Alibaba Wan 3.0 Reference To Video API Documentation
Playground
Try it on WaveSpeedAI!Wan 3.0 Reference to Video creates coherent videos from prompts and multimodal references, including images, videos, and audio, with flexible 2-30 second duration and aspect ratio control for subject consistency, motion guidance, timing control, and scene continuity. Ready-to-use REST inference API, best performance, no coldstarts, affordable pricing.
Features
Wan 3.0 Reference-to-Video combines reference images, videos, and audio with a prompt to create coherent video scenes. It supports multimodal reference guidance for character consistency, object control, motion direction, audio style, and scene composition.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| prompt | Yes | Text prompt describing the desired scene, subject, motion, camera movement, lighting, and style. |
| reference_images | Conditional | Up to 10 reference images. At least one reference media array is required. |
| reference_videos | Conditional | Up to 5 reference video inputs. Each video must be MP4 or MOV, 1–15 seconds, 240–4096 pixels on each side, no more than 8:1 aspect ratio, and no more than 100 MB. Total reference video duration must not exceed 15 seconds. |
| reference_audios | Conditional | Up to 5 reference audio files. Total reference audio duration must not exceed 15 seconds. |
| resolution | No | Output resolution: 480p, 720p, or 1080p. Default: 720p. |
| aspect_ratio | No | Output aspect ratio. Default: 16:9. |
| duration | No | Generated video duration in seconds. Default: 5. Without video input: integer 2–30. With reference videos: total input video duration + output video duration must not exceed 30s. |
| enable_prompt_expansion | No | Enable prompt expansion for more deliberate prompt interpretation. Default: false. |
| enable_audio | No | Include audio in the output. Default: true. |
| seed | No | Random seed from 0 to 2147483647. |
At least one of reference_images, reference_videos, or reference_audios is required.
How to Use
- Add reference media — Provide reference images, videos, audio, or a combination of them.
- Write your prompt — Describe the target scene, action, camera movement, lighting, style, and how the references should be used.
- Choose resolution — Use
480pfor lower-cost drafts,720pfor balanced output, or1080pfor higher quality. - Set aspect ratio — Select the output format that matches your target platform or creative direction.
- Set duration — Choose a duration from
2to30seconds. - Configure audio optional — Keep
enable_audioenabled when audio is needed. - Enable prompt expansion optional — Use
enable_prompt_expansionfor complex prompts with multiple reference requirements. - Submit — Generate the final reference-guided video.
Pricing
Pricing uses normalized reference-video duration plus output duration. Each reference video is padded to at least 1 second, capped at 15 seconds, and the combined input is capped at 15 seconds and rounded up to a whole second for billing.
| Resolution | Per second | Per 5s |
|---|---|---|
| 480p | $0.05 | $0.25 |
| 720p | $0.10 | $0.50 |
| 1080p | $0.20 | $1.00 |
Example: 5 seconds of normalized input plus 5 seconds of output costs $0.50 at 480p, $1.00 at 720p, or $2.00 at 1080p.
Best Use Cases
- Character-consistent storytelling — Generate scenes guided by character, face, outfit, or style references.
- Multi-reference video generation — Combine people, objects, environments, motion, and audio references in one workflow.
- Product and brand videos — Use reference assets to preserve product appearance or campaign style.
- Audio-guided scenes — Use reference audio to guide mood, rhythm, ambience, or sound direction.
- Social media content — Create short-form videos from multimodal references.
- Creative prototyping — Test different scene directions while keeping reference-guided consistency.
Pro Tips
- Use clear reference images when identity, product detail, or visual style matters.
- Use reference videos when motion, pacing, gesture, or camera behavior matters.
- Use reference audio when ambience, rhythm, voice style, or soundtrack direction matters.
- Explain how each reference should influence the final video in the prompt.
- Use
480pfor quick drafts and1080pfor higher-quality output. - Enable
enable_prompt_expansionfor prompts that combine multiple references or detailed scene requirements. - Set a fixed
seedwhen you want more reproducible results.
Related Models
- Wan 3.0 Text-to-Video — Generate coherent cinematic videos from natural-language prompts.
- Wan 3.0 Image-to-Video — Animate a first-frame image into a coherent video with optional last-frame guidance.
- Wan 3.0 Reference-to-Video — Generate videos using reference images, videos, or audio for multimodal guidance.
Authentication
For authentication details, please refer to the Authentication Guide.
