
video-translate
Translate and dub existing videos into multiple languages using HeyGen. Use when: (1) Translating a video into another language, (2) Dubbing video content with lip-sync, (3) Creating multi-language versions of existing videos, (4) Audio-only translation without lip-sync, (5) Working with HeyGen's /v2/videotranslate endpoint.
- Installs
- 1.2K
- Last 24h
- —
- Trending rank
- —
- Security
- Not audited
Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/heygen-com/skills --skill video-translate- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads video-translate automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Video Translation (HeyGen)
Translate and dub existing videos into multiple languages, preserving lip-sync and natural speech patterns. Provide a video URL or HeyGen video ID — no need to create the video on HeyGen first.
Authentication
All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.
curl -X POST "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"video_url": "https://example.com/video.mp4", "output_language": "es-ES"}'
Default Workflow
- Provide a video URL or HeyGen video ID
- Call
POST /v2/video_translatewith the target language - Poll
GET /v2/video_translate/{translate_id}until status iscompleted - Download the translated video from the returned URL
Creating a Translation Job
Request Fields
| Field | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
video_url | string | Y* | URL of video to translate (*or video_id) |
video_id | string | Y* | HeyGen video ID (*or video_url) |
output_language | string | Y | Target language code (e.g., "es-ES") |
title | string | Name for the translated video | |
translate_audio_only | boolean | Audio only, no lip-sync (faster) | |
speaker_num | number | Number of speakers in video | |
callback_id | string | Custom ID for webhook tracking | |
callback_url | string | URL for completion notification |
Either video_url or video_id must be provided.
curl
curl -X POST "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"video_url": "https://example.com/original-video.mp4",
"output_language": "es-ES",
"title": "Spanish Version"
}'
TypeScript
interface VideoTranslateRequest {
video_url?: string;
video_id?: string;
output_language: string;
title?: string;
translate_audio_only?: boolean;
speaker_num?: number;
callback_id?: string;
callback_url?: string;
}
interface VideoTranslateResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
video_translate_id: string;
};
}
async function translateVideo(config: VideoTranslateRequest): Promise<string> {
const response = await fetch("https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY!,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify(config),
});
const json: VideoTranslateResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data.video_translate_id;
}
Python
import requests
import os
def translate_video(config: dict) -> str:
response = requests.post(
"https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate",
headers={
"X-Api-Key": os.environ["HEYGEN_API_KEY"],
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
json=config
)
data = response.json()
if data.get("error"):
raise Exception(data["error"])
return data["data"]["video_translate_id"]
Supported Languages
| Language | Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| English (US) | en-US | Default source |
| Spanish (Spain) | es-ES | European Spanish |
| Spanish (Mexico) | es-MX | Latin American |
| French | fr-FR | Standard French |
| German | de-DE | Standard German |
| Italian | it-IT | Standard Italian |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | pt-BR | Brazilian Portuguese |
| Japanese | ja-JP | Standard Japanese |
| Korean | ko-KR | Standard Korean |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | zh-CN | Simplified Chinese |
| Hindi | hi-IN | Standard Hindi |
| Arabic | ar-SA | Modern Standard Arabic |
Translation Options
Basic Translation (with lip-sync)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/original.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
title: "Spanish Translation",
};
Audio-Only Translation (faster, no lip-sync)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/original.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
translate_audio_only: true,
};
Multi-Speaker Videos
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/interview.mp4",
output_language: "fr-FR",
speaker_num: 2,
};
Advanced Options (v4 API)
For more control over translation:
interface VideoTranslateV4Request {
input_video_id?: string;
google_url?: string;
output_languages: string[]; // Multiple languages in one call
name: string;
srt_key?: string; // Custom SRT subtitles
instruction?: string;
vocabulary?: string[]; // Terms to preserve as-is
brand_voice_id?: string;
speaker_num?: number;
keep_the_same_format?: boolean;
input_language?: string;
enable_video_stretching?: boolean;
disable_music_track?: boolean;
enable_speech_enhancement?: boolean;
