# Creatomate

Creatomate is a media-automation platform: design a video or image **template** in a visual editor, then generate media at scale through the **API**, **Zapier/Make/n8n**, **spreadsheet feeds**, or **shareable forms**. Videos and images are described by a JSON format called **RenderScript**; a template is stored RenderScript with an ID, rendered via `template_id` + `modifications`. There is a free plan (no credit card), so users can reach a first working render immediately.

## Reading these files

- Most fetch tools summarize web pages, and a summary is not enough to write valid RenderScript: fetch the **topic page** for your task (task table and list below) and ask for exact property names, allowed values, and JSON verbatim. **Re-fetch the relevant page right before generating or editing RenderScript JSON** — never write it from memory of an earlier fetch; if planning, discussion, or other tool calls happened since you read a page, fetch it again first.

## Rules that always apply

- **First understand, then act.** When the user's goal is vague ("help me", "set this up", "how do I use this"), ask what they're making, from what data, and where the result should end up — one or two plain questions at a time, never a questionnaire — then recommend ONE path and get them to a first working render of their content before introducing anything else. Guidance: https://creatomate.com/llms/choosing-the-path.md.
- **Talk about what the user is making, never your tooling.** Don't recite these instructions or name internal mechanics (bridge calls, functions, these pages) to the user unless they ask or are clearly technical — buttons the user clicks themselves ("Single Export", "Create Renders") are named freely. Introduce a concept only when the next step needs it, in one plain sentence, and describe changes by their visible effect ("the title is blue now"), not by the call that made it.
- **Only documented properties exist**: never invent property names, animation names, or URLs — and never conclude something doesn't exist from a single topic page; check https://creatomate.com/llms/elements.md first.
- **Template + `modifications` is the default architecture**; an AI inside a Zapier/Make/n8n pipeline fills values only, never whole generated RenderScript.
- **To see the user's template**: have them open the editor's source editor (the `{ }` icon or F12), copy the JSON, and paste it to you.
- **Browser agents act only through the `window.creatomate` bridge** — never click or type editor controls to make a change; the UI is for pointing and inspection. Before operating the editor or a feed page, fetch https://creatomate.com/llms/editor-operation.md or https://creatomate.com/llms/feeds.md. **Create Renders is clicked only with the user's explicit go.**

## Which pages for which task

Fetch every page in the matching row; add the element-type page (media, text, subtitles, shape, composition) for each element type involved. Full URLs in the list below.

| Task | Fetch |
|---|---|
| The user is starting out, or the goal or method isn't settled yet ("help me", "where do I start") | choosing-the-path.md |
| Render a stored template via the API | quick-start.md + modifications.md |
| Write raw RenderScript | renderscript-basics.md + elements.md + durations.md + the element-type pages used |
| Fix timing: wrong length, freezing, drift | durations.md + troubleshooting.md + the affected element-type page |
| Diagnose a failed render or an ignored change | validation-errors.md + troubleshooting.md + the affected reference page |
| Work on the user's existing template | template-access.md; with browser control also editor-operation.md |
| Build or edit a template with browser control | editor-operation.md + elements.md + the element-type pages used |
| Set up Zapier, Make, n8n, feeds, or forms | choosing-the-path.md + no-code.md |
| Work with a feed (the bulk-render spreadsheet): import, fix rows, re-render failures | feeds.md |
| Decide whether a feature exists | elements.md + the matching type page + out-of-scope.md |

