Whiteboard animation API and MCP for agents
Yes, there is an API. With a key from Studio → API, an agent or a script uploads a finished PNG, JPEG or WebP, starts a drawing and polls until it is done, spending one credit per picture. The API returns the drawing and its assets, not an MP4: video export renders in a browser. It never makes a picture from text.
Quickstart
Set WHITEBOARD_API_KEY in your environment, then reserve an upload for a local picture.png (the size must match the file):
curl https://whiteboardanimation.ai/api/v1/uploads \
--request POST \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $WHITEBOARD_API_KEY" \
--header "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data-binary @- <<JSON
{
"file_name": "picture.png",
"content_type": "image/png",
"size": $(wc -c < picture.png)
}
JSONThen PUT the bytes to the returned upload_url without the API key, confirm the upload_id, submit POST /api/v1/drawings with a stable Idempotency-Key, and poll the returned status_url about every five seconds.
Hand it to your agent
Paste this prompt into Claude Code, Codex or Cursor, or open it there directly. The agent reads llms.txt and draws every picture in ./scenes; the key stays in your environment, never in the chat.
MCP
A remote MCP server at https://whiteboardanimation.ai/mcp is in development, with sign-in instead of a pasted key. Until it ships, agents use the REST API through llms.txt — the prompt above does exactly that, and needs nothing installed.
Read https://whiteboardanimation.ai/llms.txt and use the Whiteboard Animation API, with the key in the WHITEBOARD_API_KEY environment variable as the Bearer token, to turn every picture in ./scenes into a drawing. Save each drawing's download links to ./clips/.
API keys
A workspace owner or admin creates keys at Studio → API, with a name and an expiry (30, 90 or 365 days, or none), and revokes them there. The key starts with lede_ and is shown once: keep it in a secret manager or the WHITEBOARD_API_KEY environment variable. A key acts for its workspace and spends its credits.
Create a keyEndpoints
Base URL https://whiteboardanimation.ai, Bearer key on every /api/v1 request. Types, limits and errors are in the API reference.
| Endpoint | What it does | Success |
|---|---|---|
POST /api/v1/uploads | Reserve an upload: file name, type, size (up to 10 MiB) | 201 |
PUT upload_url | Send the bytes to the signed URL, without the key | 200 |
POST /api/v1/uploads/confirm | Confirm the upload once stored | 200 |
POST /api/v1/drawings | Start a drawing; Idempotency-Key required | 202 |
GET /api/v1/drawings/:id | Status, progress, and download URLs when done | 200 |
Limits, errors and plans
Creating a key needs a plan with API access (Pro). When a workspace loses it, requests answer 403 plan_required until it upgrades; the key is not revoked.
An expired or revoked key answers 401 invalid_api_key: replace it.
Poll one job about every five seconds and obey Retry-After on 429.
Each drawing spends one credit; if it fails, the credit comes back. Retry a submission with its original Idempotency-Key, never a new one.