Sora 2 API
Sora 2 API is our asynchronous video generation API designed for builders who need cinematic quality, prompt engineering controls, and predictable credits accounting. The Sora 2 API focuses on production reliability, team workflows, and SEO-driven discoverability so the term “sora 2 api” drives qualified traffic to your product. Ship new experiences faster with a workflow grounded in the documented /api/generate and /api/status guides that power our developer documentation.
Docs-driven integration
Dive into /docs for full walkthroughs.
SEO-ready structure
Optimized around quickstart, pricing, and alternatives.
Async by default
Track jobs with callback URLs or polling.
What is Sora 2 API?
Sora 2 API is the latest generation of our video generation API, purpose-built for product teams, creative studios, and AI tooling companies that need cinematic footage from text prompts. The Sora 2 API exposes high-level controls like duration, resolution, and stylistic guidance so you can orchestrate complex pipelines, inform prompt engineers, and plug into existing post-production flows.
By centering documentation, pricing, and webhook tooling around the sora 2 api keyword family, this hub earns organic visibility while giving developers the assets required to integrate Sora 2 API features within hours.
Developer-centric
Every Sora 2 API endpoint, including /api/generate and /api/status, is documented with sample payloads, rate limit guidance, and webhook behaviors so integration teams stay unblocked.
Async design means you can submit tasks, receive a job ID instantly, and let the Sora 2 API handle orchestration while you manage user-facing UX and messaging.
SEO-aligned content
This Sora 2 API page is structured to satisfy search intent for “sora 2 api”, “sora 2 api pricing”, “sora 2 api quickstart”, and related long-tail phrases across documentation, webhooks, and alternatives.
Rich media, FAQ schema, and breadcrumb metadata are included so search engines understand the hierarchy and developers find the right content fast.
Sora 2 API Quickstart
Authenticate with your Sora 2 API key, submit a prompt to POST /api/generate, and watch status updates via polling or a webhook callback URL. The following recipes highlight the async Sora 2 API workflow and how to control prompt engineering variables. Each snippet reuses the same payloads found in the documented sora 2 api guides so your team implements consistently across test and production environments.
1. Submit a generation
Use cURL, Node, or Python per your stack.
cURL
curl -X POST "https://sorapi.org/api/generate" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SORA2_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"prompt": "A neon-lit city skyline at dusk with flying cars and dynamic lighting",
"aspect_ratio": "vertical"
}'
Node.js (fetch)
const response = await fetch('https://sorapi.org/api/generate', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.SORA2_API_KEY}`,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify({
prompt: 'A neon-lit city skyline at dusk with flying cars and dynamic lighting',
aspect_ratio: 'vertical'
})
})
const { task_id } = await response.json()
Python (requests)
import os
import requests
payload = {
"prompt": "A neon-lit city skyline at dusk with flying cars and dynamic lighting",
"aspect_ratio": "vertical"
}
resp = requests.post(
"https://sorapi.org/api/generate",
headers={
"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SORA2_API_KEY']}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
json=payload,
timeout=30
)
resp.raise_for_status()
task_id = resp.json()["task_id"]
2. Poll status or receive webhooks
Track async Sora 2 API progress with the job ID returned from /api/generate.
Polling example
const statusResponse = await fetch('https://sorapi.org/api/status?task_id=' + taskId, {
headers: {
'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.SORA2_API_KEY}`
}
})
const statusPayload = await statusResponse.json()
Typical response
{
"task_id": "sora2aeeccc8d1274d569475872baf49a4d6mwk4",
"status": "SUCCESS",
"request": {
"prompt": "A neon-lit city skyline at dusk with flying cars and dynamic lighting",
"aspect_ratio": "vertical",
"resolution": "hd"
},
"response": [
"https://assets.sorapi.org/video/281e5b0*********************f39b9.mp4"
],
"error_message": null
}
Status transitions: queued → running → succeeded or failed or expired if the job exceeds retention, mirroring the Sora 2 API status docs.
Webhook payload
{
"task_id": "sora2aeeccc8d1274d569475872baf49a4d6mwk4",
"status": "SUCCESS",
"response": [
{
"format": "mp4",
"url": "https://assets.sorapi.org/video/281e5b0*********************f39b9.mp4"
}
],
"request": {
"prompt": "A neon-lit city skyline at dusk with flying cars and dynamic lighting",
"aspect_ratio": "vertical"
},
"metadata": {
"idempotency_key": "job-2024-03-12-001"
}
}
Endpoints & Parameters
Use the following Sora 2 API reference when orchestrating create and status calls. Each field is designed to balance artistic control, reproducibility, and cost so your teams can model credits usage up front while reinforcing sora 2 api documentation semantics for SEO crawlers.
