Update a text overlay
curl --request PATCH \
--url https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId} \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '
{
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"durationMs": 4503599627370495,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 1,
"fontWeight": 500.5,
"fontWidth": 1,
"startTimeMs": 4503599627370495,
"text": "<string>",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "smooth"
}
'import requests
url = "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}"
payload = {
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"durationMs": 4503599627370495,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 1,
"fontWeight": 500.5,
"fontWidth": 1,
"startTimeMs": 4503599627370495,
"text": "<string>",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "smooth"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
response = requests.patch(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
print(response.text)const options = {
method: 'PATCH',
headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
body: JSON.stringify({
backgroundShape: 'squircle',
color: '#FFFFFFFF',
durationMs: 4503599627370495,
fontFamily: 'Inter',
fontSize: 1,
fontWeight: 500.5,
fontWidth: 1,
startTimeMs: 4503599627370495,
text: '<string>',
textAlign: 'center',
transition: 'smooth'
})
};
fetch('https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}', options)
.then(res => res.json())
.then(res => console.log(res))
.catch(err => console.error(err));<?php
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, [
CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}",
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "PATCH",
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
'backgroundShape' => 'squircle',
'color' => '#FFFFFFFF',
'durationMs' => 4503599627370495,
'fontFamily' => 'Inter',
'fontSize' => 1,
'fontWeight' => 500.5,
'fontWidth' => 1,
'startTimeMs' => 4503599627370495,
'text' => '<string>',
'textAlign' => 'center',
'transition' => 'smooth'
]),
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
"Authorization: Bearer <token>",
"Content-Type: application/json"
],
]);
$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);
curl_close($curl);
if ($err) {
echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
echo $response;
}package main
import (
"fmt"
"strings"
"net/http"
"io"
)
func main() {
url := "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}"
payload := strings.NewReader("{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}")
req, _ := http.NewRequest("PATCH", url, payload)
req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.patch("https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}")
.header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
.header("Content-Type", "application/json")
.body("{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}")
.asString();require 'uri'
require 'net/http'
url = URI("https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}")
http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Patch.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}"
response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body{
"textOverlay": {
"background": {
"color": "#5E51F8FF",
"type": "solid"
},
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"dimensions": {
"height": 540,
"width": 960
},
"durationMs": 5000,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 81,
"fontWeight": 500,
"fontWidth": 100,
"id": "ly_abc123",
"point": {
"xPct": 30,
"yPct": 30
},
"startTimeMs": 1000,
"text": "Welcome back",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "hard_cut"
}
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "bad_request",
"message": "The request was malformed or contained invalid parameters."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "unauthorized",
"message": "Authentication is required. Provide a valid API key."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "forbidden",
"message": "You don't have permission to access this resource."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "not_found",
"message": "The requested resource was not found."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "rate_limited",
"message": "You have exceeded the rate limit. Please slow down."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "server_error",
"message": "An unexpected error occurred"
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "not_implemented",
"message": "The requested operation is not implemented."
}Clips
Update a text overlay
Update a text overlay’s copy, font, color, timing, position, or dimensions. Only the fields you send are changed.
PATCH
/
v1
/
videos
/
{id}
/
clips
/
{clipId}
/
text-overlays
/
{textOverlayId}
Update a text overlay
curl --request PATCH \
--url https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId} \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '
{
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"durationMs": 4503599627370495,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 1,
"fontWeight": 500.5,
"fontWidth": 1,
"startTimeMs": 4503599627370495,
"text": "<string>",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "smooth"
}
'import requests
url = "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}"
payload = {
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"durationMs": 4503599627370495,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 1,
"fontWeight": 500.5,
"fontWidth": 1,
"startTimeMs": 4503599627370495,
"text": "<string>",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "smooth"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
response = requests.patch(url, json=payload, headers=headers)
print(response.text)const options = {
method: 'PATCH',
headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
body: JSON.stringify({
backgroundShape: 'squircle',
color: '#FFFFFFFF',
durationMs: 4503599627370495,
fontFamily: 'Inter',
fontSize: 1,