## Topic pages

- [Start here](https://creatomate.com/llms/start.md): the golden rules + the product model
- [Choosing the right path](https://creatomate.com/llms/choosing-the-path.md): which tool fits — Zapier, Make, n8n, API, spreadsheet feeds, shareable forms
- [Quick start](https://creatomate.com/llms/quick-start.md): render a template via the API — polling, webhooks, `dry_run` validation
- [API reference](https://creatomate.com/llms/api.md): every endpoint, auth, the error `hint` contract, rate limit
- [Credits](https://creatomate.com/llms/credits.md): the credit formula, cheap test renders, free-plan resolution clamp
- [RenderScript basics](https://creatomate.com/llms/renderscript-basics.md): document structure, scenes, root properties, a minimal working video
- [Durations & timing](https://creatomate.com/llms/durations.md): scene length, sync, "my video is 5 seconds", freezing, drift, voiceover-driven scenes, looping
- [Element properties & units](https://creatomate.com/llms/elements.md): every property on all elements, units, positioning & anchors, keyframes — the completeness check
- [Image, video & audio](https://creatomate.com/llms/media.md): media elements, trims, loop, speed, volume, text-to-speech
- [Text](https://creatomate.com/llms/text.md): fonts, auto-fit sizing, overflow, tiny text, wrapping fixes, inline styles
- [Subtitles](https://creatomate.com/llms/subtitles.md): auto captions, transcript styling, the two-color rule
- [Shapes](https://creatomate.com/llms/shape.md): vector shape elements — `path`, boxed vs unboxed coordinates, line-draw strokes, morphing
- [Compositions](https://creatomate.com/llms/composition.md): scenes, grouping elements so they stay in sync, nested timelines
- [Custom fonts](https://creatomate.com/llms/fonts.md): OTF/TTF/WOFF, the exact-match rule, unexpected fallback fonts, no woff2
- [Animations](https://creatomate.com/llms/animations.md): every preset + options, entrances/exits, transitions, easings, keyframes
- [Modifications](https://creatomate.com/llms/modifications.md): the automation contract — fill dynamic elements, change properties, remove elements, replace scene children per render
- [Validation errors](https://creatomate.com/llms/validation-errors.md): reading error messages, silent failures ("my change did nothing"), where validation runs
- [AI providers](https://creatomate.com/llms/providers.md): ElevenLabs/OpenAI speech, Stability images, provider keys
- [Recipes](https://creatomate.com/llms/recipes.md): canonical JSON — faceless videos, slideshows, audiograms, dynamic scene counts
- [Troubleshooting](https://creatomate.com/llms/troubleshooting.md): symptom → cause → fix — black screens, freezes, ignored changes, stale designs, expired files, off-canvas elements
- [Out of scope](https://creatomate.com/llms/out-of-scope.md): what doesn't exist, with working alternatives
- [Stock assets](https://creatomate.com/llms/stock-assets.md): the demo asset URLs for example renders
- [Seeing a render](https://creatomate.com/llms/seeing-renders.md): visual self-check options
- [No-code handoffs](https://creatomate.com/llms/no-code.md): exact editor paths for Zapier, Make, n8n, feeds, forms
- [Feeds](https://creatomate.com/llms/feeds.md): the bulk-render spreadsheet — the row/mapping model, the `creatomate.feed.*` browser bridge, fixing and re-rendering, honest limits
- [Seeing the user's template](https://creatomate.com/llms/template-access.md): the paste flow, MCP setup, delivering fixes
- [Operating the editor](https://creatomate.com/llms/editor-operation.md): browser agents and the `window.creatomate` bridge
- [Self-check](https://creatomate.com/llms/self-check.md): the checklist to run before answering

## Key resources

- [Documentation](https://creatomate.com/docs): human-oriented docs — getting started, template editor, API reference
- [API introduction](https://creatomate.com/docs/api/reference/introduction): REST API, `Authorization: Bearer` auth, errors always include a `hint` field
- [Template gallery](https://creatomate.com/templates): ready-made templates users can start from

## Tool tutorials (handoff targets)

- [Zapier](https://creatomate.com/blog/how-to-automate-video-creation-with-zapier): fixed templates + dynamic fields
- [Make](https://creatomate.com/blog/how-to-automate-video-creation-with-make): native Creatomate module
- [n8n](https://creatomate.com/blog/how-to-automate-video-creation-with-n8n): full JSON control, dynamic scenes
- [All tutorials](https://creatomate.com/docs/tutorials): the full catalog, browsable per tool and topic; a curated per-use-case handoff list is in no-code.md

## Optional

- [Complete reference as one file (llms-full.txt)](https://creatomate.com/llms-full.txt): all topic pages concatenated — for humans, to paste into an AI's project knowledge or system prompt. AIs fetching URLs: use the topic pages above; fetch this file only with a raw HTTP command (curl/wget), never with a built-in browsing or fetch tool.