SKILL.md
$2a
- Provide a video URL or HeyGen video ID
- Call
POST /v2/video_translatewith the target language
- Poll
GET /v2/video_translate/{translate_id}until status iscompleted
- Download the translated video from the returned URL
Creating a Translation Job
Request Fields
Field
Type
Req
Description
video_url
string
Y*
URL of video to translate (*or video_id)
video_id
string
Y*
HeyGen video ID (*or video_url)
output_language
string
Y
Target language code (e.g., "es-ES")
title
string
Name for the translated video
translate_audio_only
boolean
Audio only, no lip-sync (faster)
speaker_num
number
Number of speakers in video
callback_id
string
Custom ID for webhook tracking
callback_url
string
URL for completion notification
Either video_url or video_id must be provided.
curl
curl -X POST "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"video_url": "https://example.com/original-video.mp4",
"output_language": "es-ES",
"title": "Spanish Version"
}'TypeScript
interface VideoTranslateRequest {
video_url?: string;
video_id?: string;
output_language: string;
title?: string;
translate_audio_only?: boolean;
speaker_num?: number;
callback_id?: string;
callback_url?: string;
}
interface VideoTranslateResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
video_translate_id: string;
};
}
async function translateVideo(config: VideoTranslateRequest): Promise<string> {
const response = await fetch("https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY!,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify(config),
});
const json: VideoTranslateResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data.video_translate_id;
}Python
import requests
import os
def translate_video(config: dict) -> str:
response = requests.post(
"https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate",
headers={
"X-Api-Key": os.environ["HEYGEN_API_KEY"],
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
json=config
)
data = response.json()
if data.get("error"):
raise Exception(data["error"])
return data["data"]["video_translate_id"]Supported Languages
Language
Code
Notes
English (US)
en-US
Default source
Spanish (Spain)
es-ES
European Spanish
Spanish (Mexico)
es-MX
Latin American
French
fr-FR
Standard French
German
de-DE
Standard German
Italian
it-IT
Standard Italian
Portuguese (Brazil)
pt-BR
Brazilian Portuguese
Japanese
ja-JP
Standard Japanese
Korean
ko-KR
Standard Korean
Chinese (Mandarin)
zh-CN
Simplified Chinese
Hindi
hi-IN
Standard Hindi
Arabic
ar-SA
Modern Standard Arabic
Translation Options
Basic Translation (with lip-sync)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/original.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
title: "Spanish Translation",
};Audio-Only Translation (faster, no lip-sync)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/original.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
translate_audio_only: true,
};Multi-Speaker Videos
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/interview.mp4",
output_language: "fr-FR",
speaker_num: 2,
};Advanced Options (v4 API)
For more control over translation:
interface VideoTranslateV4Request {
input_video_id?: string;
google_url?: string;
output_languages: string[]; // Multiple languages in one call
name: string;
srt_key?: string; // Custom SRT subtitles
instruction?: string;
vocabulary?: string[]; // Terms to preserve as-is
brand_voice_id?: string;
speaker_num?: number;
keep_the_same_format?: boolean;
input_language?: string;
enable_video_stretching?: boolean;
disable_music_track?: boolean;
enable_speech_enhancement?: boolean;
srt_role?: "input" | "output";
translate_audio_only?: boolean;
}Multiple Output Languages
const config = {
input_video_id: "original_video_id",
output_languages: ["es-ES", "fr-FR", "de-DE"],
name: "Multi-language translations",
};Custom Vocabulary (preserve specific terms)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/product-demo.mp4",
output_language: "ja-JP",
vocabulary: ["SuperWidget", "Pro Max", "TechCorp"],
};Custom SRT Subtitles
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/video.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
srt_key: "path/to/custom-subtitles.srt",
srt_role: "input",
};Checking Translation Status
curl
curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate/{translate_id}" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"TypeScript
interface TranslateStatusResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
id: string;
status: "pending" | "processing" | "completed" | "failed";
video_url?: string;
message?: string;
};
}
async function getTranslateStatus(translateId: string): Promise<TranslateStatusResponse["data"]> {
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate/${translateId}`,
{ headers: { "X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY! } }
);
const json: TranslateStatusResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data;
}Polling for Completion
Translations take longer than standard video generation — allow up to 30 minutes.
async function waitForTranslation(
translateId: string,
maxWaitMs = 1800000,
pollIntervalMs = 30000
): Promise<string> {
const startTime = Date.now();
while (Date.now() - startTime < maxWaitMs) {
const status = await getTranslateStatus(translateId);
switch (status.status) {
case "completed":
return status.video_url!;
case "failed":
throw new Error(status.message || "Translation failed");
default:
console.log(`Status: ${status.status}...`);
await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, pollIntervalMs));
}
}
throw new Error("Translation timed out");
}Complete Workflow
async function translateAndDownload(
videoUrl: string,
targetLanguage: string
): Promise<string> {
console.log(`Starting translation to ${targetLanguage}...`);
const translateId = await translateVideo({
video_url: videoUrl,
output_language: targetLanguage,
});
console.log(`Translation ID: ${translateId}`);
console.log("Processing translation...");
const translatedVideoUrl = await waitForTranslation(translateId);
console.log(`Translation complete: ${translatedVideoUrl}`);
return translatedVideoUrl;
}
const spanishVideo = await translateAndDownload(
"https://example.com/my-video.mp4",
"es-ES"
);Batch Translation
Translate to multiple languages in parallel:
async function translateToMultipleLanguages(
sourceVideoUrl: string,
targetLanguages: string[]
): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
const results: Record<string, string> = {};
const translatePromises = targetLanguages.map(async (lang) => {
const translateId = await translateVideo({
video_url: sourceVideoUrl,
output_language: lang,
});
return { lang, translateId };
});
const translationJobs = await Promise.all(translatePromises);
for (const job of translationJobs) {
try {
const videoUrl = await waitForTranslation(job.translateId);
results[job.lang] = videoUrl;
} catch (error) {
results[job.lang] = `error: ${error.message}`;
}
}
return results;
}
const translations = await translateToMultipleLanguages(
"https://example.com/original.mp4",
["es-ES", "fr-FR", "de-DE", "ja-JP"]
);Features
- Lip Sync — Automatically adjusts speaker's lip movements to match translated audio
- Voice Cloning — Translated audio matches the original speaker's voice characteristics
- Music Track Control — Optionally remove background music with
disable_music_track: true
- Speech Enhancement — Improve audio quality with
enable_speech_enhancement: true
Best Practices
- Source quality matters — Use high-quality source videos for better results
- Clear audio — Videos with clear speech translate better
- Single speaker — Best results with single-speaker content
- Moderate pacing — Very fast speech may affect quality
- Test first — Try with shorter clips before translating long videos
- Allow extra time — Translation takes longer than video generation (up to 30 min)
Error Handling
Common errors and how to handle them:
async function safeTranslate(
videoUrl: string,
targetLanguage: string
): Promise<{ success: boolean; result?: string; error?: string }> {
try {
const url = await translateAndDownload(videoUrl, targetLanguage);
return { success: true, result: url };
} catch (error) {
if (error.message.includes("quota")) {
return { success: false, error: "Insufficient credits" };
}
if (error.message.includes("duration")) {
return { success: false, error: "Video too long" };
}
if (error.message.includes("format")) {
return { success: false, error: "Unsupported video format" };
}
return { success: false, error: error.message };
}
}