Platform

Keys and errors

Connect keys

A Connect key authenticates your server’s requests. Your users never see it.

Create one in Settings → Connect with Create key, or from Settings → API → Create key by choosing Connect. The full key is shown once, so copy it to your server’s environment right away. Creating keys needs a paid Rendley plan.

Rendley Settings, Connect section with the Create key button — Settings → Connect

Send it in the Authorization header on both endpoints.

curl https://api.rendley.com/v1/connect/sessions/YOUR_SESSION_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RENDLEY_CONNECT_KEY"

Prefix	Works with
`rk_connect_`	Connect sessions only. Older keys start with `rk_es_` and still work.
`rk_api_`	The API and MCP, not Connect
`rk_mcp_`	MCP only

A Connect key can create and read your sessions and nothing else, so a leaked key can’t reach your projects, media or credits. Use one key per environment, and revoke a key from Connect settings if it leaks.

Errors

Errors return a code to match on and a message for people.

{ "error": { "code": "RETURN_URL_REQUIRED", "message": "return_url is required when no default return URL is set in Settings." } }

Code	Status	Cause	Fix
`INVALID_REQUEST_BODY`	400	The body isn’t valid JSON, or a field has the wrong type.	`metadata` values must be strings.
`VALIDATION_ERROR`	400	A field breaks a limit, such as a bad URL or more than 20 assets.	`error.fields` names the field.
`RETURN_URL_REQUIRED`	400	No `return_url` and no default in Connect settings.	Send one, or set a default.
`INVALID_CONTINUE_SESSION`	400	The session to continue isn’t yours, or nobody opened it.	Create a new session.
`UNAUTHORIZED`	401	The key is missing, revoked, or not a Connect key.	Check the header reads `Bearer rk_connect_...`.
`CONNECT_PLAN_REQUIRED`	403	Creating a session from an account without a paid plan. Existing sessions still open and read.	Upgrade the account that owns the key.
`NOT_FOUND`	404	No such session on your account.	Check the id.

What users can see in the editor

These appear in Rendley, not in your app. When a link can’t open, the message shows on the user’s Rendley home page and nothing reaches your return URL.

Message	Cause	Fix
This editing link has expired.	The link wasn’t opened within 24 hours of being created or last visited.	Create a continue session if they had opened it, a new session if not.
This editing link was opened by another account.	Another Rendley account opened it first.	Create a new session for this user.
This editing session is already finished.	The video was already sent.	Create a continue session.
You have reached your plan limit.	The user’s workspace is full, 10 projects on Free.	They delete a project or upgrade. Continue sessions reuse a project.
This file can’t be opened	The browser couldn’t load an asset. The rest still open.	Check the URL and CORS in Prepare your assets.
Your video is ready. It didn’t reach acme-realty.example.	The upload failed after rendering.	They click Send to again.
This browser can’t encode video.	The browser can’t render video.	They switch to a current Chrome, Edge or Safari.
The video would be larger than your browser can save.	The file would reach 2 GB.	They pick a lower resolution or quality.

Common problems

Problem	Fix
The editor opens without the video	The URL isn’t a direct link, or the host doesn’t allow CORS. See Prepare your assets.
The user never came back	Read the session. If it’s `completed`, the video is there. If not, nothing was sent.
`export_url` returns `403`	It’s older than 3 hours. Read the session again for a new one.
`export_url` is missing on a completed session	More than 7 days passed, or the user deleted the project. Ask them to send it again through a continue session.
Later edits never arrive	The user opened the project from Rendley directly, where there’s no Done. Send them through a continue session from your app.