ceven

Shotstack

Automates the creation of personalized videos and images by sending assets to the render queue and tracking production state until delivery.

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Why use Ceven?

  1. AI native Shotstack integration

    • Describe the outcome and Ceven picks the right Shotstack calls, fills the parameters, and checks the result.
    • Structured, agent friendly tool schemas so each call runs reliably instead of by guesswork.
    • Rich coverage for reading, writing, and querying your Shotstack data, across all 23 of its actions.

  2. Managed auth

    • Built in OAuth with automatic token refresh and rotation.
    • One place to manage, scope, and revoke Shotstack access.
    • Per user and per environment credentials instead of shared keys.

  3. Agent optimized design

    • Actions are tuned from real success and error rates so reliability climbs over time.
    • Full execution logs so you always know what ran in Shotstack, when, and on whose behalf.
    • The agent pauses and asks when Shotstack is unclear instead of plowing ahead.

  4. Enterprise grade security

    • Fine grained access so you control which agents and people can reach Shotstack.
    • Least privilege by default, read scopes first and only the writes a workflow needs.
    • A full audit trail of every Shotstack action to support review and sign off.

Supported tools

Every action Ceven's agents can run on Shotstack, and when to use it.

Render video
Use this when you have a completed JSON timeline and need to start the cloud rendering process to produce an MP4.
Get render status
Pull the current state of a specific render job to see if it is pending, processing, or completed.
Create image
Generate a static image based on a timeline definition. Use this for dynamic social media thumbnails.
Get render details
Pull the final output URL and metadata for a completed render job.
Cancel render
Stop a render job that is currently in the queue to save credits or correct a mistake.
List renders
Pull a list of recent render jobs to audit production volume or find failed assets.
Update render
Modify the parameters of a pending render job before it begins processing.
Get asset info
Pull metadata for a specific media asset stored in the Shotstack library.
Create asset
Upload a new video or image file to the Shotstack cloud for use in future timelines.
Delete render
Remove a render record from the history to clean up the dashboard.
Search renders
Query for specific render jobs using tags or date ranges to find specific campaign assets.
Validate timeline
Check a JSON timeline for syntax errors before sending it to the render queue.

12 actions · scroll to see them all

Frequently asked questions

Ceven does not keep a connection open while Shotstack renders because video processing takes time. Instead, the agent uses a polling pattern. When a render is triggered, Ceven notes the job ID and schedules a check back in a few minutes. If the render is still processing, the agent waits and tries again. Once the status returns as completed, Ceven captures the final URL and moves to the next step in your workflow, such as emailing the link to a client. This ensures your workflow does not time out while waiting for high resolution exports to finish.
Yes. You can either provide a public URL to an asset already hosted on your own server or use the Create Asset action to upload files directly to Shotstack. Ceven can pull images or clips from your cloud storage, like AWS S3 or Google Drive, and pass those URLs into the Shotstack JSON timeline. The agent ensures the URLs are properly formatted so the Shotstack render engine can access them without permission errors. This allows for a fully dynamic pipeline where the assets change based on the data in your trigger.
Ceven monitors the render status and catches any error codes returned by the API. If a render fails due to a bad asset URL or a timeline error, the agent can be configured to alert you via Slack or attempt a retry with a fallback asset. You can build a logic branch in Ceven that says if the render status is failed, then notify the creative team and log the error in a spreadsheet. This prevents broken video links from being sent to customers in automated email campaigns.
Ceven can trigger as many renders as your Shotstack plan allows. However, you must be aware of Shotstack rate limits on their API endpoints. If you trigger thousands of renders in a single second, Shotstack may return a 429 too many requests error. Ceven handles this by implementing a queue system with exponential backoff. The agent will automatically slow down the request rate to stay within your plan limits, ensuring that no render jobs are dropped during high volume bursts.
No, Ceven does not store the video files. Shotstack hosts the rendered output on their own cloud storage for a limited time. Ceven simply manages the metadata and the URL. If you need to keep the videos permanently, you should set up a workflow where Ceven takes the final URL from Shotstack and uploads the file to your own permanent storage, such as an S3 bucket or a Digital Asset Manager, before the Shotstack temporary link expires.
Yes. Ceven can construct complex JSON timelines with multiple tracks, clips, and transitions. You can define a template in Shotstack and have Ceven swap out the variables for each run. For example, the agent can change the background clip, the overlay text, and the music track based on the user profile. Because Ceven handles the JSON construction, you do not need to write the code yourself; you just tell the agent which data points should map to which parts of the video timeline.
Ceven uses the API key provided by your Shotstack account. You enter your API key in the Ceven integration settings, and it is stored using industry standard encryption. This key is passed in the header of every request the agent makes to the Shotstack REST API. You can rotate your API key in the Shotstack dashboard at any time, and you will just need to update the key in Ceven to resume your video automation workflows.
While Shotstack is primarily focused on video and images, it handles audio tracks as part of the timeline. Ceven can create a render that focuses on audio assets, but the output is typically wrapped in a video container like MP4. If you need a pure audio file, you would typically use a separate audio processing tool. Use Shotstack through Ceven when you need a visual component or a video file that includes a specific audio mix for social media or web playback.

Alternatives to Shotstack

Other tools that solve a similar problem. Ceven supports these too, so you can switch or run more than one at once.

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