Songbrain
Song in, video plan out — the music analysis API for AI video.
Send a song. Get back JSON that a video model can use directly: what the song is, where the beats and sections are, which part to use, what the words are and when they are sung, what the video should show, and a shot list with a prompt for every scene that cuts on the beat.
This repository holds the official SDKs for Python and JavaScript/TypeScript, examples, and the MCP server entry.
Try it now, no key
curl https://api.songbrain.ai/v1/examples/old-truck-home/shot-plan
This returns the story and shot plan of a real song in exactly the format your songs get. GET /v1/examples lists all examples.
What one call returns
One document per song (schema songbrain.song/1). Times are seconds from the start of the song.
| Section | What is in it |
|---|
song_dna | Genre and subgenre (37 subgenres), tempo, key and key changes, mood, vocal style, instruments, energy, loudness (LUFS, true peak, per-platform check), a tagline and similar tracks |
timeline | Every beat, every downbeat, time signature, sections with repeat letters (A, B, A) and energy, vocal changes, lyric hooks |
best_moments | Ranked windows with start, peak and end, a score, the reason they work and the measured signals behind it, the beats inside, the words sung |
lyrics | Lines with start and end, and every word with its own start and end |
scores | Virality, quality and lyrics scores with breakdowns, what works, what to fix, audience |
story | What the song means, one world, a three-colour palette, the one element the video is about (before, event, after), setup / turn / payoff |
shot_plan | A beat-synced edit of the best moment (about 15 s, 9:16): every scene with absolute start and end seconds, act, kind, camera motion, transition, framing and a ready image/video prompt. Plus a section-level plan for the full song with cut points on the beat |
One scene from the shot plan:
{
"index": 1,
"kind": "tease",
"act": "setup",
"start_sec": 94.83,
"end_sec": 96.246,
"duration_sec": 1.416,
"beats_in_scene": 4,
"transition_in": "cold open, hold",
"motion": "slow push-in on a still world",
"prompt": "wide establishing shot of the empty space: A distant, warm yellow light source pulses faintly in the deep blue night ...",
"sung": null
}
A song takes 60–90 seconds to analyse (up to about 2 minutes when busy).
Install
pip install songbrain
npm install songbrain
Packages: PyPI · npm.
Quickstart: Python
from songbrain import Songbrain
sb = Songbrain()
song = sb.analyze("song.mp3")
dna = song["song_dna"]
print(dna["genre"], dna["tempo_bpm"], dna["key"])
for s in song["shot_plan"]["clip"]["scenes"]:
print(f'{s["start_sec"]:.2f}-{s["end_sec"]:.2f} [{s["act"]}] {s["prompt"]}')
Quickstart: TypeScript / JavaScript
import { Songbrain } from "songbrain";
const sb = new Songbrain();
const song = await sb.analyze({ file: "song.mp3" });
const dna = song.song_dna!;
console.log(dna.genre, dna.tempo_bpm, dna.key);
for (const s of song.shot_plan?.clip?.scenes ?? []) {
console.log(`${s.start_sec.toFixed(2)}-${s.end_sec.toFixed(2)} [${s.act}] ${s.prompt}`);
}
analyze() uploads, waits until the song is done and returns the full document. Pass wait=False (Python) or wait: false (JS) to get the id right away, then use a webhook or get_song / getSong later.
SDK methods
Python uses snake_case and JS uses camelCase method names. Response fields are the API's own names in both.