fontWeight: 500.5,
fontWidth: 1,
startTimeMs: 4503599627370495,
text: '<string>',
textAlign: 'center',
transition: 'smooth'
})
};
fetch('https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}', options)
.then(res => res.json())
.then(res => console.log(res))
.catch(err => console.error(err));<?php
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, [
CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}",
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "PATCH",
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
'backgroundShape' => 'squircle',
'color' => '#FFFFFFFF',
'durationMs' => 4503599627370495,
'fontFamily' => 'Inter',
'fontSize' => 1,
'fontWeight' => 500.5,
'fontWidth' => 1,
'startTimeMs' => 4503599627370495,
'text' => '<string>',
'textAlign' => 'center',
'transition' => 'smooth'
]),
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
"Authorization: Bearer <token>",
"Content-Type: application/json"
],
]);
$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);
curl_close($curl);
if ($err) {
echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
echo $response;
}package main
import (
"fmt"
"strings"
"net/http"
"io"
)
func main() {
url := "https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}"
payload := strings.NewReader("{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}")
req, _ := http.NewRequest("PATCH", url, payload)
req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.patch("https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}")
.header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
.header("Content-Type", "application/json")
.body("{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}")
.asString();require 'uri'
require 'net/http'
url = URI("https://api.tella.com/v1/videos/{id}/clips/{clipId}/text-overlays/{textOverlayId}")
http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Patch.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n \"backgroundShape\": \"squircle\",\n \"color\": \"#FFFFFFFF\",\n \"durationMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"fontFamily\": \"Inter\",\n \"fontSize\": 1,\n \"fontWeight\": 500.5,\n \"fontWidth\": 1,\n \"startTimeMs\": 4503599627370495,\n \"text\": \"<string>\",\n \"textAlign\": \"center\",\n \"transition\": \"smooth\"\n}"
response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body{
"textOverlay": {
"background": {
"color": "#5E51F8FF",
"type": "solid"
},
"backgroundShape": "squircle",
"color": "#FFFFFFFF",
"dimensions": {
"height": 540,
"width": 960
},
"durationMs": 5000,
"fontFamily": "Inter",
"fontSize": 81,
"fontWeight": 500,
"fontWidth": 100,
"id": "ly_abc123",
"point": {
"xPct": 30,
"yPct": 30
},
"startTimeMs": 1000,
"text": "Welcome back",
"textAlign": "center",
"transition": "hard_cut"
}
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "bad_request",
"message": "The request was malformed or contained invalid parameters."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "unauthorized",
"message": "Authentication is required. Provide a valid API key."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "forbidden",
"message": "You don't have permission to access this resource."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "not_found",
"message": "The requested resource was not found."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "rate_limited",
"message": "You have exceeded the rate limit. Please slow down."
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "server_error",
"message": "An unexpected error occurred"
}{
"docsUrl": "https://docs.tella.com/",
"error": "not_implemented",
"message": "The requested operation is not implemented."
}Authorizations
API key obtained from your Tella account settings
Path Parameters
Video ID
Clip ID
Text overlay ID
Body
application/json
Update an existing text overlay
Background behind a text overlay, in the same object shape as a clip background.
Show child attributes
Show child attributes
Shape of the solid background behind the text.
Available options:
none, regular, squircle Example:
"squircle"
Hex color in #RRGGBB or #RRGGBBAA form. Responses use uppercase #RRGGBBAA.
Pattern:
^#(?:[0-9A-Fa-f]{6}|[0-9A-Fa-f]{8})$Example:
"#FFFFFFFF"
Overlay size in artboard pixels. Absolute (not a percentage) so the overlay shape never distorts when the artboard dimensions change. Both sides must be greater than 0 — the renderer lays the overlay out into this box, so a zero or negative side has no valid meaning.
Show child attributes
Show child attributes
Required range:
0 < x <= 9007199254740991One of Tella's catalog font families — the same list the editor's font picker offers.
Available options:
Inter, Roboto Mono, Archivo, Barlow, Caveat, DM Sans, Figtree, Lora, Merriweather, Montserrat, Nunito Sans, Open Sans, Oswald, Playfair Display, Poppins, Raleway, Roboto, Roboto Flex, Source Sans 3, Space Grotesk Example:
"Inter"
Font size in artboard pixels.
Required range:
x > 0Required range:
1 <= x <= 1000Required range:
x > 0Top-left corner of the overlay, as a percentage of the video canvas (0-100). Relative so the anchor survives video aspect ratio changes.
Show child attributes
Show child attributes
Start time. Milliseconds on the clip playback timeline (with cuts applied) — the same timeline as the cut transcript.
Required range:
0 <= x <= 9007199254740991Minimum string length:
1Horizontal alignment of the text inside its overlay box.
Available options:
left, center, right Example:
"center"
Intro/outro animation: smooth fades the text in at its start and out at its end, hard_cut pops it in and out.
Available options:
smooth, hard_cut Example:
"smooth"
Response
OK
A text overlay on a clip
A text overlay on a clip. Unlike image and video overlays it references no source — the copy and its font live on the overlay itself.
Show child attributes
Show child attributes
Related topics
Model Context Protocol (MCP)Apply many video editsUpdate an overlayRemove a text overlayList text overlays on a clipWas this page helpful?