Changelog

Changes to the Newsroom Video API that affect customers and integrations. This file is also published at /changelog.

We only add to /v1: new optional parameters, new response fields and new presets. Anything that could break an existing integration will be announced here before it happens.

1.7.0 - 2026-11-15

Nothing here changes how existing integrations behave. Everything below is new and optional.

Added

• Transcoding from a link. POST /v1/jobs accepts JSON {"source_url": "https://…"} instead of the file, and we download the video when the job's turn comes. Presigned links (S3, R2, Google Cloud) work, and we forget the link once the video is downloaded. Uploading the file works exactly as before.
• Resumable downloads and seeking. GET /v1/jobs/{id}/download accepts a Range header and answers 206 with that part of the file, so video players can seek and download tools can resume. Downloads now carry Accept-Ranges, ETag and Last-Modified, and If-Range makes resuming safe. Without Range, downloads are unchanged.
• New error codes: invalid_source_url (422), range_not_satisfiable (416), and the job error source_fetch_failed. A video at source_url that is over the plan's upload limit fails with file_too_large.

1.6.1 - 2026-11-14

Nothing here changes how integrations call the API, and no settings or presets have changed.

Changed

• Videos are now encoded with FFmpeg 7.1 (previously 5.1), with the same settings. Reels are drawn exactly as before; the encoded files differ slightly at the byte level but not visibly (we measured 47 dB PSNR against the old encoder's output), at the same loudness, and are about 3% larger.
• The monthly allowance is now enforced across jobs that run at the same time. Each job reserves its seconds when it starts, so several jobs starting together can no longer go over the allowance between them. A job that would go over still fails with quota_exceeded before any work is done, and isn't billed.
• A render with several video formats processes its soundtrack once and shares it between the formats. The sound is unchanged.

1.6.0 - 2026-10-31

Nothing here changes how existing integrations behave. A render manifest without the new fields makes exactly the same video as before, frame for frame.

Added

• One render can now make several outputs. outputs in the POST /v1/renders manifest lists them: vertical (1080×1920, the default), landscape (1920×1080), square (1080×1080), thumbnail (a JPEG) and captions_srt / captions_vtt (caption files). All are made from the same script, voiceover and settings.
• GET /v1/jobs/{id} lists a render's outputs, each with its name, media_type, bytes, width, height and download_url. Fetch one with GET /v1/jobs/{id}/download?output=landscape; without output you get the main video (the first video listed), as before. Webhook events include outputs too.
• Each video output is billed for its length: a 22-second reel in vertical and landscape uses 44 seconds. Thumbnails and caption files are free.
• loudness_lufs normalises the voiceover to a set loudness, e.g. -14 for social media. It measures the voiceover first, then applies one steady gain, so speech sounds natural.
• max_duration_seconds refuses a video longer than a platform allows. The job fails with duration_too_long before anything is drawn, and nothing is billed.
• New image_motion values: zoom_in, zoom_out, and alternate, which zooms in on one story and out on the next.
• New error code output_not_found (404), for ?output= naming an output the job doesn't have.

1.5.0 - 2026-10-30

Nothing here changes how existing integrations behave. Everything below is new.

Added

• Webhooks. Set an https:// address with PUT /v1/webhook and we POST a job.completed or job.failed event to it as soon as a job finishes, so you don't have to keep polling. Each event is signed (Newsroom-Signature header, HMAC-SHA256 with your webhook secret) and retried with backoff for about two days if your server doesn't answer with a 2xx. GET /v1/webhook shows recent deliveries, POST /v1/webhook/test sends a ping, and DELETE /v1/webhook turns it off. Polling GET /v1/jobs/{id} keeps working as before.
• Read-only API keys, for dashboards and reports. They can look at jobs, downloads, usage and the webhook, but can't create or delete anything. Using one to create a job is refused with insufficient_scope (403).
• Key expiry and rotation. A key can be given an end date. When we replace a key, the old one keeps working for a while (normally two weeks), so you can swap the new one in without downtime. Responses carry an api_key_expiring warning in the last two weeks, and the account's email address gets a reminder a week before. An expired key is refused with api_key_expired (401).
• GET /v1/usage includes api_key (its prefix, scope and expires_at).
• Quota emails. The account's email address is told when 80% and when 100% of the monthly allowance is used.
• A quota_used_up warning once the allowance is used up. Before that, quota_nearly_used is shown from 80%, as now.
• The account page shows each key's expiry date and whether it is read-only.

