MiniMax H3 Lite API

About MiniMax H3 Lite

MiniMax H3 Lite creates 4–15-second videos with sound from text, a starting image or image, video and audio references. Choose 480p or 768p, with 768p as the default. Image-to-video also accepts an optional closing frame.

Call it with the model name minimax/h3-lite/image-to-video on POST /jobs/createTask, from $0.125.

Introduction

MiniMax H3 Lite Image to video starts from a picture you send and moves it for 4 to 15 seconds at 480p or 768p, optionally ending on a second picture. The people, clothes and room in the opening frame carry into the clip, and sound is generated with the motion.

Choose a mode by starting material

Key features

The frame sets the look

The opening frame fixes faces, clothes, lighting and composition, so MiniMax H3 Lite spends the prompt on what moves. The clip keeps the frame's shape; there is no aspect-ratio field, so crop the picture to the format you want, landscape or vertical, before sending it.

Optional closing frame

Send a second picture as last_image_url and the clip comes to rest on it, which turns two stills into a controlled transition. The model plans the motion between the two pictures instead of improvising an ending, which helps when a shot has to cut into the next one.

Sound included

Add an Audio: line to the prompt when you want a specific song style or room tone rather than whatever the scene suggests.

Request parameters

Pricing

Prices are in USD. The API uses a separate USD balance. Website credits cannot be used or transferred to it, and API funds cannot be transferred to website credits. When a task is accepted, we reserve the maximum quoted amount from your API balance. On completion, we charge for actual usage, never more than the hold, and release the remainder. If the task fails, the hold is released.

Send the same request body to POST /jobs/quote to see the estimated and maximum USD charge before running. A quote does not run the task or charge your balance.

Use cases

Product and fashion stills that move

A catalog photo of a jacket, a bag or a pair of shoes can open a short clip on MiniMax H3 Lite: the model walks, turns or picks the item up while the lighting of the original shoot stays in place, which saves a reshoot for simple motion.

Bringing a portrait to life

A single portrait still becomes a short clip with natural motion and sound on MiniMax H3 Lite, without describing the look from scratch. A smile, a turn of the head or a walk toward the camera is often enough to make a profile picture or a character card feel alive.

Controlled transitions

With an opening and a closing frame, MiniMax H3 Lite fills in the move between two stills, useful for before and after shots, outfit changes or story beats where a character starts in one pose and ends in another.

Prompt guide & pro tips

Describe the next moment, not the picture

The frame already shows who and where. Spend the prompt on the action, the camera move and the sound that follow, in the order they happen. Describing the picture again tends to freeze it, while a clear first action, such as she turns toward the window, gets it moving.

Use frames that fit the limits

Frames must be 256 to 5,760 pixels per side with a width-to-height ratio of 0.4 to 2.5; crop extreme panoramas before sending. A sharp, well-lit frame with the subject clearly visible gives steadier faces than a small or heavily compressed image.

Pair frames that match

A closing frame works best when it shows the same people and room as the opening frame, with a change the prompt can explain, such as a new pose, a step closer or a different expression. Two unrelated pictures force a cut-like jump.

API quick start

Call the MiniMax H3 Lite API in three steps

1. Create an API key. Sign in to PopNow and create a key in the API console. Keys start with sk-popnow-. API calls use your separate USD balance.
2. Send the request. POST /jobs/createTask with model minimax/h3-lite/image-to-video and an input object that follows the parameter table. The response returns a task ID straight away.
3. Get the result. Poll GET /jobs/recordInfo with the task ID, or pass a callBackUrl and we post the result to it. Download the output links when the task succeeds.

# 1. Create the task. Keep the Idempotency-Key if you retry after a network error.
export IDEMPOTENCY_KEY="$(uuidgen)"
curl -X POST https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/createTask \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  -d '{
  "model": "minimax/h3-lite/image-to-video",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "A slow aerial shot drifting over a misty pine forest at sunrise",
    "image_url": "https://media.popnow.ai/influencer/examples/marco.webp",
    "resolution": "768p",
    "duration_seconds": 5
  }
}'

# 2. Copy data.taskId from the response, then poll until state is succeeded, failed, canceled or expired.
TASK_ID="TASK_ID_FROM_RESPONSE"
curl "https://api.popnow.ai/api/v1/jobs/recordInfo?taskId=$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $POPNOW_API_KEY"

Replace the prompt and any links with your own. The API tab has the response, polling and callback reference.

MiniMax H3 Lite API questions

More about MiniMax H3 Lite

Try it

MiniMax H3 Lite AI Video Generator onlineCreate videos with MiniMax H3 Lite in PopNow

Endpoints

MiniMax H3 Lite · Create VideoMiniMax H3 Lite · Reference to Video

Docs

MiniMax H3 Lite model ID and input schema in the API docsPopNow API quickstart: send your first requestImage to video guide for the PopNow APIWebhooks: get MiniMax H3 Lite results without polling