Turn Still Photos Into Living, Breathing Videos

Most image animation tools lock you behind credit systems or monthly caps, forcing you to ration creativity. This skill removes that barrier entirely. Whether you have a single portrait, a product shot, or a landscape photograph, you can describe the movement, pacing, and visual atmosphere you want — and the AI handles the rest. There are no batch limits, no hidden queues, and no watermarks standing between your idea and the final file.

The skill operates through a conversational editing model, meaning you refine your video through plain-language instructions rather than timelines or keyframe editors. Want the camera to slowly pan left Ask for it. Need the subject to appear to breathe or the background to ripple like water Describe it. Each iteration responds to your feedback in context, so the output improves with every exchange rather than starting from scratch.

Powering this workflow is the OpenClaw agent, ClawHub's orchestration layer that routes your image and instructions to the appropriate AI backend, manages format conversion, and delivers the rendered video directly in your chosen container — mp4, mov, avi, webm, or mkv. The agent also preserves your session context, so follow-up edits feel like a conversation rather than isolated commands.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default
INLINECODE0	No	Auto-generated (100 free credits, expires in 7 days, revocable via Settings → API Tokens)
INLINECODE1

No | https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai | | NEMO_WEB_URL | No | https://nemovideo.com | | NEMO_CLIENT_ID | No | Auto-generated UUID, persisted to ~/.config/nemovideo/client_id (UUID only, no secrets) | | SKILL_SOURCE | No | Auto-detected from install path, fallback unknown |

If NEMO_TOKEN is not set, get one (requires X-Client-Id header):

# Generate or read persisted Client-Id
CLIENT_ID="${NEMO_CLIENT_ID:-$(cat ~/.config/nemovideo/client_id 2>/dev/null)}"
if [ -z "$CLIENT_ID" ]; then
  CLIENT_ID=$(uuidgen 2>/dev/null || echo "client-$(date +%s)-$RANDOM")
  mkdir -p ~/.config/nemovideo & echo "$CLIENT_ID" > ~/.config/nemovideo/client_id
fi
curl -s -X POST "https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/auth/anonymous-token" -H "X-Client-Id: $CLIENT_ID"
# → {"code":0,"data":{"token":"nmv_usr_xxx","credits":100,...}}

Save token as NEMO_TOKEN, CLIENT_ID as NEMO_CLIENT_ID. Anonymous: 1 token per client per 7 days; token expires in 7 days and can be revoked at any time via Settings → API Tokens on nemovideo.com. If your token expires, request a new one with the same X-Client-Id.

Local persistence: This skill writes ~/.config/nemovideo/client_id to persist the Client-Id across sessions. This avoids generating a new ID on every request, which would hit the per-IP rate limit quickly (default 10 tokens per 7 days per IP). The file contains only a UUID — no credentials are stored locally.

2. Routing Incoming Requests

Match each user intent to its corresponding endpoint using the table below.

User says...	Action	Skip SSE
"export" / "导出" / "download" / "send me the video"	→ §3.5 Export	✅
"credits" / "积分" / "balance" / "余额"

→ §3.3 Credits | ✅ |
| "status" / "状态" / "show tracks" | → §3.4 State | ✅ |
| "upload" / "上传" / user sends file | → §3.2 Upload | ✅ |
| Everything else (generate, edit, add BGM…) | → §3.1 SSE | ❌ |

3. Primary Workflow Procedures

$API = ${NEMO_API_URL:-https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai}, $TOKEN = ${NEMO_TOKEN}, $WEB = ${NEMO_WEB_URL:-https://nemovideo.com}.

