Caption Generator From Photo — Turn Photos Into Captioned Videos

Skip the learning curve of professional editing software. Describe what you want — generate a caption for this photo and overlay it as a short video — and get captioned video clips back in 20-40 seconds. Upload JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC files up to 200MB, and the AI handles AI caption generation automatically. Ideal for social media creators who need auto-generated captions overlaid on photos without manual editing.

0 0by V Carol Berger
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## Getting Started

> Got photos or images to work with? Send it over and tell me what you need — I'll take care of the AI caption generation.

**Try saying:**
- "generate a single product photo or portrait image into a 1080p MP4"
- "generate a caption for this photo and overlay it as a short video"
- "turning photos into short captioned videos for social media for social media creators"

### Getting Connected

Before handling any user request, establish a connection to the backend API. Show a brief status like "Connecting...".

**If `NEMO_TOKEN` is in the environment**, use it directly and create a session. Otherwise, acquire a free starter token:
- Generate a UUID as client identifier
- POST to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/auth/anonymous-token` with the `X-Client-Id` header
- The response includes a `token` with 100 free credits valid for 7 days — use it as NEMO_TOKEN

**Then create a session** by POSTing to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` with Bearer authorization and body `{"task_name":"project","language":"en"}`. The `session_id` in the response is needed for all following requests.

Tell the user you're ready. Keep the technical details out of the chat.

# Caption Generator From Photo — Turn Photos Into Captioned Videos

Send me your photos or images and describe the result you want. The AI caption generation runs on remote GPU nodes — nothing to install on your machine.

A quick example: upload a single product photo or portrait image, type "generate a caption for this photo and overlay it as a short video", and you'll get a 1080p MP4 back in roughly 20-40 seconds. All rendering happens server-side.

Worth noting: high-contrast images produce cleaner caption overlays with better readability.

## Matching Input to Actions

User prompts referencing caption generator from photo, aspect ratio, text overlays, or audio tracks get routed to the corresponding action via keyword and intent classification.

| User says... | Action | Skip SSE? |
|-------------|--------|----------|
| "export" / "导出" / "download" / "send me the video" | → §3.5 Export | ✅ |
| "credits" / "积分" / "balance" / "余额" | → §3.3 Credits | ✅ |
| "status" / "状态" / "show tracks" | → §3.4 State | ✅ |
| "upload" / "上传" / user sends file | → §3.2 Upload | ✅ |
| Everything else (generate, edit, add BGM…) | → §3.1 SSE | ❌ |

## Cloud Render Pipeline Details

Each export job queues on a cloud GPU node that composites video layers, applies platform-spec compression (H.264, up to 1080x1920), and returns a download URL within 30-90 seconds. The session token carries render job IDs, so closing the tab before completion orphans the job.

Base URL: `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai`

| Endpoint | Method | Purpose |
|----------|--------|---------|
| `/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` | POST | Start a new editing session. Body: `{"task_name":"project","language":"<lang>"}`. Returns `session_id`. |
| `/run_sse` | POST | Send a user message. Body includes `app_name`, `session_id`, `new_message`. Stream response with `Accept: text/event-stream`. Timeout: 15 min. |
| `/api/upload-video/nemo_agent/me/<sid>` | POST | Upload a file (multipart) or URL. |
| `/api/credits/balance/simple` | GET | Check remaining credits (`available`, `frozen`, `total`). |
| `/api/state/nemo_agent/me/<sid>/latest` | GET | Fetch current timeline state (`draft`, `video_infos`, `generated_media`). |
| `/api/render/proxy/lambda` | POST | Start export. Body: `{"id":"render_<ts>","sessionId":"<sid>","draft":<json>,"output":{"format":"mp4","quality":"high"}}`. Poll status every 30s. |

Accepted file types: mp4, mov, avi, webm, mkv, jpg, png, gif, webp, mp3, wav, m4a, aac.

Headers are derived from this file's YAML frontmatter. `X-Skill-Source` is `caption-generator-from-photo`, `X-Skill-Version` comes from the `version` field, and `X-Skill-Platform` is detected from the install path (`~/.clawhub/` = `clawhub`, `~/.cursor/skills/` = `cursor`, otherwise `unknown`).

Include `Authorization: Bearer <NEMO_TOKEN>` and all attribution headers on every request — omitting them triggers a 402 on export.

### Error Handling

| Code | Meaning | Action |
|------|---------|--------|
| 0 | Success | Continue |
| 1001 | Bad/expired token | Re-auth via anonymous-token (tokens expire after 7 days) |
| 1002 | Session not found | New session §3.0 |
| 2001 | No credits | Anonymous: show registration URL with `?bind=<id>` (get `<id>` from create-session or state response when needed). Registered: "Top up credits in your account" |
| 4001 | Unsupported file | Show supported formats |
| 4002 | File too large | Suggest compress/trim |
| 400 | Missing X-Client-Id | Generate Client-Id and retry (see §1) |
| 402 | Free plan export blocked | Subscription tier issue, NOT credits. "Register or upgrade your plan to unlock export." |
| 429 | Rate limit (1 token/client/7 days) | Retry in 30s once |

### Reading the SSE Stream

Text events go straight to the user (after GUI translation). Tool calls stay internal. Heartbeats and empty `data:` lines mean the backend is still working — show "⏳ Still working..." every 2 minutes.

About 30% of edit operations close the stream without any text. When that happens, poll `/api/state` to confirm the timeline changed, then tell the user what was updated.

### Translating GUI Instructions

The backend responds as if there's a visual interface. Map its instructions to API calls:

- "click" or "点击" → execute the action via the relevant endpoint
- "open" or "打开" → query session state to get the data
- "drag/drop" or "拖拽" → send the edit command through SSE
- "preview in timeline" → show a text summary of current tracks
- "Export" or "导出" → run the export workflow

**Draft field mapping**: `t`=tracks, `tt`=track type (0=video, 1=audio, 7=text), `sg`=segments, `d`=duration(ms), `m`=metadata.

```
Timeline (3 tracks): 1. Video: city timelapse (0-10s) 2. BGM: Lo-fi (0-10s, 35%) 3. Title: "Urban Dreams" (0-3s)
```

## Tips and Tricks

The backend processes faster when you're specific. Instead of "make it look better", try "generate a caption for this photo and overlay it as a short video" — concrete instructions get better results.

Max file size is 200MB. Stick to JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC for the smoothest experience.

Export as MP4 for widest compatibility across social platforms.

## Common Workflows

**Quick edit**: Upload → "generate a caption for this photo and overlay it as a short video" → Download MP4. Takes 20-40 seconds for a 30-second clip.

**Batch style**: Upload multiple files in one session. Process them one by one with different instructions. Each gets its own render.

**Iterative**: Start with a rough cut, preview the result, then refine. The session keeps your timeline state so you can keep tweaking.