Video Translation (HeyGen)

Translate and dub existing videos into multiple languages, preserving lip-sync and natural speech patterns. Provide a video URL or HeyGen video ID — no need to create the video on HeyGen first.

Authentication

All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.

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/video.mp4", "output_language": "es-ES"}'

Default Workflow

1. Provide a video URL or HeyGen video ID
2. Call POST /v2/video_translate with the target language
3. Poll GET /v2/video_translate/{translate_id} until status is completed
4. Download the translated video from the returned URL

Creating a Translation Job

Request Fields

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

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"
how to use video-translate
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use video-translate on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add video-translate
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/heygen-com/skills --skill video-translatecopy
The skills CLI fetches video-translate from GitHub repository heygen-com/skills and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/video-translate
Reload or restart Cursor to activate video-translate. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /video-translate) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?