1.4.0 - 2026-10-28

Nothing here changes how existing integrations behave. Everything below is new.

Added

• Server-side news reels: POST /v1/renders takes a JSON manifest (voiceover, 1 to 5 articles with headlines and images, logo, colours, captions, sponsor, start and end screens) and makes a 1080×1920 MP4. It is an ordinary job: follow it with GET /v1/jobs/{id} and fetch it with GET /v1/jobs/{id}/download. It is billed by the length of the finished video, and takes its turn in the queue like any other job.
• The frames are drawn by the same code as the Newsroom Video plugin's browser renderer, so both look the same.
• Media can be https: URLs (public addresses only) or small inline data: URLs.
• GET /v1/jobs/{id} includes progress (0 to 100) for renders, null for other jobs.
• GET /v1/usage lists renderers (currently news_reel, version 1). Render presets are not listed in presets, and can't be used with POST /v1/jobs.
• A failed render can be sent again with the same Idempotency-Key. Reusing a key for different content is refused with idempotency_key_reused.
• New error codes: invalid_manifest (422, the message says which field), body_too_large (413), and job errors media_fetch_failed, media_invalid and render_failed.

1.3.0 - 2026-10-28

Nothing here changes how existing integrations call the API. Everything below is new.

Added

• Fair queueing. Newsrooms now take turns: each gets one video started per turn, so one newsroom's batch never holds up everyone else. Previously videos ran strictly in arrival order.
• Priority processing, as an annual add-on or built into a plan. Priority newsrooms' videos start first, taking turns with each other. A standard video that has waited a while is moved up alongside priority work, so it is never held back for long.
• GET /v1/jobs/{id} includes queue_position (1 means next) and estimated_start_seconds while a job is queued, and null otherwise. The estimate is rough: use it for messages like "2nd in queue, about a minute".
• The account page shows whether your newsroom has priority processing, your videos waiting and processing now, your typical wait, and how long each recent job waited.
• The homepage shows live queue activity and daily volume.

1.2.0 - 2026-10-28

Nothing here changes how existing integrations behave. Everything below is new and optional.

Added

• Idempotency-Key header on POST /v1/jobs. Send a key that is unique to the video and preset, and reuse it when you retry: you get the original job back (marked Idempotent-Replayed: true) instead of a second, billed job.
• Every response has an X-Request-Id header. You can send your own (8 to 128 letters, digits, ., _, : or -) to match your logs to ours. Quote it when contacting support.
• Error responses now include message, docs_url and request_id as well as detail. Keep using detail in code: message may be reworded.
• Every /v1 JSON response includes a warnings array, usually empty. It currently reports quota_nearly_used from 80% of the monthly allowance, and will report deprecations, with Deprecation and Sunset headers, well before anything is retired.
• Preset versions. preset=mp4 means the current default version, and preset=mp4@1 pins one. Jobs report preset_version, and GET /v1/usage lists preset_versions. A preset's output only changes through a new version announced here first.
• New error codes: invalid_idempotency_key (400), idempotency_key_reused (422) and idempotency_key_in_use (409).

Changed

• Please send a User-Agent naming your plugin and version, e.g. NewsroomVideo-WP/2.9.0 WordPress/6.6. It lets us tell you before a change affects the version you run.

1.1.0 - 2026-10-28

Added

• This changelog, published at /changelog.

1.0.0 - 2026-10-27

Added

• Asynchronous jobs: POST /v1/jobs to upload, GET /v1/jobs/{id} to check, GET /v1/jobs/{id}/download to fetch the output and DELETE /v1/jobs/{id} to remove files early.
• Presets: mp4, mp4_720p, vertical_1080x1920, square_1080 and thumbnail_jpg.
• GET /v1/usage for the current month's usage and plan limits.
• Trial, Starter and Pro plans with a monthly video allowance.
• Location and device metadata are removed from every output.
• Public pages: home, the user guide and the account dashboard.