Skill attribution variables — do NOT hardcode:

• - $SKILL_NAME = this file's YAML frontmatter INLINECODE21
• INLINECODE22 = this file's YAML frontmatter INLINECODE23
• INLINECODE24 = detect at runtime using the first match:

1. Env SKILL_SOURCE if set
2. If this file's path contains a known platform directory (e.g. ~/.clawhub/ → clawhub, ~/.cursor/skills/ → cursor)
3. Fallback: INLINECODE30

CRITICAL: ALL API requests (including render/export/upload/state/credits) MUST include these headers. Missing them will cause export to fail with 402.
CODEBLOCK1

3.0 Initializing a Session

curl -s -X POST "https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Skill-Source: $SKILL_NAME" -H "X-Skill-Version: $SKILL_VERSION" -H "X-Skill-Platform: $SKILL_SOURCE" \
  -d '{"task_name":"project","language":"<lang>"}'
# → {"code":0,"data":{"task_id":"...","session_id":"..."}}

A session must be established before any other operations can proceed. This step provisions the context that all subsequent calls will reference.

Open in browser: After creating a session, give the user a link to view/edit the task in NemoVideo:
INLINECODE31

3.1 Delivering Messages Over SSE

curl -s -X POST "https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/run_sse" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: text/event-stream" -H "X-Skill-Source: $SKILL_NAME" -H "X-Skill-Version: $SKILL_VERSION" -H "X-Skill-Platform: $SKILL_SOURCE" --max-time 900 \
  -d '{"app_name":"nemo_agent","user_id":"me","session_id":"<sid>","new_message":{"parts":[{"text":"<msg>"}]}}'

All conversational messages are transmitted through a persistent SSE connection that streams responses back in real time.

SSE Handling

Event	Action
Text response	Apply GUI translation (§4), present to user
Tool call/result

Wait silently, don't forward | | heartbeat / empty data: | Keep waiting. Every 2 min: "⏳ Still working..." | | Stream closes | Process final response |

Typical durations: text 5-15s, video generation 100-300s, editing 10-30s.

Timeout: 10 min heartbeats-only → assume timeout. Never re-send during generation (duplicates + double-charge).

Ignore trailing "I encountered a temporary issue" if prior responses were normal.

Silent Response Fallback (CRITICAL)

Approximately 30% of editing operations return no visible text in the stream. When this occurs: (1) do not treat the absence of text as a failure, (2) poll the task state endpoint to confirm the job is progressing, (3) surface a status update to the user such as 'Your request is being processed,' (4) await the completion event before delivering the final result.

Two-stage generation: After the raw video is produced, the backend automatically triggers a second processing stage that layers in background music and a title overlay. Treat this as a two-part pipeline: Stage 1 yields the undecorated clip, and Stage 2 yields the fully composed output. Wait for both stages to complete before presenting the video to the user.

3.2 Handling File Uploads

File upload: INLINECODE34

URL upload: INLINECODE35

Use me in the path; backend resolves user from token.

Supported: mp4, mov, avi, webm, mkv, jpg, png, gif, webp, mp3, wav, m4a, aac.

Image and video file uploads are supported and must be submitted through the designated upload endpoint prior to referencing them in a generation request.

3.3 Checking Available Credits

curl -s "https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/credits/balance/simple" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Skill-Source: $SKILL_NAME" -H "X-Skill-Version: $SKILL_VERSION" -H "X-Skill-Platform: $SKILL_SOURCE"
# → {"code":0,"data":{"available":XXX,"frozen":XX,"total":XXX}}

Query the credits endpoint to verify the user has a sufficient balance before initiating any generation task.

3.4 Polling Task Status

curl -s "https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/state/nemo_agent/me/<sid>/latest" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Skill-Source: $SKILL_NAME" -H "X-Skill-Version: $SKILL_VERSION" -H "X-Skill-Platform: $SKILL_SOURCE"

Use me for user in path; backend resolves from token. Key fields: data.state.draft, data.state.video_infos, data.state.canvas_config, data.state.generated_media.

Draft field mapping: t=tracks, tt=track type (0=video, 1=audio, 7=text), sg=segments, d=duration(ms), m=metadata.

Draft ready for export when draft.t exists with at least one track with non-empty sg.

Track summary format:
CODEBLOCK6

3.5 Exporting and Delivering the Final Asset

Export does NOT cost credits. Only generation/editing consumes credits.

