Start from a Template (recommended)

Templates are pre-configured Auto Content Engines. Each one has the right columns, creation cards, and layer stacks for a specific video type. Clone a template and you get a production-ready engine in one API call — instead of the 15–25 calls it takes to build one from scratch.

The full flow

1. Get an idea from Step 2

   From the Ideas Engine, an idea looks like:

   {
     "id": 901,
     "title": "The $2 taco at 2am",
     "video_type": "talking_avatar",
     "video_type_id": 1,
     "full_script": "...",
     "project_manifest": { ... }
   }

   Note the video_type — that’s what drives template selection.

2. List templates that match the video type

   curl "https://api.gen.pro/v1/templates/projects" \
     -H "X-API-Key: $GEN_API_KEY"

   Response includes slug, title, description, tags. Filter by tag or inspect individually.

3. Clone the template into your agent

   curl -X POST "https://api.gen.pro/v1/templates/spreadsheets/tiktok-talking-avatar/clone" \
     -H "X-API-Key: $GEN_API_KEY" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{ "agent_id": "'"$AGENT_ID"'" }'

   Returns the full engine object — id, slug, title, spreadsheet_columns, spreadsheet_rows, spreadsheet_cells. All cells start empty.

4. Fill cells with the idea’s content

   Find the script cell, drop the idea’s full_script in:

   curl -X PATCH "https://api.gen.pro/v1/autocontentengine/$ENGINE_ID/cells/$CELL_ID?agent_id=$AGENT_ID" \
     -H "X-API-Key: $GEN_API_KEY" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{ "spreadsheet_cell": { "value": "<script text>" } }'

5. Trigger generations

   Covered in Step 4.

Why templates are the 80% path

• Columns are pre-wired with the right creation cards — TEXT 1 is a text card, VIDEO is a video-from-image card, AUDIO is a speech-from-text card
• Layers are pre-stacked in the right order (z-index, duration, fade-ins)
• Variables are pre-populated so brand name, CTAs, colors already substitute
• The template’s tags make it searchable by video type

Recommended starter templates

These cover the vast majority of short-form content.

Slug	Video type	Use when
tiktok-talking-avatar	Talking avatar	Founder-style VO, explainer, testimonial
tiktok-montage	Montage	Multi-shot b-roll with music
tiktok-vo-broll	Narrated / voiceover	VO over curated b-roll clips
tiktok-text-driven	Text-driven	Kinetic text + music, no avatar
tiktok-split-screen	Split screen	Reaction / comparison
ig-reel-story	Narrated	Longer 30-60s vertical
yt-short-explainer	Text-driven	45s explainer with text + VO

Tip

List templates by tag: the slug won’t always match perfectly, so pick the closest one and customize in Step 4. Most users end up favoring 2-3 templates and cloning them repeatedly.

Preview before cloning

curl "https://api.gen.pro/v1/templates/projects/tiktok-talking-avatar" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $GEN_API_KEY"

Returns the template definition with all its columns, layer stack, and recent_generated_contents so you can see actual videos produced from this template before committing.