HoneyVid CLI for agents

Use HoneyVid from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, shell scripts, or another agent. Create from a template or use Playground video and image models with your own prompt, settings, and reference photos. Generation uses account credits and usually takes 2–10 minutes.

Node.js 20 or newer. Plain ESM, no build step, no runtime dependencies. This package is not published yet. Run it from this checkout:

node packages/cli/bin/honeyvid.mjs --help
node packages/cli/bin/honeyvid.mjs schema

When published, installation and invocation will be:

npm install -g honeyvid
honeyvid --help
# Or, without a global install:
npx honeyvid --help

Until publication, replace honeyvid below with node packages/cli/bin/honeyvid.mjs. Do not run npx honeyvid to test this unpublished checkout; it could fetch another package.

Sign in

honeyvid login
honeyvid whoami

Login prints a URL and an eight-character code, such as HVQK-7M2P, and opens the system browser when available. Check the code on HoneyVid matches your terminal, then click Connect. The browser shows Connected with the same code. The CLI finishes by itself and prints your account. No copy-paste or local listener is needed. Login lasts 10 minutes and uses PKCE S256 with no client secret.

For an agent, SSH, or a machine without a browser:

honeyvid login --no-browser
# Open data.url on any browser, check data.code, and click Connect.
# Leave the command running; it finishes after approval.

Piped output and --json print a JSON envelope immediately with {url, code, expiresInSeconds: 600, next: "Open the url and click Connect. Check the code matches."}, then a second envelope with the account after approval. In a terminal, the URL and code go to stderr. The CLI polls every two seconds. --no-browser skips opening the browser and still waits.

If the process stops, resume the same saved login within its original 10 minutes:

honeyvid login --wait

Use the same config directory and base URL. The saved verifier and state stay private in the local auth file; approval requires the verifier to exchange the code. login --code '<long-oauth-code>' remains as a legacy fallback for one release if you already copied an OAuth code. The new browser page shows only the short matching code, which is not an OAuth code.

Tokens are stored per base URL at ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-~/.config}/honeyvid/auth.json (file 0600, directory 0700). Expiring tokens refresh before requests; a 401 refreshes once and replays the request once. Rotated refresh tokens are saved atomically. A config lock serializes refreshes and writes so parallel commands share the latest rotating token. Queued jobs are exposed as processing.

honeyvid auth export --json
honeyvid logout

auth export returns data.refreshToken and warns on stderr. Treat it as a secret. HONEYVID_TOKEN supplies a refresh token for CI and overrides the local login. Its rotated credentials are cached separately, so later commands on the same machine use the new token without replacing the interactive login. Export the current token when moving CI to another machine. Never put tokens in source control, shared logs, or prompts. Logout removes local credentials for the selected base URL; it does not revoke a token or unset HONEYVID_TOKEN.

Template flow

honeyvid templates --search dance --limit 10 --json
honeyvid template '<template-id>'
honeyvid characters add ./face.jpg --name Alex
# Or:
honeyvid characters add --url 'https://example.com/face.jpg' --name Alex
honeyvid characters
honeyvid quote --template '<template-id>' --quality standard
honeyvid create --template '<template-id>' --character '<character-id>' \
  --quality standard --max-credits 50 --idempotency-key 'my-video-001' \
  --wait --timeout 600 --output ./video.mp4

Use IDs and prices returned by the API. Choose a template with available qualities. Template results contain compact details and absolute poster and preview URLs. Character uploads accept PNG, JPG, and WebP up to 10 MB; names contain 1–60 characters. URL images must use HTTPS and are downloaded without account credentials.