srt_role?: "input" | "output";
translate_audio_only?: boolean;
}
Multiple Output Languages
const config = {
input_video_id: "original_video_id",
output_languages: ["es-ES", "fr-FR", "de-DE"],
name: "Multi-language translations",
};
Custom Vocabulary (preserve specific terms)
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/product-demo.mp4",
output_language: "ja-JP",
vocabulary: ["SuperWidget", "Pro Max", "TechCorp"],
};
Custom SRT Subtitles
const config = {
video_url: "https://example.com/video.mp4",
output_language: "es-ES",
srt_key: "path/to/custom-subtitles.srt",
srt_role: "input",
};
Checking Translation Status
curl
curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate/{translate_id}" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"
TypeScript
interface TranslateStatusResponse {
error: null | string;
data: {
id: string;
status: "pending" | "processing" | "completed" | "failed";
video_url?: string;
message?: string;
};
}
async function getTranslateStatus(translateId: string): Promise<TranslateStatusResponse["data"]> {
const response = await fetch(
`https://api.heygen.com/v2/video_translate/${translateId}`,
{ headers: { "X-Api-Key": process.env.HEYGEN_API_KEY! } }
);
const json: TranslateStatusResponse = await response.json();
if (json.error) {
throw new Error(json.error);
}
return json.data;
}
Polling for Completion
Translations take longer than standard video generation — allow up to 30 minutes.
async function waitForTranslation(
translateId: string,
maxWaitMs = 1800000,
pollIntervalMs = 30000
): Promise<string> {
const startTime = Date.now();
while (Date.now() - startTime < maxWaitMs) {
const status = await getTranslateStatus(translateId);
switch (status.status) {
case "completed":
return status.video_url!;
case "failed":
throw new Error(status.message || "Translation failed");
default:
console.log(`Status: ${status.status}...`);
await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, pollIntervalMs));
}
}
throw new Error("Translation timed out");
}
Complete Workflow
async function translateAndDownload(
videoUrl: string,
targetLanguage: string
): Promise<string> {
console.log(`Starting translation to ${targetLanguage}...`);
const translateId = await translateVideo({
video_url: videoUrl,
output_language: targetLanguage,
});
console.log(`Translation ID: ${translateId}`);
console.log("Processing translation...");
const translatedVideoUrl = await waitForTranslation(translateId);
console.log(`Translation complete: ${translatedVideoUrl}`);
return translatedVideoUrl;
}
const spanishVideo = await translateAndDownload(
"https://example.com/my-video.mp4",
"es-ES"
);
Batch Translation
Translate to multiple languages in parallel:
async function translateToMultipleLanguages(
sourceVideoUrl: string,
targetLanguages: string[]
): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
const results: Record<string, string> = {};
const translatePromises = targetLanguages.map(async (lang) => {
const translateId = await translateVideo({
video_url: sourceVideoUrl,
output_language: lang,
});
return { lang, translateId };
});
const translationJobs = await Promise.all(translatePromises);
for (const job of translationJobs) {
try {
const videoUrl = await waitForTranslation(job.translateId);
results[job.lang] = videoUrl;
} catch (error) {
results[job.lang] = `error: ${error.message}`;
}
}
return results;
}
const translations = await translateToMultipleLanguages(
"https://example.com/original.mp4",
["es-ES", "fr-FR", "de-DE", "ja-JP"]
);
Features
- Lip Sync — Automatically adjusts speaker's lip movements to match translated audio
- Voice Cloning — Translated audio matches the original speaker's voice characteristics
- Music Track Control — Optionally remove background music with
disable_music_track: true - Speech Enhancement — Improve audio quality with
enable_speech_enhancement: true
Best Practices
- Source quality matters — Use high-quality source videos for better results
- Clear audio — Videos with clear speech translate better
- Single speaker — Best results with single-speaker content
- Moderate pacing — Very fast speech may affect quality
- Test first — Try with shorter clips before translating long videos
- Allow extra time — Translation takes longer than video generation (up to 30 min)
Error Handling
Common errors and how to handle them:
async function safeTranslate(
videoUrl: string,
targetLanguage: string
): Promise<{ success: boolean; result?: string; error?: string }> {
try {
const url = await translateAndDownload(videoUrl, targetLanguage);
return { success: true, result: url };
} catch (error) {
if (error.message.includes("quota")) {
return { success: false, error: "Insufficient credits" };
}
if (error.message.includes("duration")) {
return { success: false, error: "Video too long" };
}
if (error.message.includes("format")) {
return { success: false, error: "Unsupported video format" };
}
return { success: false, error: error.message };
}
}
FAQ
What does the video-translate skill do?