POST /api/generate parameters
Submit a prompt, guidance tuning, and optional callback settings to kick off an async render.
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prompt | string | Yes | — | Primary description of the scene to render; supports up to 5,000 characters. | Aerial shot of bioluminescent forests at dusk with cinematic lighting |
| model_version | enum | No | sora-2-latest | Model release to target. Use preview channels to test new capabilities before rollout. | sora-2-preview |
| duration | integer (seconds) | No | 8 | Clip length in seconds. Longer durations may consume additional credits. | 12 |
| resolution | string | No | 1280x720 | Target render resolution. Balance with credits budgets to optimize cost vs fidelity. | 1920x1080 |
| guidance | float | No | 7.5 | Classifier-free guidance scale for adherence to the prompt. Higher values follow the text more strictly. | 8.5 |
| seed | integer | No | — | Use fixed seeds for reproducible frames and prompt engineering experiments. | 42 |
| negative_prompt | string | No | — | Elements to suppress in the output, such as watermarking, artifacts, or undesired subjects. | no watermark, no motion blur, avoid text overlays |
| callback_url | string (HTTPS) | No | — | Webhook destination for job completion events. Must be HTTPS and respond with 2xx status. | https://example.com/webhooks/sora2 |
| callback_headers | object | No | — | Custom headers appended to webhook deliveries for routing or verification. | { "X-Env": "staging" } |
| idempotency_key | string | No | — | Unique key (<= 64 chars) to guarantee at-most-once task creation on retries. | job-2024-03-12-001 |
GET /api/status
Poll with the id returned from generation.
Query string parameters include id (required) and optional expand for richer metadata. Responses return queued, running, succeeded, failed, or expired statuses.
See status endpoint docs for pagination of history events and debugging tips.
Pricing & Credits
Forecast Sora 2 API credits usage on each plan, align with finance, and upgrade in-product at any time. Visit the pricing page for the latest Sora 2 API tables. Highlighting sora 2 api pricing terminology here signals to search engines that billing and credits guidance is a primary intent of this page.
Free
Experiment with the Sora 2 API quickstart.
$0
- Includes STARTER_CREDITS launch credits for Sora 2 API trials
- Up to 2 concurrent Sora 2 API async jobs and guided docs support
- Community Slack access for Sora 2 API prompt engineering clinics
Pro
Best for production pilots and startups.
PRO_PRICE
- PRO_INCLUDED_CREDITS Sora 2 API credits refreshed monthly
- Priority access to new Sora 2 API model drops
- Overage at OVERAGE_RATE per Sora 2 API credit with monthly invoicing
Scale
Custom credits and enterprise controls.
SCALE_PRICE
- SCALE_INCLUDED_CREDITS pooled Sora 2 API credits with rollover
- Dedicated Sora 2 API webhook throughput lanes and 24/7 support
- SOC2 controls, audit logs, and seat-based access policies for Sora 2 API teams
Prompt Engineering Best Practices
Dial in cinematic Sora 2 API outputs with structured prompt language, seeds, and balanced guidance. These tips help prompt engineers deliver consistent Sora 2 API results while keeping credits in check.
Storyboard with camera and lens cues
Describe Sora 2 API shots with focal length, camera movement, and lighting direction. Example: “Steadicam tracking shot at 35mm with golden-hour rim lighting.”
Control randomness with seeds
Re-use the same seed across Sora 2 API iterations to compare prompt adjustments. Store seeds alongside prompt text in version control for reproducibility.
Use negative prompts thoughtfully
Exclude unwanted elements (e.g., “no watermark, no text overlays”) to reduce manual cleanup and conserve Sora 2 API credits on re-renders.
Balance guidance and creativity
Start with Sora 2 API guidance 7–9 for brand-critical shots. Lower guidance values encourage exploratory motion and unexpected frames.
Mind duration vs resolution trade-offs
Higher resolution and longer durations consume more Sora 2 API credits. Prototype with 720p/8s then upscale or extend once the direction is locked.
Document prompt versions
Track prompt iterations, seeds, and negative prompts for the async pipeline. This accelerates collaboration between editors and prompt engineers.
Webhooks & Job Lifecycle
Receive Sora 2 API webhook callbacks with HMAC signatures, monitor state transitions, and keep retry logic idempotent. Each webhook includes an X-Signature header built with your signing secret so the sora 2 api lifecycle remains verifiable end-to-end.