--max-credits is required for create and retry. The server must enforce this ceiling and reject a higher price with 409. A quote does not reserve a price or credits. --dry-run returns the same output as quote, does not submit a job, and needs only the source and quality:

honeyvid create --template '<template-id>' --quality high --dry-run

Create, retry, and generate always print the idempotency key to stderr before submission and include it as data.idempotencyKey or error.idempotencyKey. On a network failure, timeout, or server error, the outcome may be unknown: rerun the same command with the same key and inputs. A new key can create and charge for another job. There are no automatic retries for 429, network errors, or 5xx responses.

honeyvid video '<job-id>' --wait --timeout 600
honeyvid job '<job-id>'                 # Alias for video
honeyvid videos --status completed --limit 10
honeyvid download '<job-id>'            # ./honeyvid-<id>.mp4
honeyvid retry '<failed-job-id>' --max-credits 50 \
  --idempotency-key 'my-retry-001' --wait
honeyvid account                       # Credits, plan, topUpUrl

Wait checks every five seconds and writes progress to stderr. A timeout stops waiting; it does not cancel generation. Output paths are absolute in results. The response Content-Type sets the file extension; a mismatched extension is replaced and the actual path is reported on stderr and in JSON. Downloads stream to a temporary file, never overwrite an existing destination, and remove partial files on failure. --output on create, video, or retry downloads after completion; add --wait if the video is processing.

For your own source video:

honeyvid upload ./clip.mp4
honeyvid quote --upload '<upload-id>' --quality standard
honeyvid create --upload '<upload-id>' --character '<character-id>' \
  --quality standard --max-credits 50 --wait --output ./my-video.mp4

Use an MP4 up to 100 MB and 3–30 seconds. Uploads stream as raw video/mp4 with a content length, not multipart. Own-video generation may be unavailable for the account. Choose exactly one of --template and --upload.

Playground flow

Discover the models available to the signed-in account, then inspect the selected model's full fields. Model availability and settings come from the server; do not guess model IDs or supported values.

honeyvid models --kind video
honeyvid models --kind image
honeyvid models --model '<model-id>' --json
honeyvid characters add ./reference.jpg --name Reference
honeyvid generate video --model '<model-id>' --prompt 'A honey river at sunrise' \
  --set duration=5 --image '<character-id>:start' --max-credits 50 --dry-run
honeyvid generate video --model '<model-id>' --prompt 'A honey river at sunrise' \
  --set duration=5 --image '<character-id>:start' --max-credits 50 \
  --idempotency-key 'playground-video-001' --wait --timeout 600 --output ./river.mp4
honeyvid generate image --model '<image-model-id>' --prompt 'A honey jar in warm light' \
  --image '<character-id>' --max-credits 50 --dry-run
honeyvid generate image --model '<image-model-id>' --prompt 'A honey jar in warm light' \
  --image '<character-id>' --max-credits 50 \
  --idempotency-key 'playground-image-001' --wait --output ./jar.png

The settings above are examples; use fields returned by models --model for the selected model. Repeat --set key=value for each setting. Numbers (including decimals, negatives, and exponents) and lowercase true/false become JSON numbers and booleans. Other values stay strings. Duplicate setting keys are rejected. Video references accept --image <character-id>[:start|end|ref]; image generation accepts character IDs without roles. Repeat --image for more references. If the model accepts a source video, add --video upload:<id> or --video template:<id>.

Both generate commands require --model, --prompt, and --max-credits, including for --dry-run. A dry run calls the free Playground quote endpoint and returns credits, balance, and estimatedSeconds; it creates no job. A real run sends the cap to the server. A price above it returns exit 5 without charging. Quotes do not reserve prices.

Generate prints a caller-supplied or generated idempotency key before submitting and returns it in success or error JSON. Reuse the same key and inputs after an uncertain outcome. Waiting and downloading work like template creation.

honeyvid videos --kind image
honeyvid video '<image-job-id>'
honeyvid video '<image-job-id>' --wait --output ./image.png

Image job output includes image URLs. The first image is saved at --output; more images use image-2.png, image-3.png, and so on. Results include path for the first download and paths for all downloads. Existing files are preserved. In a terminal, models prints a compact table; --model prints the full schema. Piped output and --json always use JSON envelopes.