Translate and dub existing videos into multiple languages using HeyGen. Use when: (1) Translating a video into another language, (2) Dubbing video content with lip-sync, (3) Creating multi-language versions of existing videos, (4) Audio-only translation without lip-sync, (5) Working with HeyGen's /v2/videotranslate endpoint.
How do I install video-translate?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/heygen-com/skills --skill video-translate in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/video-translate/ (personal) or .claude/skills/video-translate/ (project).
Which AI agents can use video-translate?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is video-translate safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains video-translate?
It is published by heygen-com in heygen-com/skills. It has 1,154 recorded installs.
More from heygen-com/skills
heygen-video
heygen-com/skills
Generate HeyGen presenter videos via the v3 Video Agent pipeline — handles Frame Check (aspect ratio correction), prompt engineering, avatar resolution, and voice selection. Required for any HeyGen video generation. Replaces deprecated endpoints with v3. Use when: (1) generating any HeyGen video (via API or otherwise), (2) sending a personalized video message (outreach, update, announcement, pitch, knowledge), (3) creating a HeyGen presenter-led explainer, tutorial, or product demo with a human face, (4) "make a video of me saying...", "send a video to my leads", "record an update for my team", "create a video pitch", "make a loom-style message", "I want to appear in this video", "generate a HeyGen video", "make a talking head video". Accepts avatarid from heygen-avatar for identity-first HeyGen videos, or uses a stock presenter. Returns video share URL + HeyGen session URL for iteration. Chain signal: when the user wants to create/design an avatar AND make a video in the same request
heygen-avatar
heygen-com/skills
Create a persistent HeyGen avatar — a reusable face + voice identity for the agent, the user, or any named character — powered by HeyGen Avatar V technology. Prompt-based creation by default (description → HeyGen builds it); photo upload is optional for real-person digital twins. Use when: (1) giving the agent a face + voice so it can present videos ("bring yourself to life", "create your avatar", "give yourself an avatar", "design a presenter", "set up an avatar", "let's make an avatar"), (2) the user wants to appear in videos as themselves ("create my avatar", "I want my face in a video", "digital twin of me", "build me an avatar"), (3) building a named character presenter ("create an avatar called Cleo", "design a character named X"), (4) establishing HeyGen identity before making videos — the correct FIRST step when no avatar exists yet. Chain signal: when the user says both an identity/avatar action AND a video action in the same request ("create an avatar AND make a video", "set
heygen-translate
heygen-com/skills
Translate and dub a video into another language with voice cloning and lip-sync, powered by HeyGen Video Translation. The presenter keeps their face, their voice is cloned into the target language, and lips re-sync to the new audio — viewers see the same person speaking natively. Use when: (1) localizing an existing video into one or more languages ("translate this video to Spanish", "make this in French and German", "dub this into Japanese", "I need this in 10 languages for a launch"), (2) the user has a finished video and wants the SAME presenter speaking another language (not a new presenter — that's heygen-video), (3) podcast / audio-only translation ("translate this podcast", "dub the audio but keep my video"), (4) high-stakes translations where the user wants to review/edit subtitles before final render (the proofreads workflow), (5) "translate my video", "dub this", "localize this clip", "make a multilingual version", "subtitle and dub". Returns the translated video URL (or audi
heygen
heygen-com/skills
[DEPRECATED] Use create-video for prompt-based video generation or avatar-video for precise avatar/scene control. This legacy skill combines both workflows — the newer focused skills provide clearer guidance.
