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smart_toy AI assistant Updated 2026-03-26

Create Videos With Your AI Assistant

Connect your AI chat app to Trending.com and create TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts videos in chat. No coding. Includes MCP setup and first prompts.

Not technical? Have your chatbot set this up with you.

Copy this page into your AI assistant: https://trending.com/docs/ai-assistant/create-videos-with-your-ai-assistant

Then send: I’m new to connecting tools in my AI app. Read this page and walk me through setup step by step.

What this is

Trending MCP lets you make videos by talking to your AI assistant. You type what you want, and your assistant creates and renders the video for you.

Who this is for

This page is for beginners. No coding is required.

If you would rather click through the website yourself, use the dashboard and One-click create instead. Use MCP when you want your AI assistant to guide you through the process in chat.

What you need

You only need your API key. You do not need tenant IDs or tenant tokens.

On /dashboard/developer/api-keys, you can also run the hosted MCP self-test. It checks the real hosted endpoint and tells you whether the blocker is your setup, your plan, your template access, or your credit balance.

Trending hosts the MCP endpoint for you. You do not need to download or run a local MCP server.

Important file note: hosted MCP tools can only read files that the MCP runtime itself can access. A file path that only exists on your own laptop is not automatically visible to the hosted server. For Story reference images, hosted MCP can also use a direct HTTPS attachment URL or small inline attachment bytes when your AI app exposes them. If your AI app cannot pass either one through, upload the file in Studio or by API first, then ask the assistant to use the saved Library folder or reference image.

If you already have a direct HTTPS link to a real video file, hosted MCP can import that into your Library for you. It must be a direct file URL such as MP4, MOV, WebM, or M4V, not a social post page, and the downloaded clip still has to pass the same Studio video checks (real video stream, at least 500px wide, at least 10 seconds long).

After your assistant uploads or imports a Library clip, it should poll the Library upload status helper until the clip is ready. The clip is only safe to use in a folder-backed create request after the upload status changes to available.

The upload-status helper can also return structured clip warnings. For example, it may warn that a clip looks almost frozen or that a ranking upload finished without audio, so your assistant can avoid using a bad clip before render time.

Import note: local-file uploads are media-checked before Studio queues them, and hosted direct-URL imports are checked twice: first for HTTPS/public-host/content-type/size rules, then again by the downloader to confirm the fetched file is a real decodable video.

MCP server endpoint (copy this)

Use this exact endpoint in your AI app:

https://trending.com/mcp

Use the hostname exactly as shown. Do not replace it with a raw VM IP. Hosted MCP only serves approved hosts, and direct-origin raw-IP access is intentionally blocked.

Where this works

You can use Trending MCP in AI apps that let you add/connect an MCP server.

  • If your app has settings like MCP, Tools, Connectors, or Integrations, you can usually set this up.
  • If you do not see MCP/connectors in your app, your current app view or plan may not support it yet.

Compatibility matrix (beginner view)

As of March 1, 2026, most AI apps that support MCP place setup under Tools, Connectors, Integrations, or Extensions. Plan names and menu labels can change, so treat this as setup guidance, not a permanent contract for any one app.

Plain-English terms

  • Tools / Connectors / Integrations / Extensions means the place in your AI app where you connect outside services.
  • MCP endpoint means this web address: https://trending.com/mcp.
  • API key means your private key from /dashboard/developer/api-keys (like a password for your account).

Any MCP-compatible AI app

  • Where to set it up: Open app settings, then look for Tools, Connectors, Integrations, or Extensions.
  • What your account needs: Your current plan or workspace must allow external tools.
  • What to enter: https://trending.com/mcp + your Trending API key.

If your AI app does not show Tools/Integrations/Extensions yet, use the API path for now: Video API docs.

Setup (step by step)

  1. Copy your Trending API key from /dashboard/developer/api-keys.
  2. Open your AI app settings and find MCP/Tools/Connectors.
  3. Add/connect this Trending MCP endpoint: https://trending.com/mcp.
  4. When asked for credentials, paste your API key.
  5. Save, then open a new chat.

Visual install guide

UI labels can change by plan or app version. If you do not see “MCP,” look for “Tools,” “Connectors,” or “Integrations.”

Example flow

Open Settings, find Tools/Connectors/Integrations, add the MCP endpoint https://trending.com/mcp, paste your Trending API key, save, then start a new chat.

Connection test (copy/paste)

Send this first:

Use Trending MCP and run a create-readiness check for Rants. Show me the Rants template playbook, then valid template options, then estimate credits for a preview-only rant about friendship drama. If anything blocks creation, tell me clearly whether it is my API key, my membership, or my credit balance.