Agent skills

honeyvid skills list
honeyvid skills install                 # Claude and Codex
honeyvid skills install --agent claude
honeyvid skills install --agent codex
honeyvid skills install --agent all
honeyvid skills install --dir ./skills

These commands work without login. Bundled skills use HoneyVid MCP tools when connected and the CLI otherwise. The installer copies all bundled skill folders into $HOME/.claude/skills/<name>/ and/or $HOME/.codex/skills/<name>/. --dir overrides the skills root and installs once into <dir>/<name>/, regardless of --agent.

The JSON result lists written absolute paths in paths and preserved paths in skipped. A small .honeyvid-cli.json ownership file lets later installs update only files previously written by this installer. Existing user files, edited installed files, extra files, and skill directory symlinks are preserved. The installer never deletes user files or prompts.

Machine interface

Every command accepts --json; it is the default when stdout is not a TTY. JSON commands print one envelope, except login, which prints connection details before its final account or error envelope:

{"ok":true,"data":{"credits":12,"quality":"standard","estimatedSeconds":120,"balance":100}}

Failures print one envelope to stdout and exit nonzero:

{"ok":false,"error":{"code":"not_signed_in","message":"You are not signed in.","suggestion":"Run honeyvid login.","retryable":false}}

Errors can also contain idempotencyKey, jobId, and retryAfter (seconds). retryable describes the error; the CLI does not automatically retry it. Never parse stderr as data. Help is plain text. schema returns all commands, flags, enums, constraints, output shapes, environment variables, and exit codes in data. Every command has --help, examples, environment variables, and exit codes.

Known API error codes are price_above_max (409 with credits), insufficient_credits (402), rate_limited (429), generation_closed, not_found (404), and forbidden (403). Their exit codes follow the table below: credit, limit and conflict errors use 5; forbidden uses 1.

Exit	Meaning	Agent action
0	Success	Read data.
1	Request, network, file, or other error	Read the suggestion; preserve a submitted key.
2	Usage error	Read command help.
3	Not signed in	Run honeyvid login.
4	Not found	Check the ID and base URL.
5	Credits, limits, conflict, or price above maximum	Read the error. For 429, respect retryAfter and reuse the key.
6	Job failed	Inspect the job; quote and retry if wanted.
7	Wait timed out; job still running	Run honeyvid video <id> --wait.

Environment:

• HONEYVID_URL: API/site base URL; defaults to https://honeyvid.ai. --base-url <url> overrides it. HTTPS is required except for loopback development URLs. Credentials are isolated by base URL.
• HONEYVID_TOKEN: secret refresh token overriding stored login.
• HOME: home directory for agent skills (or the OS home if unset).
• XDG_CONFIG_HOME: parent of the honeyvid/ config directory.
• DISPLAY: when absent on Linux, login prints a Connect URL instead of opening a browser.

The CLI never prompts. It never publishes, tops up credits, or changes subscription plans.

Remote MCP setup

honeyvid setup all
honeyvid setup claude --apply
honeyvid setup codex
honeyvid setup cursor

Setup also suggests honeyvid skills install. The endpoint is <base>/mcp. Claude setup prints claude mcp add --transport http honeyvid <url>; --apply runs it if Claude is on PATH. Codex setup prints the ~/.codex/config.toml block. Cursor setup prints the ~/.cursor/mcp.json block. The CLI never edits these config files itself.

Development checks

From the repository root, using the existing dependencies:

npx vitest run tests/cli/cli.test.ts
node packages/cli/bin/honeyvid.mjs --help
node packages/cli/bin/honeyvid.mjs schema

Tests start a local fake HTTP server and use temporary config directories. They do not call a real account, spend credits, or generate real videos. The CLI is outside the root TypeScript/Vite build. Do not publish this package until the server OAuth, quote, price-ceiling, and retry contracts are deployed and tested together.