Automate shorts end to end: one request in, one webhook out

The loop, end to end

Start a job with one request:

curl -X POST https://api.shortsai.app/api/process \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer osk_..." -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=...", "acknowledged": true,
       "webhook_url": "https://your-server.com/hooks/shortsai",
       "webhook_secret": "your-shared-secret"}'

The response returns a job id immediately. Minutes later, when the clips are cut, subtitled and archived, ShortsAI POSTs once to your webhook URL with the job outcome, clip titles and download links durable enough to fetch later. A failed job also fires the webhook, so your pipeline never hangs on silence.

Verifying the webhook

If you passed a webhook_secret, the request carries an X-OpenShorts-Signature header of the form sha256=<hex>: the HMAC-SHA256 of the raw request body under your secret. Recompute it and compare in constant time:

expected = "sha256=" + hmac.new(secret, raw_body, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()
hmac.compare_digest(expected, request.headers["X-OpenShorts-Signature"])

Reject anything that does not match and you have closed the door on forged deliveries.

Using it from n8n, Zapier or Make

No dedicated node is needed: the flow is a generic HTTP Request step that POSTs to /api/process, then a Webhook trigger that receives the completion payload and fans out to whatever comes next, posting to socials, dropping links in Slack, logging to a sheet. The two-step shape above is the whole integration, which is why generic nodes cover it. There is now also an importable n8n workflow that wires the whole loop, including channel watching, Telegram approval and scheduled publishing.

A weekly pipeline in one cron line

Because the API is one POST, scheduling is whatever scheduler you already have. A cron job that submits the latest episode URL every Monday, a GitHub Action on your podcast repo, or an agent that watches a feed. The webhook does the second half, so nothing stays running in between. If you would rather not write the curl, the CLI wraps it:

uvx openshorts process "$EPISODE_URL" \
  --webhook https://your-server.com/hooks/shortsai \
  --webhook-secret "$SECRET"

What automation costs

API and MCP calls cost nothing, because nothing on ShortsAI does. There is no per-call price, no API tier and no automation surcharge. As of August 2026 that is not the market default: the mainstream tools meter their APIs per source minute or per operation, on top of subscription tiers, so an always-on pipeline runs with a taxi meter attached. ShortsAI has no meter of any kind and nothing to buy:

ShortsAI comes in two editions and they are priced very differently, so it is worth being precise. ShortsAI has no paid tier at all. Free at shortsai.app, with nothing to install. You paste your own Google Gemini API key (free tier: 1,500 requests a day) in Settings and it stays encrypted in your browser. No plans, no watermark, no usage cap, no account. The site is supported by ads. You bring your own Google Gemini API key, whose free tier covers 1,500 requests a day; the site is supported by ads.

Agents instead of scripts

If the thing driving the pipeline is an AI agent rather than a script, the same account exposes a native MCP server with six tools covering process, status, clips, quota, subtitles and publishing. The endpoint, the tool table and client setup live on the MCP server and API page.

Common questions

Can I automate YouTube Shorts creation with a free tool?

Yes. ShortsAI serves a REST API and an MCP server with no metering. One POST submits a video, a signed webhook returns the finished clips, and the publishing endpoint posts them to YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Is there an n8n integration for ShortsAI?

Yes: an importable workflow at /n8n-youtube-shorts-automation watches a YouTube channel, clips each video, sends the clips to Telegram for approval and schedules the approved ones to your socials. Nothing forces you to use it, though, since the integration is just an HTTP Request node posting to /api/process plus a Webhook trigger.

Do automated API calls cost more than using the dashboard?

No. Nothing on ShortsAI costs anything: there is no meter, no plan and no per-call pricing. The only cost is what the AI providers charge under your own keys.

Sources

• Webhook signing implementation in the project source at shortsai.app.
• Competitor API metering checked 2026-08-04 on public pricing and developer documentation.

Related comparisons