| Python | JavaScript | API | Key |
|---|
analyze(file | audio_url=…, test=False, idempotency_key=None, wait=True) | analyze({ file | audioUrl, test, idempotencyKey, wait }) | POST /v1/songs + polling | yes |
get_song(id, view, include) | getSong(id, { view, include }) | GET /v1/songs/{id} | yes |
shot_plan(id) | shotPlan(id) | GET /v1/songs/{id}/shot-plan | yes |
list_songs(limit, starting_after) | listSongs({ limit, startingAfter }) | GET /v1/songs | yes |
iter_songs(page_size) | iterSongs({ pageSize }) | GET /v1/songs, every page | yes |
delete_song(id) | deleteSong(id) | DELETE /v1/songs/{id} | yes |
account() | account() | GET /v1/account | yes |
test_webhook(url) | testWebhook(url) | POST /v1/webhooks/test | yes |
webhook_deliveries(limit) | webhookDeliveries({ limit }) | GET /v1/webhooks/deliveries | yes |
pricing() | pricing() | GET /v1/pricing | no |
examples() | examples() | GET /v1/examples | no |
example(id, view, include) | example(id, { view, include }) | GET /v1/examples/{id} | no |
example_shot_plan(id) | exampleShotPlan(id) | GET /v1/examples/{id}/shot-plan | no |
webhooks.verify(body, header, secret) | verifyWebhook(body, header, secret) | Songbrain-Signature header | – |
Both SDKs:
- send the key as
Authorization: Bearer sb_live_…,
- raise
SongbrainError (status, code, message, request_id / requestId) and the subclasses AuthenticationError, InsufficientCredits, NotFound, RateLimited (with retry_after / retryAfter), AnalysisFailed and WaitTimeout,
- send an
Idempotency-Key with every new song and retry network errors, 429 and 5xx up to 3 times with backoff, honouring Retry-After,
- keep the last rate-limit headers in
last_rate_limit / lastRateLimit.
Package docs: python/README.md · js/README.md
Without an SDK
curl -X POST https://api.songbrain.ai/v1/songs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SONGBRAIN_API_KEY" \
-F "file=@song.mp3" -F "title=My Song"
curl https://api.songbrain.ai/v1/songs/$ID -H "Authorization: Bearer $SONGBRAIN_API_KEY"
Options on document endpoints: ?view=summary drops word timings and beat arrays (about 3x smaller). ?include=song_dna,shot_plan returns only the named sections.
Errors always look like {"error": {"code": "…", "message": "…", "request_id": "req_…"}} with HTTP 400, 401, 402, 404, 409, 413, 415 or 429. A 429 carries a Retry-After header.
Test mode
Send "test": true (or test=True / test: true in the SDKs) and the song is free, needs no audio and is done right away. You get the Sugar Rush example analysis with your title and external_ref, "livemode": false and billing.type = "test". A webhook_url still gets a signed song.done within seconds. It is made for CI and for building your integration before you spend a song.
song = sb.analyze(test=True, external_ref="ci-123")
assert song["livemode"] is False
Test songs never use your free songs, but they are rate-limited and count toward the daily cap. A pytest example: cookbook/ci_test_mode.py.
Your own lyrics
Lyrics are transcribed from the vocals, and sung words can be misheard. If you have the lyrics (Suno gives them to you), send them along: the analysis uses your exact words on the transcription's timing. Words the singer can't be heard on are left out, never guessed.
song = sb.analyze("song.mp3", lyrics=open("lyrics.txt").read())
song["lyrics"]["source"]
const song = await sb.analyze({ file: "song.mp3", lyrics });
Measured or estimated?
Every song carries provenance: which fields are measured from the audio (tempo, key, beats, sections, loudness, moment windows), which are transcribed (lyrics), which are an AI model's judgement (genre, mood, scores) and which are generated (story, prompts, tagline). Scores also say "basis": "model_estimate". Details: docs.
Idempotency
POST /v1/songs accepts an Idempotency-Key header (1–255 printable characters). The same key on the same account within 24 hours returns the first answer again (same song id, no second charge) with Idempotent-Replayed: true. The same key with a different request is a 409 idempotency_key_reused; a key whose first request is still running is a 409 idempotency_in_progress (retry after a second). Failed first requests are not stored, so the key can be retried.
Both SDKs send a random key with every analyze() and reuse it across their own retries, so a timeout during an upload never creates two songs. Pass your own key (idempotency_key= / idempotencyKey), e.g. your job id, to make retries across processes safe too.
GET /v1/songs?limit=20&starting_after=<song id> returns the newest songs first with has_more and next_cursor. Pass next_cursor as starting_after for the next page, or let the SDK do it:
for item in sb.iter_songs():
print(item["id"], item["status"], item["livemode"])
for await (const item of sb.iterSongs()) console.log(item.id, item.status);
Request ids and rate limits
Every response has a Songbrain-Request-Id: req_… header, and every error body repeats it as error.request_id. The SDKs put it on the error (request_id / requestId) and in its message. Quote it when you contact support.