text-to-speech
heygen-com/skills
Generate speech audio from text using HeyGen's Starfish TTS model. Use when: (1) Generating standalone speech audio files from text, (2) Converting text to speech with voice selection and speed control, (3) Creating audio for voiceovers, narration, or podcasts, (4) Working with HeyGen's /v3/voices endpoints, (5) Listing available TTS voices by language or gender.
video-understand
heygen-com/skills
Understand video content locally using ffmpeg frame extraction and Whisper transcription. No API keys needed. Use when: (1) Understanding what a video contains, (2) Transcribing video audio locally, (3) Extracting key frames for visual analysis, (4) Getting video content without API keys.
Popular media & creative skills
hyperframes
heygen-com/hyperframes
Read first to make, edit, animate or render any video with HyperFrames (HTML rendered to video), including launch films, explainers, music videos, charts, maps, vertical clips, title cards, captions and overlays. Holds the render contract, the work loop and what each kind of video needs.
media-use
heygen-com/hyperframes
Get or make any media for a HyperFrames video - music, sound effects, images, icons, logos, voiceover, avatar and generated video, transcripts, cutouts, colour grades and looks - with HeyGen or free local tools, and mix placed audio. Also for footage that looks dark, flat or dull, or should be stylized or hidden.
hyperframes-registry
heygen-com/hyperframes
About 450 ready-made HyperFrames blocks and components installed as editable source - transitions, overlays, titles, kinetic type, captions, charts, map overlays, 3D, camera moves. Use it before hand-building any named visual (CRT scanlines, glitch, film grain, a chart); also for hyperframes add and catalog.
hyperframes-creative
heygen-com/hyperframes
Non-animation creative direction for HyperFrames videos. Use for design spec (frame.md / design.md) handling, palettes, typography, narration, beat planning, audio-reactive visuals, composition patterns, and brand / style decisions. For atomic motion patterns and scene blueprints, use hyperframes-animation.
ai-video-generation
101-skills/superpowers
Generate AI videos with Google Veo, Seedance 2.0, HappyHorse, Wan, Grok and 40+ models via inference.sh CLI. Models: Veo 3.1, Veo 3, Seedance 2.0, HappyHorse 1.0, Wan 2.5, Grok Imagine Video, OmniHuman, Fabric, HunyuanVideo. Capabilities: text-to-video, image-to-video, reference-to-video, video editing, lipsync, avatar animation, video upscaling, foley sound. Use for: social media videos, marketing content, explainer videos, product demos, AI avatars. Triggers: video generation, ai video, text to video, image to video, veo, animate image, video from image, ai animation, video generator, generate video, t2v, i2v, ai video maker, create video with ai, runway alternative, pika alternative, sora alternative, kling alternative, seedance, happyhorse
ai-image-generation
101-skills/superpowers
Generate AI images with GPT-Image-2, FLUX, Gemini, Grok, Seedream, Reve and 50+ models via inference.sh CLI. Models: GPT-Image-2, FLUX Dev LoRA, FLUX.2 Klein LoRA, Gemini 3 Pro Image, Grok Imagine, Seedream 4.5, Reve, ImagineArt. Capabilities: text-to-image, image-to-image, inpainting, LoRA, image editing, upscaling, text rendering. Use for: AI art, product mockups, concept art, social media graphics, marketing visuals, illustrations. Triggers: flux, image generation, ai image, text to image, stable diffusion, generate image, ai art, midjourney alternative, dall-e alternative, text2img, t2i, image generator, ai picture, create image with ai, generative ai, ai illustration, grok image, gemini image, gpt image, openai image, chatgpt image