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avatar-video Checked

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgroun…
🎬 Video & Motion skills By calesthio Version v1.0.0 Added 2026-09-07 Updated 2026-09-07 Source ↗
9.2Overall rating
4Views
12Downloads
56.5kStars

Installation

🤖 Install via AI

Copy the prompt below and send it to your AI assistant (e.g. Claude Code) — it will follow the instructions and install automatically.

Install the "avatar-video" skill by following the instructions at https://skill123.me/install/avatar-video.
⌨️ Command line install

Run in your terminal — downloads and installs to ~/.claude/skills/.

curl -fsSL https://skill123.me/install/avatar-video.sh | bash
📦 Download ZIP

Download the zip and extract it into your skills directory (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/), then restart your session.

⬇ Download v1.0.0 · 60 KB
📊 Static rating
9.2/10
Trigger
8.5
Structure
10.0
Workflow
8.8
Content
9.0
Engineering
10.0
Security
9.5

Six-dimension rubric with reviewer rationale.

View scorecard ↓
🛡 Dynamic test
—

Not live-tested yet — this skill is rated on static analysis only.

About this skill

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API. Use when: (1) Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video, (2) Writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak, (3) Building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene, (4) Creating transparent WebM videos for compositing, (5) Using talking photos as video presenters, (6) Integrating HeyGen avatars with Remotion, (7) Batch video generation with exact specs, (8) Brand-consistent production videos with precise control.

Avatar Video

Create AI avatar videos with full control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds. Build single or multi-scene videos with exact configuration using HeyGen's /v2/video/generate API.

Documentation

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API. Use when: (1) Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video, (2) Writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak, (3) Building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene, (4) Creating transparent WebM videos for compositing, (5) Using talking photos as video presenters, (6) Integrating HeyGen avatars with Remotion, (7) Batch video generation with exact specs, (8) Brand-consistent production videos with precise control.

Avatar Video

Create AI avatar videos with full control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds. Build single or multi-scene videos with exact configuration using HeyGen's /v2/video/generate API.

Authentication

All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.


curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v2/avatars" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"

Tool Selection

If HeyGen MCP tools are available (mcp__heygen__*), **prefer them** over direct HTTP API calls — they handle authentication and request formatting automatically.

| Task | MCP Tool | Fallback (Direct API) |

|------|----------|----------------------|

| Check video status / get URL | mcp__heygen__get_video | GET /v2/videos/{video_id} |

| List account videos | mcp__heygen__list_videos | GET /v2/videos |

| Delete a video | mcp__heygen__delete_video | DELETE /v2/videos/{video_id} |

Video generation (POST /v2/video/generate) and avatar/voice listing are done via direct API calls — see reference files below.

Default Workflow

1. **List avatars** — GET /v2/avatars → pick an avatar, preview it, note avatar_id and default_voice_id. See avatars.md (references/avatars.md)

2. **List voices** (if needed) — GET /v2/voices → pick a voice matching the avatar's gender/language. See voices.md (references/voices.md)

3. **Write the script** — Structure scenes with one concept each. See scripts.md (references/scripts.md)

4. **Generate the video** — POST /v2/video/generate with avatar, voice, script, and background per scene. See video-generation.md (references/video-generation.md)

5. **Poll for completion** — GET /v2/videos/{video_id} until status is completed. See video-status.md (references/video-status.md)

Quick Reference

View full documentation

| Task | Read |

|------|------|

| List and preview avatars | avatars.md (references/avatars.md) |

| List and select voices | voices.md (references/voices.md) |

| Write and structure scripts | scripts.md (references/scripts.md) |

| Generate video (single or multi-scene) | video-generation.md (references/video-generation.md) |

| Add custom backgrounds | backgrounds.md (references/backgrounds.md) |

| Add captions / subtitles | captions.md (references/captions.md) |

| Add text overlays | text-overlays.md (references/text-overlays.md) |

| Create transparent WebM video | video-generation.md (references/video-generation.md) (WebM section) |

| Use templates | templates.md (references/templates.md) |

| Create avatar from photo | photo-avatars.md (references/photo-avatars.md) |

| Check video status / download | video-status.md (references/video-status.md) |

| Upload assets (images, audio) | assets.md (references/assets.md) |

| Use with Remotion | remotion-integration.md (references/remotion-integration.md) |

| Set up webhooks | webhooks.md (references/webhooks.md) |

When to Use This Skill vs Create Video

This skill is for **precise control** — you choose the avatar, write the exact script, configure each scene.

