Upload a reference file

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files \
  --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  --header 'X-Api-Key: <api-key>' \
  --form file='@example-file' \
  --form 'metadata=<string>'

import requests

url = "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files"

files = { "file": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb")) }
payload = { "metadata": "<string>" }
headers = {"X-Api-Key": "<api-key>"}

response = requests.post(url, data=payload, files=files, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const form = new FormData();
form.append('file', '<string>');
form.append('metadata', '<string>');

const options = {method: 'POST', headers: {'X-Api-Key': '<api-key>'}};

options.body = form;

fetch('https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--",
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Content-Type: multipart/form-data",
    "X-Api-Key: <api-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files"

	payload := strings.NewReader("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("X-Api-Key", "<api-key>")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files")
  .header("X-Api-Key", "<api-key>")
  .body("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["X-Api-Key"] = '<api-key>'
request.body = "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "id": "file_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2NABCDEFGHJKMN",
  "object": "file",
  "purpose": "reference",
  "mime_type": "image/jpeg",
  "size_bytes": 1247892,
  "width_px": 1024,
  "height_px": 768,
  "url": "https://...?token=...",
  "expires_at": "2026-05-04T14:00:00Z",
  "created_at": "2026-05-03T14:00:00Z",
  "duration_s": 7.4,
  "metadata": {
    "campaign": "launch-2026"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

Files

Upload a reference file

Stores a reference file for use in subsequent /v1/images or /v1/videos requests. Image purposes (`reference`, `first_frame`, `last_frame`): PNG/JPEG/WebP, max 10 MB, max 4096 px. Media purposes (`reference_video`: MP4/MOV ≤50 MB; `reference_audio`: WAV/MP3 ≤15 MB) feed the `reference_video_url`/`reference_audio_url` fields on POST /v1/videos — duration (2–15 s) and, for video, frame area (409,600–2,073,600 px) are validated at upload, so a stored file never fails media checks at create. 24h TTL — the file is auto-purged after that. The response carries a 1h signed URL; re-mint a fresh URL via GET /v1/files/:id. Multipart form with a `file` (binary) part, plus form fields `purpose` and optional `metadata` (JSON-encoded object, <=50 keys, values <=500 chars).

POST

files

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files \
  --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  --header 'X-Api-Key: <api-key>' \
  --form file='@example-file' \
  --form 'metadata=<string>'

import requests

url = "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files"

files = { "file": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb")) }
payload = { "metadata": "<string>" }
headers = {"X-Api-Key": "<api-key>"}

response = requests.post(url, data=payload, files=files, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const form = new FormData();
form.append('file', '<string>');
form.append('metadata', '<string>');

const options = {method: 'POST', headers: {'X-Api-Key': '<api-key>'}};

options.body = form;

fetch('https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--",
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Content-Type: multipart/form-data",
    "X-Api-Key: <api-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files"

	payload := strings.NewReader("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("X-Api-Key", "<api-key>")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files")
  .header("X-Api-Key", "<api-key>")
  .body("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.aurous-labs.com/v1/files")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["X-Api-Key"] = '<api-key>'
request.body = "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"metadata\"\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "id": "file_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2NABCDEFGHJKMN",
  "object": "file",
  "purpose": "reference",
  "mime_type": "image/jpeg",
  "size_bytes": 1247892,
  "width_px": 1024,
  "height_px": 768,
  "url": "https://...?token=...",
  "expires_at": "2026-05-04T14:00:00Z",
  "created_at": "2026-05-03T14:00:00Z",
  "duration_s": 7.4,
  "metadata": {
    "campaign": "launch-2026"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

{
  "error": {
    "type": "invalid_request",
    "code": "balance_too_low",
    "message": "Team available balance is 1.5 credits, generation requires 2.0.",
    "doc_url": "https://docs.aurous-labs.com/errors#balance_too_low",
    "request_id": "req_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2ABCDEFGHJKM",
    "param": "prompt"
  }
}

Authorizations

X-Api-Key

string

header

required

Your team API key (starts with al_live_).

Headers

Idempotency-Key

string

Stripe-style idempotency key (1-256 chars). Same key + same purpose + metadata returns the cached response with Aurous-Idempotent-Replayed: true. Same key against a different route (e.g. previously used on /v1/images) returns 409 invalid_request / idempotency_key_in_use. Replay window is 24 hours. Absent header is treated as non-idempotent (each call processes anew).

Aurous-Version

string

Optional API version pin (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to your team's pinned version, or the system default 2026-07-16 for unauthenticated requests.

Pattern: ^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$

Example:

"2026-07-16"

Body

multipart/form-data

file

required

The file bytes. Image purposes: PNG / JPEG / WebP, max 10MB, max 4096px. reference_video: MP4 / MOV, max 50MB, 2–15 s. reference_audio: WAV / MP3, max 15MB, 2–15 s.

purpose

enum<string>

required

How the file will be used downstream. Must match the uploaded bytes (a WAV under reference_video is rejected).

Available options:

reference,

first_frame,

last_frame,

reference_video,

reference_audio

metadata

string

JSON-encoded metadata object. Optional.

Response

File stored

string

required

Opaque file ID.

Example:

"file_01HXMQ7Z3K8Y2NABCDEFGHJKMN"

object

string

required

Object discriminator.

Example:

"file"

purpose

enum<string>

required

How the file is used downstream. Image purposes: reference, first_frame, last_frame. Media purposes (PR-4): reference_video / reference_audio for the /v1/videos BYO reference fields.

Available options:

reference,

first_frame,

last_frame,

reference_video,

reference_audio

Example:

"reference"

mime_type

enum<string>

required

Available options:

image/png,

image/jpeg,

image/webp,

video/mp4,

video/quicktime,

audio/mpeg,

audio/wav

Example:

"image/jpeg"

size_bytes

number

required

File size in bytes.

Example:

1247892

width_px

object | null

required

Decoded image width in pixels (max 4096).

Example:

1024

height_px

object | null

required

Decoded image height in pixels (max 4096).

Example:

768

url

string

required

Time-limited signed URL valid for ~1h. Re-mint a fresh URL by re-fetching GET /v1/files/:id. Do NOT cache long-term — the underlying bucket is private.

Example:

"https://...?token=..."

expires_at

string

required

Hard 24h TTL — the file is automatically purged at this timestamp.

Example:

"2026-05-04T14:00:00Z"

created_at

string

required

Creation timestamp.

Example:

"2026-05-03T14:00:00Z"

duration_s

number | null

Clip duration in seconds — populated for media uploads (reference_video / reference_audio, parsed at upload time), null for images.

Example:

7.4

metadata

object

Echoed metadata.

Show child attributes

Example:

{ "campaign": "launch-2026" }

Get started

Guides

Concepts

API Reference

Resources

Upload a reference file

Authorizations

Headers

Body

Response