Lifecycle states
Queued → Running
The Sora 2 API validates payloads, reserves credits, and schedules GPU capacity. Once running, expect first frames within seconds.
Running → Succeeded
Completed Sora 2 API jobs emit URLs for MP4/WEBM assets, thumbnails, and metadata. Webhook delivery may occur before polling results update—treat webhooks as canonical.
Running → Failed
Failures include validation errors, budget exhaustion, or timeouts. The Sora 2 API payload includes a descriptive error code so you can alert users automatically.
Running → Expired
Sora 2 API jobs older than the retention window without retrieval enter an expired state. Fetch assets promptly or set up archival workflows.
Verify webhook signatures
Validate X-Signature using HMAC SHA-256 and your webhook secret.
import { createHmac, timingSafeEqual } from 'crypto'
export function verifySora2Webhook(payload: string, signature: string, secret: string) {
const digest = createHmac('sha256', secret).update(payload, 'utf8').digest('hex')
const safeDigest = Buffer.from(digest)
const provided = Buffer.from(signature)
if (safeDigest.length !== provided.length) return false
return timingSafeEqual(safeDigest, provided)
}
Retry with exponential backoff and include an idempotency_key header so duplicate webhook deliveries do not double-process downstream Sora 2 API jobs.
Limits & Errors
Build reliable clients by respecting rate limits and handling transient errors. Use retries with jitter when the Sora 2 API signals back-pressure so your Sora 2 API integrations stay healthy, and document these guardrails anywhere you mention sora 2 api support tiers.
Rate limits
- • Sora 2 API default limit: 30 generate requests per minute, bursting to 60 with smoothing.
- • Sora 2 API status polling: 60 requests per minute per API key; prefer exponential backoff beyond 3 attempts.
- • Sora 2 API webhooks: Retries up to 6 times over 24 hours; respond with HTTP 2xx to acknowledge.
Error codes & retry strategy
422 UNPROCESSABLE ENTITY
Prompt validation
Ensure Sora 2 API prompt length < 5,000 chars and resolution matches allowed presets.
429 TOO MANY REQUESTS
Rate limited
Honor the Retry-After header, add jitter, and consider upgrading your Sora 2 API plan for higher throughput.
503 SERVICE UNAVAILABLE
Brief maintenance window
Queue new Sora 2 API jobs with idempotency keys and retry with exponential backoff (up to 5 attempts).
Sora 2 vs Alternatives
Evaluate the Sora 2 API alongside other video generation APIs. Whether you need a multi-model fleet or want to consolidate spend, understand how we compare to Veo3 and Ray3.
Sora 2 API
Cinematic async video generation with granular prompt controls.
Deep Sora 2 API prompt engineering toolkit, deterministic seeds, webhook-first architecture.
Best when you want tight integration with existing credits workflows and docs.
Veo3
Realtime VJ-style visuals optimized for music and live sets.
Ultra-fast loops, reactive audio features, lighter prompt surface compared to the Sora 2 API.
Best when latency matters more than the Sora 2 API’s granular scene direction.
Ray3
Programmatic 3D animation rendering with physics-driven prompts.
Scene graphs, 3D asset imports, volumetric lighting presets beyond Sora 2 API’s scope.
Best when projects demand physically-based animation or game-engine pipelines in addition to Sora 2 API usage.
FAQ
Answers to the most common questions about the Sora 2 API, pricing, webhook support, and commercial readiness keep the sora 2 api keyword present for buyers and developers researching the platform.
How is Sora 2 API priced?
Sora 2 API plans start with the Free tier (STARTER_CREDITS credits) and scale through Pro (PRO_PRICE) and Scale (SCALE_PRICE). Visit /pricing for full Sora 2 API tables and credit rollovers.
Does the API support webhooks?
Yes. Provide a HTTPS callback_url when calling the Sora 2 API /api/generate endpoint to receive signed webhook events on completion, failure, or expiration.
Is commercial use allowed?
Commercial licenses for the Sora 2 API are included with Pro and Scale subscriptions. Free tier usage is limited to evaluation and non-production pilots.
How fast is a typical 8s 720p job?
Most Sora 2 API 8-second 720p renders complete within 60–90 seconds. Complex scenes or higher resolutions may require additional time.
What languages can prompts use?
The Sora 2 API supports multilingual prompts, including English, Mandarin, Spanish, and Japanese. Provide context in the prompt to improve translations.
Do you offer refunds or trial credits?
We provide Sora 2 API trial credits on the Free tier, with refund evaluations handled through support for unused PRO_INCLUDED_CREDITS blocks.