dashscope-videogen

Generates short videos from a text prompt using Aliyun DashScope's async video synthesis endpoint. The bundled videogen.py owns submission, polling, key resolution, and download — Claude just chooses parameters and invokes it.

Key management — do this first if invocation fails

The script needs DASHSCOPE_API_KEY. Resolution order:

1. DASHSCOPE_API_KEY exported in the current shell.
2. ~/.claude/skill-env/dashscope-videogen.env (the persistent local file the skill writes — outside any source tree, chmod 600).

If neither is set, the script exits with code 2 and a clear message. Never hard-code, log, or commit a key. Never write the key into a file inside this skill folder or any other git-tracked path — only set-key (which writes to ~/.claude/skill-env/) is acceptable.

When the user has not yet provided a key

1. Run python3 ~/.claude/skills/dashscope-videogen/videogen.py check-key.
2. If it reports MISSING, ask the user once, in plain language, for their DashScope API key (link them to https://dashscope.console.aliyun.com/apiKey if they don't know where to find it).

3. When they paste it, persist it:

   python3 ~/.claude/skills/dashscope-videogen/videogen.py set-key sk-XXXXXXXX

   The script writes to ~/.claude/skill-env/dashscope-videogen.env (chmod 600) and prints a masked confirmation. Future Claude sessions reuse it automatically.

4. Then proceed with the actual generation request.

If the user prefers not to persist, they can export DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=... in their shell instead — the script picks up the env var first.

How to invoke (the happy path)

python3 ~/.claude/skills/dashscope-videogen/videogen.py generate <output.mp4> "<prompt>" \
  [--model happyhorse-1.0-t2v] \
  [--resolution 720P] \
  [--ratio 16:9] \
  [--duration 5]

• <output.mp4> — absolute or workspace-relative path. Default to the current working directory; do not write to /tmp unless the user asks.
• <prompt> — pass the user's prompt verbatim unless they asked for refinement. The API accepts Chinese and English.
• Optional flags map 1:1 to the DashScope parameters block. Defaults match the most common request (720P, 16:9, 5s, happyhorse-1.0-t2v).

The script:

1. Submits the async job with X-DashScope-Async: enable.
2. Prints the task_id and a one-liner showing how to resume if polling is interrupted.
3. Polls /api/v1/tasks/{task_id} every 10s. Status transitions: PENDING → RUNNING → SUCCEEDED (typical 60–120s for a 5s/720P clip).
4. Downloads the resulting mp4 to <output.mp4>.

Allow up to ~5 minutes wall-clock. Don't kill it early.

Standard workflow

1. Verify the key is configured if you have any doubt — videogen.py check-key. Skip this if you've just used the skill in this session.
2. Pick a sensible filename in the user's working directory (e.g. video.mp4, cardboard_city.mp4). Don't invent random names.
3. Run videogen.py generate via Bash. The script streams progress lines (task_status=RUNNING, then SUCCEEDED).
4. Verify the output — confirm the file exists and report its size (e.g. ls -lh <output.mp4>). The video URL the API returns is presigned and short-lived; the local mp4 is the deliverable.
5. Report briefly: filename, file size, duration/resolution actually requested, and the prompt used. Do not embed the presigned video_url in your reply — it leaks via screenshots and expires anyway.

Resuming an interrupted job

If the polling step is interrupted (network drop, user Ctrl-C, timeout) but you still have the task_id printed at submission time:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/dashscope-videogen/videogen.py resume <task_id> <output.mp4>

This skips submission and goes straight to poll-then-download. Useful if the user comes back later — DashScope retains finished tasks for a while.

Failure modes

• HTTP 401 / InvalidApiKey — the saved key is wrong or revoked. Run set-key again with a fresh key. Do not retry silently.
• HTTP 429 / throttling — back off and tell the user; do not auto-retry hard.
• task_status=FAILED — the response body usually contains code / message (e.g. DataInspectionFailed for prompt content). Surface those fields verbatim to the user and adjust the prompt; do not try to bypass content policy.
• Polling timeout (default 30 min) — for unusually long jobs, the job is probably still running server-side. Re-run with resume <task_id> to keep polling without resubmitting.
• ModuleNotFoundError — should not happen, the script uses only the Python stdlib. If it does, check the user has Python 3.8+.

What this skill does NOT do

• No image-to-video / video-to-video. Only the text-to-video synthesis endpoint is wired up. If the user wants i2v or extend, say so and either propose extending this skill or fall back to writing a one-shot Python call.
• No Stable Diffusion / Sora / Pika. This is DashScope-specific. If the user explicitly asks for another provider, do not use this skill.
• No watermark removal. The default happyhorse-1.0-t2v returns a watermarked mp4 (..._watermark.mp4). That's a model-side decision — mention it to the user if relevant; do not attempt to strip it.
• No key sharing. The key is per-user. Never echo the key back in chat, never put it in a commit, never store it inside the skill directory or any directory that could be a git repo.