If setup is correct, your assistant should make it all the way through playbook + template options + cost-estimate for a simple preview request.

The self-test button on /dashboard/developer/api-keys runs the same hosted initialize + readiness + estimate + preflight path, and when your account is create-ready it also runs a cheap preview create + status check to confirm returned links stay on the public host.

When you want category or preset choices, ask your assistant to show the template options first so it does not guess invalid values. This matters most for things like List subcategories and Ranking presets.

If your assistant seems unsure, tell it to use the safest guided path: check the template playbook first, then show valid template options, then estimate cost, then create.

The safest explicit tool order is: readiness check first, then template playbook, then template options, then cost estimate, then preflight, then create, then short status polling. That order separates setup problems from request problems and prevents invalid category or preset guesses.

On hosted MCP, create and status tools return direct public links for dashboard_url, preview_url, poll_url, and lifecycle controls. You should not see internal container hosts in those fields.

For the public hosted endpoint, short status checks are more reliable than one very long wait. If your AI app gives you a choice, ask it to poll status in shorter steps instead of waiting in one long blocking request.

If the readiness check fails, ask your assistant to include the short error code and request_id when available. Helpful public codes include invalid_api_key, membership_api_required, membership_mcp_required, membership_template_required, and insufficient_credits.

How your assistant should talk to you

Good MCP experiences feel clear and human, not technical. Your assistant should:

  • explain which video type it picked and why
  • ask for missing details in plain English
  • give progress updates without raw API jargon
  • tell you when a preview is ready and what to review next
  • share the final temporary download link and remind you that it expires

Good example progress updates:

  • I picked Rants because your idea works best as a fast voice-over short.
  • Your preview is generating now. I will let you know when it is ready to review.
  • Your final video is ready. Here is the temporary download link. Please download it now because the link expires.

Your first video (copy/paste)

Paste these one by one:

  1. Create a preview video about friendship drama. Keep defaults and show progress updates.
  2. Give me 3 title ideas for this video, then apply the best one.
  3. Render the final video now. When it is ready, give me the temporary download link and remind me to download it promptly.

Final render links are short-lived signed download URLs. They are meant for downloading the finished MP4, not for hotlinking, embedding, or treating as a permanent public video URL. If you need to keep or distribute the file, download it first.

If a temporary render link expires before you use it, ask your assistant to fetch the latest video status again to get a fresh download link.

Safest guided prompts (copy/paste)

These prompts work well when you want your assistant to slow down, use the right template options, and avoid guessing invalid fields.

  1. Ask for a readiness check first if your setup, plan, template access, or credits are uncertain.
  2. Ask for the template playbook so the assistant picks the right request shape.
  3. Ask for template options before using category, preset, or enum-like fields.
  4. Ask for a cost estimate and preflight before create.
  5. After create, ask for short status polling and the dashboard/preview links.
  • Rants: Use Trending MCP to make a preview-only rant video about fake friends after high school. Show me the template playbook first, then valid template options, then estimate credits, then create the preview and keep me updated.
  • Story: Use Trending MCP to make a 12-slide preview-only Story video about a night-shift grocery clerk who finds handwritten notes hidden inside emergency candles before a citywide blackout. Start by showing the Story playbook, then valid template options, then estimate credits, then create the preview.
  • List: Use Trending MCP to make a preview-only List video about strange facts about space. Do not guess the List fields. Show me the playbook first, then show valid List categories and subcategories, then use facts / space, estimate credits, and create the preview.

Prompts for everyday use

  • "Make this idea more emotional and regenerate the preview."
  • "Create 5 hooks for this topic, then use hook #2."
  • "Turn this into a Story style video and keep it under 60 seconds."
  • "Use my uploaded image as reference for the character."
  • "Use my Library folder named ASMR for the next rant preview."
  • "Import this direct MP4 URL into my ASMR folder, then use that folder for the next rant preview."
  • "Stop this run and start a new preview with a different tone."

If you want your assistant to use your own clip, either upload it to Studio Library first, give it a direct HTTPS file URL to import, or use the API upload endpoint, then ask the assistant to use that folder for the next create request.

If the clip was just added, ask the assistant to wait until the Library upload finishes processing before starting the video create.

If you get stuck

  • Check your API key again at /dashboard/developer/api-keys.
  • Reconnect the MCP endpoint (https://trending.com/mcp) in your AI app settings.
  • Start a fresh chat and run the connection test again.

Need technical docs?

Use the developer docs: Create Videos, Webhooks, Troubleshooting.