Install & Configure

This page walks you through installing the Pictory Text-to-Video skill and connecting it to your Pictory account. You only do this once.

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

A Pictory API key. Sign in at app.pictory.ai, click your profile picture (top-right), choose API Subscription, purchase a plan, and copy the key shown on that page. Keys start with pictai_.

Step 1: Get the skill

The skill lives in Pictory’s public GitHub repository: github.com/pictoryai/pictory-claude-skills Clone it and copy the skill folder into Claude Code’s skills directory:

For all your projects (recommended)
For one project only

git clone https://github.com/pictoryai/pictory-claude-skills.git
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r pictory-claude-skills/pictory-text-to-video ~/.claude/skills/

The skill is now available in every Claude Code session on your machine.

git clone https://github.com/pictoryai/pictory-claude-skills.git
mkdir -p /path/to/your/project/.claude/skills
cp -r pictory-claude-skills/pictory-text-to-video /path/to/your/project/.claude/skills/

The skill is available only when Claude Code runs inside that project folder, which is useful for teams that share skills through their project repository.

Prefer automatic updates? Use a symlink instead of copying, then git pull in the cloned repository whenever you want the latest version:

ln -s "$(pwd)/pictory-claude-skills/pictory-text-to-video" ~/.claude/skills/pictory-text-to-video

Step 2: Add your Pictory API key

The skill reads two environment variables:

Variable	Value
`PICTORY_API_KEY`	Your API key (`pictai_…`), required
`PICTORY_API_BASE_URL`	`https://api.pictory.ai/pictoryapis`, the Pictory production API

Add both to your shell profile so they’re set in every terminal:

echo 'export PICTORY_API_KEY="pictai_your_key_here"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export PICTORY_API_BASE_URL="https://api.pictory.ai/pictoryapis"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

(Use ~/.bashrc instead of ~/.zshrc if your terminal runs bash.)

Treat your API key like a password. Anyone who has it can create videos on your account. Never commit it to a repository or paste it into shared documents. If it is ever exposed, regenerate it from the API Subscription page.

Alternative: set the key for one project only

Put the variables in the project’s .claude/settings.local.json (this file is git-ignored by default, so the key stays off your repository):

{
  "env": {
    "PICTORY_API_KEY": "pictai_your_key_here",
    "PICTORY_API_BASE_URL": "https://api.pictory.ai/pictoryapis"
  }
}

If the key is missing when you ask for a video, the skill stops and asks you for it before making any API call. It never guesses.

Step 3: Verify

Open a new terminal (so the environment variables load) and start Claude Code:
claude
Type /pictory-text-to-video. The skill should appear and load.
Ask for a quick test:
Make a 15-second test video about coffee. You decide everything.

If Claude Code was already running when you installed the skill, restart it. Skills are discovered when a session starts.

Updating the skill

cd pictory-claude-skills
git pull
cp -r pictory-text-to-video ~/.claude/skills/   # skip if you used a symlink

Next: create your first real video

Example prompts, tips for great results, and troubleshooting

Getting Started

Text-to-Video Skill

Install & Configure

Prerequisites

Step 1: Get the skill

Step 2: Add your Pictory API key

Step 3: Verify

Updating the skill

Next: create your first real video

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Get the skill

​Step 2: Add your Pictory API key

​Step 3: Verify

​Updating the skill

Next: create your first real video

Prerequisites

Step 1: Get the skill

Step 2: Add your Pictory API key

Step 3: Verify

Updating the skill