> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.nexrender.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Initiating Renders > Learn how to initiate render jobs in Nexrender Cloud by sending a POST /jobs request. Includes full payload structure, asset injection, settings, preview mode, uploading results and webhook support. ## Submit the Job Submit the job with a simple POST request: ```javascript Simple Job theme={null} curl -X POST https://api.nexrender.com/api/v2/jobs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "assets": [ { "type": "text", "layerName": "title", "value": "Hello World!" } ] }' ``` ```javascript Simple Job (with settings + upload) theme={null} curl -X POST https://api.nexrender.com/api/v2/jobs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "settings": { "type": "video", "quality": "full", "codec": "video_h264_vbr_15mbps" }, "upload": { "provider": "s3", "prefix": "marketing/campaign-42/", "outputUrl": "https://videos.ourcompany.com", "params": { "region": "us-east-1", "bucket": "nexrender-outputs", "accessKeyId": "${secrets.S3_KEY_ID}", "accessKeySecret": "${secrets.S3_KEY_SECRET}" } } } ``` ### Job Request Expected Response ```json Expected Response theme={null} { "id": "01JTRDF7HCR8QAHYW8GPCP4S9Y", "status": "queued", "progress": 0, "stats": { "createdAt": "2025-05-14T12:00:00.000Z" }, "outputUrl": "https://nx1-outputs-eu.nexrender.com/01K4B3YH2GP215NAWCZX42S2GH/outputs/01K4B3YH6H97ASTA8DS3MX8P8B.mp4" } ``` ### Job Request Internals | Field | Type | Required | Description | | ------------------------------- | ------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `template.id` | string | 🟒 | ID of the template created earlier | | `template.composition` | string | 🟒 | Composition to render (optional for **.mogrt**) | | `assets` | array | 🟒 | List of asset overrides | | `preview` | boolean | βšͺ | Set `true` for fast low-res preview | | `fonts` | array | βšͺ | List of font **file names** to include in render environment | | `webhook.url` | string | βšͺ | Callback endpoint for job status | | `webhook.method` | string | βšͺ | Typically `POST` | | `webhook.headers` | object | βšͺ | Extra HTTP headers to send with webhook | | `webhook.data` | object | βšͺ | Custom JSON payload attached to webhook | | `webhook.custom` | boolean | βšͺ | If `true`, webhook will send **only** custom data (no system metadata) | | `settings.type` | string | βšͺ | Output type: `video`, `image` or `aep` | | `settings.frames` | int/arr | βšͺ | Single frame (`int`) or frame range (`[start, end]`) for still/image render | | `settings.quality` | string | βšͺ | Render quality: `draft` or `full` | | `settings.codec` | string | βšͺ | Output codec (e.g. `video_h264_vbr_15mbps`, `video_prores_422`, `image_png`) | | `settings.engine` | string | βšͺ | After Effects engine version: `ae2025` or `ae2026` (default: `ae2026`) | | `upload.prefix` | string | βšͺ | Folder path prefix for uploaded outputs (e.g. `my-project/outputs/`) | | `upload.outputUrl` | string | βšͺ | Custom base URL for accessing uploaded files | | `upload.provider` | string | βšͺ | Storage provider (`s3` only at present) | | `upload.params.endpoint` | string | βšͺ | S3-compatible endpoint (default: `https://s3.amazonaws.com`) | | `upload.params.region` | string | 🟒\* | Cloud storage region | | `upload.params.bucket` | string | 🟒\* | Target bucket name for file uploads | | `upload.params.acl` | string | βšͺ | Access control (`public-read`, `private`) | | `upload.params.accessKeyId` | string | 🟒\* | Access key ID for storage provider | | `upload.params.accessKeySecret` | string | 🟒\* | Secret key for storage provider | 🟒 = Required parameter βšͺ = Optional parameter \* Required only if you provide a custom `upload` block. Each asset object must have: * `type`: one of (`data`, `text`, `image`, `audio`, `video`, `essential`, `function`) * `layerName`: exact layer name from the template * `property`: like `"Source Text"` or `"Source Name"` * `value` or `src`: depending on asset type > You can inspect available `layerName` using `GET /templates/:id` ## Fonts Resolution Nexrender automatically resolves fonts for most jobs - no `fonts` array required. When a job runs, the platform searches your team's font bank for matches against every font the template references, installs the best candidates on the render worker, and lets After Effects make the final selection. The `fonts` array is only needed when you want to force-include a specific file that auto-resolution isn't picking up: ```json theme={null} { "fonts": ["Montserrat-SemiBold.ttf"] } ``` If any filename listed in `fonts` isn't in your team account, the job response will include a `missingFonts` array. The job still queues, but rendering may produce incorrect results - upload the missing files via `POST /fonts` before resubmitting. Always upload the original font files bundled with your After Effects project. Fonts downloaded from other sources may share a family name but differ in metrics or kerning, causing layout shifts even when the platform matches the name correctly. See [Font Resolution](/docs/cloud/fonts/use) for a full explanation of the resolution process and how to debug font issues. ## Render Settings Render settings and Preview mode are mutually exclusive. The settings object allows you to specify the render output: * type: "video", "image" or "aep" * frames: single frame number or \[start, end] array (required for image) * quality: "draft" or "full" * codec: string identifier (e.g., `video_h264_vbr_15mbps`, `video_prores_422`, `image_png`, `image_jpeg`). See [Render Settings](/docs/cloud/jobs/rendering_settings) for the full list. Supported quality list: * draft * full Supported codecs: * video\_h264\_vbr\_1mbps * video\_h264\_vbr\_5mbps * video\_h264\_vbr\_15mbps * video\_h264\_vbr\_40mbps * video\_h264\_cbr\_1mbps * video\_h264\_cbr\_5mbps * video\_h264\_cbr\_15mbps * video\_h264\_cbr\_40mbps * video\_prores\_422 * video\_prores\_4444 * image\_jpeg * image\_png ### Examples ```json Draft video theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "settings": { "type": "video", "quality": "draft", "codec": "video_h264_vbr_15mbps" } } ``` ```json Single-frame still theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "poster" }, "settings": { "type": "image", "frames": 125, "codec": "image_png" } } ``` ```json Image sequence theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "shot_03" }, "settings": { "type": "image", "frames": [200, 260], "codec": "image_jpeg" } } ``` ```json Zipped AEP project theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "assets": [ { "type": "text", "layerName": "Headline", "value": "New value example" } ], "settings": { "type": "aep" } } ``` ## Preview Mode vs Final Render Render settings and Preview mode are mutually exclusive. Nexrender Cloud supports the ability to render videos in preview mode. A fast, low-resolution render is helpful when debugging new templates or job payload changes. Use preview mode when: * Verifying that `layerName` overrides are correct * Testing a new template or composition * Integrating webhooks or downstream automation * You want to run a batch sanity check before scaling ```json theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "preview": true } ``` Previews render faster and are cheaper on infrastructure resources. If your template is broken (bad expression, missing font, wrong composition), it's better to catch it here. > You can build an internal CI pipeline that runs preview renders against all newly uploaded templates. ## Uploading Rendering Results By default, outputs are stored in Nexrender Cloud storage. With the upload object, you can push rendered outputs directly to your S3-compatible storage. ```json Render Upload theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "upload": { "provider": "s3", "prefix": "marketing/campaign-42/", "outputUrl": "https://cdn.example.com/media", "params": { "endpoint": "https://s3.amazonaws.com", "region": "us-east-1", "bucket": "nexrender-outputs", "acl": "public-read", "accessKeyId": "${secrets.AWS_KEY_ID}", "accessKeySecret": "${secrets.AWS_KEY_SECRET}" } } } ``` Don’t embed raw keys in client-side requests. [Use the Secrets API](/docs/cloud/jobs/secrets) to manage credentials securely. ## Webhooks You can extend your rendering job with a webhook: ```json Webhook Configuration theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "webhook": { "url": "https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/render-complete", "data": { "customField": "someValue" } } } ``` ## Targeting Layers in Alternate Compositions By default, assets are injected into the composition defined in the `template.composition` field. However, you can override this on a per-asset basis using the `composition` key inside the asset definition. This is useful when you want to render a specific comp (like `main`), but modify a layer in a supporting comp (like `main2`). #### Example ```json theme={null} { "template": { "id": "01JTGM9GCR71JV7EJYDF45QAFD", "composition": "main" }, "assets": [ { "type": "data", "layerName": "title", "composition": "main2", "property": "Source Text", "value": "Hello World!" } ] } ``` ## Validate the Assets Before Submitting Before rendering, always validate: * `composition` name exists (from template introspection) * `layerName` matches exactly * URLs for assets return a `200 OK` * Font dependencies have been preloaded ## Full API Reference ## OpenAPI ````yaml POST /jobs openapi: 3.0.4 info: title: Nexrender API version: '2.0' description: > REST API for the Nexrender cloud rendering platform, enabling programmatic control over After Effects template processing, job management, and asset handling. Features include: - Template upload and management (AEP, MOGRT, ZIP files) - Job creation and status monitoring with real-time progress - Job nesting for multi-composition renders (parent/child jobs) - Job stitching to combine multiple videos into one - Batch job creation for submitting up to 1000 jobs at once - Font library management for typography consistency - Secret management for secure API key storage - Webhook notifications for job lifecycle events - Asset injection for dynamic content replacement Authentication is required for all endpoints using Bearer token authorization. servers: - url: https://api.nexrender.com/api/v2 description: Production API server security: - apiToken: [] paths: /jobs: post: tags: - Render Management summary: Create new job description: >- Submit a new render job with template, assets, and configuration options. Assets can include nested job definitions (type: 'job') that render as child jobs first, with their output automatically injected as video/image assets into the parent composition. Function assets support `params.layerName` as a string, and selected NX layer functions also support `params.layerName` as an array of strings expanded in order. When nested jobs are present, the parent job enters 'pending' state until all children complete. operationId: createJob requestBody: content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobCreation' responses: '201': description: >- Job successfully created and queued for processing. Returns 'pending' status with children array when nested job assets are present. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobCreationResponse' '400': description: >- Invalid request - missing required fields or invalid template configuration content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ValidationErrorResponse' '401': description: Unauthorized - invalid or missing API token content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' '404': description: Template not found - the specified template ID does not exist content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse' components: schemas: JobCreation: type: object description: >- Configuration object for creating a new render job with template, assets, and options properties: template: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobTemplate' preview: type: boolean default: false description: Generate a low-quality preview render instead of full quality output fonts: type: array items: type: string default: [] description: List of font file names to include in the render environment assets: type: array items: oneOf: - $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobAsset' - $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobAssetNested' discriminator: propertyName: type mapping: job: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobAssetNested' default: [] description: >- Collection of media assets (images, videos, audio, scripts, text) or nested job assets (type: 'job') to use in the render. Nested job assets render as child jobs first, with output injected into the parent composition. For supported NX layer functions, `params.layerName` can be a string or an array of strings; array values are expanded in place while preserving asset order. settings: type: object description: >- Render configuration settings for output format, quality, and frame selection properties: type: type: string enum: - video - image - aep description: >- Output render type - 'video' for MP4/MOV files, 'image' for PNG/JPG files, 'aep' for full archive frames: oneOf: - type: integer minimum: 0 description: Single frame number to render as image - type: array items: type: integer minimum: 0 minItems: 2 maxItems: 2 description: Frame range [start, end] where end > start description: >- Frame specification - single frame number or [start, end] range. Required for image type. quality: type: string enum: - draft - full description: >- Render quality setting - 'draft' for faster low-quality preview, 'full' for high-quality output codec: type: string description: >- Output codec specification (e.g., 'h264_vbr_15mbps', 'prores_422', 'png', 'jpeg') engine: type: string enum: - ae2025 - ae2026 default: ae2026 description: >- After Effects render engine version used when the job is picked up by a worker additionalProperties: false upload: type: object description: >- Custom upload configuration for output files to external storage providers properties: prefix: type: string description: >- Folder prefix/path where output files will be stored (e.g., 'my-project/outputs/') outputUrl: type: string description: Custom base URL for accessing uploaded files publicly provider: type: string enum: - s3 default: s3 description: Storage provider - 's3' for Amazon S3 compatible params: type: object description: Provider-specific upload parameters and credentials properties: endpoint: type: string default: https://s3.amazonaws.com description: Custom S3-compatible endpoint URL region: type: string description: AWS region or storage region identifier (required) bucket: type: string description: Target bucket name for file uploads (required) acl: type: string description: >- Access control list setting for uploaded files (e.g., 'public-read', 'private') accessKeyId: type: string description: AWS access key ID or equivalent credential (required) accessKeySecret: type: string description: AWS secret access key or equivalent credential (required) required: - region - bucket - accessKeyId - accessKeySecret additionalProperties: false additionalProperties: false webhook: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobWebhook' required: - template additionalProperties: true JobCreationResponse: type: object description: Response after creating a job, includes children info for parent jobs properties: id: type: string description: Unique job identifier status: type: string enum: - queued - pending description: >- 'queued' for regular jobs, 'pending' for parent jobs waiting on children outputUrl: type: string description: URL where the rendered output will be available children: type: array description: >- Child job details (only present for parent jobs with nested job assets) items: type: object properties: id: type: string description: Child job identifier status: type: string description: Child job status (typically 'queued') outputUrl: type: string description: URL where the child job's rendered output will be available missingFonts: type: array items: type: string description: >- List of fonts referenced in child's template but not found in team's font library (only present if fonts are missing) required: - id - outputUrl missingFonts: type: array items: type: string description: >- List of fonts referenced in template but not found in team's font library required: - id - status - outputUrl ValidationErrorResponse: type: object description: Validation error response with detailed field information properties: error: type: string description: