLI | E | 45.2 | design.render, video.generate, image.generate, speech.tts, audio.music | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/osmo-cli.min.md |
| LocalAI | B | 68 | speech.tts, image.generate, video.generate | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/localai.min.md |
| Higgsfield API | B | 63.5 | video.generate, video.edit, image.generate | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/higgsfield.min.md |
| KoboldCpp | C | 60.5 | image.generate, speech.tts, audio.music | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/koboldcpp.min.md |
| Melius | C | 54.1 | image.generate, video.generate, speech.tts | https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/melius.min.md |


## Panel reviews (0, desk reviews from public material, no calls made)