API Endpoints
Submit Task & Query Result
set -euo pipefail
export WAVESPEED_API_KEY="your-api-key"
REQUEST_BODY=$(cat <<'JSON'
{
"prompt": "A cinematic ocean wave at sunrise, highly detailed",
"resolution": "720p",
"aspect_ratio": "16:9",
"duration": 5,
"enable_prompt_expansion": false,
"enable_audio": true
}
JSON
)
# 1. Submit the prediction.
SUBMIT_RESPONSE=$(curl --silent --show-error --fail-with-body \
-X POST "https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/alibaba/wan-3.0/reference-to-video" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WAVESPEED_API_KEY}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d "${REQUEST_BODY}")
TASK=$(printf '%s' "${SUBMIT_RESPONSE}" | jq 'if type == "object" and has("data") then .data else . end')
PREDICTION_ID=$(printf '%s' "${TASK}" | jq -r '.id // empty')
if [ -z "${PREDICTION_ID}" ]; then
printf 'Submission response did not contain a prediction id
' >&2
exit 1
fi
RESULT_URL="https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/predictions/${PREDICTION_ID}/result"
# 2. Poll until the prediction finishes.
while true; do
RESPONSE=$(curl --silent --show-error --fail-with-body \
"${RESULT_URL}" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${WAVESPEED_API_KEY}")
RESULT=$(printf '%s' "${RESPONSE}" | jq 'if type == "object" and has("data") then .data else . end')
STATUS=$(printf '%s' "${RESULT}" | jq -r '.status // empty')
case "${STATUS}" in
completed) printf '%s\n' "${RESULT}" | jq '.outputs'; break ;;
failed|cancelled|timeout|deleted) printf '%s\n' "${RESULT}" | jq . >&2; exit 1 ;;
*) sleep 2 ;;
esac
doneParameters
Task Submission Parameters
Request Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| prompt | string | Yes | - | The positive prompt for the generation. Reference media are identified by their array order in the prompt. | |
| reference_images | array<string> | No | - | 0 ~ 10 items | Array of reference image URLs (up to 10). At least one reference image, video, or audio is required. |
| reference_videos | array<string> | No | - | 0 ~ 5 items | Array of reference video URLs (up to 5). Each video must be MP4 or MOV, 1-15 seconds, 240-4096 pixels on each side, no more than 8:1 aspect ratio, and no more than 100 MB. Total input video duration must not exceed 15 seconds. Supports HTTP/HTTPS URLs and temporary OSS URLs. |
| reference_audios | array<string> | No | - | 0 ~ 5 items | Array of reference audio URLs (up to 5). Total input audio duration must not exceed 15 seconds. |
| resolution | string | No | 720p | 480p, 720p, 1080p | The resolution of the generated video. |
| aspect_ratio | string | No | 16:9 | 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:3, 3:4 | The aspect ratio of the generated video. |
| duration | integer | No | 5 | 2 ~ 30 | The duration of the generated video in seconds. Default: 5. Without video input, use an integer from 2 to 30. When reference videos are provided, the total input video duration plus the generated output duration must not exceed 30 seconds. |
| enable_prompt_expansion | boolean | No | false | - | If set to true, the prompt optimizer will be enabled. |
| enable_audio | boolean | No | true | - | Whether to include audio in the generated video. |
| seed | integer | No | - | - | The random seed to use for the generation. -1 means a random seed will be used. |
Response Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| code | integer | HTTP status code (e.g., 200 for success) |
| message | string | Status message (e.g., “success”) |
| data.id | string | Unique identifier for the prediction, Task Id |
| data.model | string | Model ID used for the prediction |
| data.outputs | array | Output values, usually URL strings; some models return text strings or structured result objects (empty when status is not completed) |
| data.urls | object | Object containing related API endpoints |
| data.status | string | Task status. completed is successful; failed, cancelled, timeout, and deleted are failure terminal statuses. |
| data.created_at | string | ISO timestamp of when the request was created (e.g., “2023-04-01T12:34:56.789Z”) |
| data.error | string | Error message (empty if no error occurred) |
| data.timings | object | Object containing timing details |
| data.timings.inference | integer | Inference time in milliseconds |
Result Request Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| id | string | Yes | - | Task ID |
Result Response Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| code | integer | HTTP status code (e.g., 200 for success) |
| message | string | Status message (e.g., “success”) |
| data | object | The prediction data object containing all details |
| data.id | string | Unique identifier for the prediction |
| data.model | string | Model ID used for the prediction |
| data.outputs | array<string | object> | Array of generated outputs (empty when status is not completed). Items are usually URL strings, but may be text strings or structured result objects, depending on the model. |
| data.urls | object | Object containing related API endpoints |
| data.status | string | Status: completed is successful; failed, cancelled, timeout, and deleted are failure terminal statuses |
| data.created_at | string | ISO timestamp of when the request was created |
| data.error | string | Error message (empty if no error occurred) |
| data.timings | object | Object containing timing details |
| data.timings.inference | integer | Inference time in milliseconds |