Main error message details: type: array description: Array of specific validation errors for individual fields items: type: object properties: field: type: string description: Field name that failed validation message: type: string description: Specific validation error for this field ErrorResponse: type: object description: Standard error response format properties: error: type: string description: Human-readable error message explaining what went wrong required: - error JobTemplate: type: object description: >- Template configuration defining the After Effects project and composition to render properties: id: type: string pattern: ^[A-Z0-9]{26}$ description: >- Unique template identifier in ULID format (26 characters, uppercase alphanumeric) src: type: string description: >- Source URL to the After Effects template (.aep, .mogrt, or .zip file) composition: type: string description: >- Name of the specific composition within the template to render (optional for .mogrt) nullable: true required: - id additionalProperties: true JobAsset: type: object description: >- Asset to be used in job rendering, containing source information and target layer details. For function assets, provide the function identifier in `name` and arguments in `params`. properties: src: type: string description: >- Source URL, script data or file path for the asset (supports HTTP/HTTPS URLs or local paths) type: type: string description: Asset type (e.g., image, video, audio, text, data, script, job) layerName: type: string description: >- Target layer name in the After Effects composition where this asset will be applied name: type: string description: >- Human-readable name for the asset. For function assets (`type: function`), this should be the NX function name (for example, `nx:layer-autoscale`). conform: type: boolean description: >- When true for video, image, or audio assets, the worker normalizes the downloaded media to a render-engine-safe target format before assembly. If omitted, the API auto-enables conform for known risky inputs such as WebM, WebP, GIF, and OGG/OGA sources. GIF inputs are converted to a ProRes 4444 MOV file and treated as video. params: type: object description: >- Optional parameters for function assets. For supported NX layer functions (`nx:layer-autoscale`, `nx:layer-duration-set`, `nx:layer-start-set`, `nx:layer-state-set`, `nx:solid-color-set`, `nx:text-params-set`), `params.layerName` accepts a single string or an array of strings. When an array is provided, the API expands the function asset into multiple per-layer assets while preserving the original `assets` order. properties: layerName: description: Target layer name(s) for function assets oneOf: - type: string description: Single target layer name - type: array items: type: string minItems: 1 description: >- Multiple target layer names (supported by selected NX layer functions only) additionalProperties: true required: - type additionalProperties: true JobAssetNested: type: object description: >- A nested job asset that renders a child job first, then uses its output as a video/image asset in the parent composition. The child job's output URL is automatically injected into the parent's assets. properties: type: type: string enum: - job description: Must be 'job' to indicate this is a nested job asset layerName: type: string description: >- Target layer name in the parent composition where the child job's output will be placed (required) template: type: object description: Template configuration for the child job properties: id: type: string pattern: ^[A-Z0-9]{26}$ description: Template ID for the child job (required) composition: type: string description: Composition name to render in the child job (required) name: type: string description: Template name (optional) required: - id - composition assets: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/JobAsset' description: Assets to inject into the child job preview: type: boolean default: false description: Generate preview quality for the child job settings: type: object description: Render settings for the child job properties: type: type: string enum: - video - image default: video description: Output type for the child job frames: oneOf: - type: integer - type: array items: type: integer description: Frame specification for image output quality: type: string enum: - draft - full description: Render quality codec: type: string description: Output codec engine: type: string enum: - ae2025 - ae2026 default: ae2026 description: After Effects render engine version for the child job required: - type - layerName - template JobWebhook: type: object description: Webhook configuration for job status notifications and callbacks properties: url: type: string description: Target webhook URL that will receive job status updates method: type: string enum: - GET - POST - PUT - DELETE description: HTTP method to use when calling the webhook endpoint default: POST headers: type: object description: Additional HTTP headers to include in webhook requests additionalProperties: true data: type: object description: Custom data payload to include with webhook notifications additionalProperties: true custom: type: boolean default: false description: >- Flag indicating if webhook should only include custom data provided by the user required: - url securitySchemes: apiToken: type: http scheme: bearer description: > Bearer token authentication using API tokens for team-based access control. You can generate your own API token at: https://app.nexrender.com/settings/api-tokens ````