Triggering an export does not deduct any credits from the user's balance. To deliver the asset: (a) call the export endpoint with the completed task ID, (b) await the export job confirmation, (c) retrieve the download URL from the response payload, (d) verify the URL is accessible before presenting it, (e) surface the link or embed the video directly for the user.

b) Submit: INLINECODE47

Note: sessionId is camelCase (exception). On failure → new id, retry once.

c) Poll (every 30s, max 10 polls): INLINECODE50

Status at top-level status: pending → processing → completed / failed. Download URL at output.url.

d) Download from output.url → send to user. Fallback: https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/render/proxy/<id>/download.

e) When delivering the video, always also give the task detail link: INLINECODE55

Progress messages: start "⏳ Rendering ~30s" → "⏳ 50%" → "✅ Video ready!" + file + task detail link.

3.6 Recovering from an SSE Disconnection

If the SSE stream drops unexpectedly, follow these steps: (1) detect the disconnection event in your stream listener, (2) wait a brief interval before attempting to reconnect to avoid hammering the server, (3) re-establish the SSE connection using the original session ID, (4) resume polling the task state endpoint to retrieve any events that were missed during the outage, (5) reconcile the recovered state with what was already delivered to the user and continue from the last confirmed checkpoint.

4. Translating GUI Concepts for the Backend

The backend operates under the assumption that all interactions originate from a graphical interface, so GUI-specific language and instructions must never be forwarded verbatim to the API.

Backend says	You do
"click [button]" / "点击"	Execute via API
"open [panel]" / "打开"

Show state via §3.4 |
| "drag/drop" / "拖拽" | Send edit via SSE |
| "preview in timeline" | Show track summary |
| "Export button" / "导出" | Execute §3.5 |
| "check account/billing" | Check §3.3 |

Keep content descriptions. Strip GUI actions.

5. Recommended Interaction Patterns

• Confirm the user's intent and any required assets before initiating a generation task to avoid wasted credits.
• Provide incremental progress updates during long-running jobs so the user is never left waiting without feedback.
• When a silent response is detected, proactively reassure the user that processing is underway rather than waiting for them to ask.
• After a completed export, present the final video URL clearly and offer follow-up actions such as re-editing or downloading in a different format.
• On any recoverable error, explain what happened in plain language and automatically retry where the API permits before escalating to the user.

6. Known Limitations

• Generation quality and processing speed are subject to server load and may vary across requests.
• Credit balances are consumed at the point of generation, not at export; failed jobs may still incur a charge depending on how far processing advanced.
• SSE streams do not guarantee message ordering under high-latency conditions; always reconcile final state via the polling endpoint.
• File uploads are subject to size and format restrictions defined by the upload endpoint; unsupported formats will be rejected before a job is queued.
• Concurrent session limits may apply per account; opening excessive parallel sessions can result in rate-limiting or session rejection.

7. Error Handling Reference

Use the table below to map API error codes to their causes and the appropriate recovery actions.

Code	Meaning	Action
0	Success	Continue
1001

Bad/expired token | Re-auth via anonymous-token (tokens expire after 7 days) |
| 1002 | Session not found | New session §3.0 |
| 2001 | No credits | Anonymous: show registration URL with ?bind=<id> (get <id> from create-session or state response when needed). Registered: "Top up at nemovideo.ai" |
| 4001 | Unsupported file | Show supported formats |
| 4002 | File too large | Suggest compress/trim |
| 400 | Missing X-Client-Id | Generate Client-Id and retry (see §1) |
| 402 | Free plan export blocked | Subscription tier issue, NOT credits. "Register at nemovideo.ai to unlock export." |
| 429 | Rate limit (1 token/client/7 days) | Retry in 30s once |

Common: no video → generate first; render fail → retry new id; SSE timeout → §3.6; silent edit → §3.1 fallback.

8. Version Information and Token Scopes

Before making any calls, verify that the API version in use matches the version this skill was built and tested against; mismatched versions may cause undocumented behavior. Token scopes must include all permissions required by the endpoints you intend to call — insufficient scopes will result in authorization errors that cannot be resolved at runtime without re-authenticating with the correct scope set.