If the user just wants to **describe a video idea** and let AI handle the rest (script, avatar, visuals), use the **create-video** skill instead.

| User Says | Create Video Skill | This Skill |

|-----------|:------------------:|:----------:|

| "Make me a video about X" | ✓ | |

| "Create a product demo" | ✓ | |

| "I want avatar Y to say exactly Z" | | ✓ |

| "Multi-scene video with different backgrounds" | | ✓ |

| "Transparent WebM for compositing" | | ✓ |

| "Use this specific voice for my script" | | ✓ |

| "Batch generate videos with exact specs" | | ✓ |

Reference Files

### Core Video Creation

  • references/avatars.md (references/avatars.md) - Listing avatars, styles, avatar_id selection
  • references/voices.md (references/voices.md) - Listing voices, locales, speed/pitch
  • references/scripts.md (references/scripts.md) - Writing scripts, pauses, pacing
  • references/video-generation.md (references/video-generation.md) - POST /v2/video/generate and multi-scene videos

### Video Customization

  • references/backgrounds.md (references/backgrounds.md) - Solid colors, images, video backgrounds
  • references/text-overlays.md (references/text-overlays.md) - Adding text with fonts and positioning
  • references/captions.md (references/captions.md) - Auto-generated captions and subtitles

### Advanced Features

  • references/templates.md (references/templates.md) - Template listing and variable replacement
  • references/photo-avatars.md (references/photo-avatars.md) - Creating avatars from photos
  • references/webhooks.md (references/webhooks.md) - Webhook endpoints and events

### Integration

  • references/remotion-integration.md (references/remotion-integration.md) - Using HeyGen in Remotion compositions

### Foundation

  • references/video-status.md (references/video-status.md) - Polling patterns and download URLs
  • references/assets.md (references/assets.md) - Uploading images, videos, audio
  • references/dimensions.md (references/dimensions.md) - Resolution and aspect ratios
  • references/quota.md (references/quota.md) - Credit system and usage limits

Best Practices

1. **Preview avatars before generating** — Download preview_image_url so the user can see the avatar before committing

2. **Use avatar's default voice** — Most avatars have a default_voice_id pre-matched for natural results

3. **Fallback: match gender manually** — If no default voice, ensure avatar and voice genders match

4. **Use test mode for development** — Set test: true to avoid consuming credits (output will be watermarked)

5. **Set generous timeouts** — Video generation often takes 5-15 minutes, sometimes longer

6. **Validate inputs** — Check avatar and voice IDs exist before generating

Score breakdown

Trigger
8.5
Eight concrete Use-when scenarios with user phrasings; boundary vs create-video skill in body but description has no When-Not.
Structure
10.0
117-line SKILL.md with quick-reference table routing to 15 topical references; no redundant files.
Workflow
8.8
Five-step workflow, MCP-first with direct-API fallback, test:true credit guard, ID validation, polling and preview verification.
Content
9.0
Concise imperative instructions, full curl/JS/Python examples with real parameters, consistent tables.
Engineering
10.0
Valid frontmatter with allowed-tools and env metadata; all 15 referenced files exist.
Security
9.5
All network calls target official heygen.com domains with env-var API key; no injection, secrets, or obfuscation.
Excellent HeyGen v2 API wrapper: 8 explicit trigger scenarios, skill-vs-skill boundary table, 15 well-organized references, test-mode credit guard and polling workflow; description lacks an explicit When-Not clause.