Requests with a key return X-RateLimit-Limit (requests per minute, currently 120), X-RateLimit-Remaining and X-RateLimit-Reset (seconds until the window has room again). The SDKs keep the last values in sb.last_rate_limit / sb.lastRateLimit.
Webhooks
Pass webhook_url when you create a song. Songbrain POSTs song.done or song.failed, and account.low_balance when you run low:
{"id": "evt_…", "type": "song.done", "created": 1791200000, "livemode": true, "data": {"id": "…", "status": "done", "external_ref": "…"}}
- Signature. Every webhook has the header
Songbrain-Signature: t=<unix>,v1=<hex>. v1 is the HMAC-SHA256 of "<t>.<raw body>" with your key's webhook secret. Both SDKs verify it for you (webhooks.verify / verifyWebhook).
- Dedupe on the event id.
id (also in the Songbrain-Event-Id header) stays the same when an event is retried. Store the ids you have handled and answer 2xx to repeats.
- Retries. Anything but a 2xx is retried, up to 10 attempts over about 3 days: right away, then 1 min, 5 min, 30 min, 2 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after the first attempt. Redirects are not followed.
- Test ping.
POST /v1/webhooks/test {"url": "…"} (test_webhook / testWebhook) sends a signed ping right now and tells you whether it was delivered. GET /v1/webhooks/deliveries (webhook_deliveries / webhookDeliveries) lists the last attempts with status codes.
Receivers: cookbook/webhook_receiver_fastapi.py (FastAPI, with dedupe) and examples/python/webhook_server.py (Flask).
MCP
Songbrain runs a remote MCP server at https://api.songbrain.ai/mcp (streamable HTTP). It works in Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and other MCP clients. Without a key you get the example tools. With a key you can analyse songs from a URL.
claude mcp add --transport http songbrain https://api.songbrain.ai/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer sb_live_…"
Setup for each client: examples/mcp.md. Registry name: io.github.songbrain-ai/songbrain (server.json).
Examples
Run either script with --example old-truck-home to try it without a key.
Cookbook
Runnable recipes in cookbook/. All work with --example sugar-rush (no key), and the video ones have a --dry-run that prints every call and the ffmpeg command.
Postman
Import postman/Songbrain.postman_collection.json into Postman, Insomnia or Bruno. Set apiKey, then run Songs → Create song (test mode). Every endpoint is in it, with cursor pagination and an Idempotency-Key on creates.
Pricing
- 5 free songs per account per month.
- Then 25 credits per song, about $0.50. Credits come in packs (500 credits = $10, 150 credits = $4.99).
- No subscription. Everything is included in that price: analysis, story and shot plan.
- Limits: files up to 100 MB, 30 s to 10 min; 3 songs in parallel; 200 songs per 24 h; 120 requests per minute per key.
- Over 1,000 songs a month, an invoice, a DPA or an SLA: support@songbrain.ai.
Live prices: GET https://api.songbrain.ai/v1/pricing.
Commercial use
The short version of Terms §17:
- You can use the API in a paid SaaS, including products that make images or videos for your customers.
- You can pass results to your users, changed or unchanged.
- White-label is fine. No attribution to Songbrain is required.
- The results for your songs are yours. You can keep them after you delete a song or close the account.
- You can train your own models on results, except a model built to reproduce the Songbrain API for others.
- Reselling raw API access or bulk datasets needs written consent.
Audio is used only for the analysis and never for training. Uploads are deleted within 24 hours.
Repository layout
python/ PyPI package "songbrain"
js/ npm package "songbrain"
examples/ scripts and guides
cookbook/ runnable recipes (AI clips, slideshow, webhooks, CI)
postman/ Postman collection
server.json MCP Registry entry
.github/ CI and publish workflows (tags py-v*, js-v*, mcp-v*)
Links
License
MIT © 2026 Songbrain. See LICENSE. The license covers the SDK code; use of the API is governed by the Terms.