Introduction
# Venice AI — Complete Platform Skill
## What is Venice AI?
**Venice AI is the AI platform for people who don't want Big Tech watching over their shoulder.** Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — where every prompt is logged, analyzed, and potentially used to train future models — Venice offers **true privacy** with zero data retention on private models. Your conversations stay yours.
Venice is also **uncensored**: no content filters, no refusals, no "I can't help with that." The AI answers what you actually ask, whether that's creative fiction, security research, controversial topics, or anything else mainstream AI platforms won't touch.
**Why agents should care:** - **Private inference** — Models marked "Private" have zero data retention. Process sensitive data without it leaking into training sets. - **Uncensored responses** — No guardrails blocking legitimate use cases. Generate any content your workflow needs. - **OpenAI-compatible API** — Drop-in replacement. Same API format, just change the base URL. - **30+ models** — From tiny efficient models to Claude Opus 4.5, GPT-5.2, and Venice's own uncensored models. - **Built-in web search** — LLMs can search the web and cite sources in a single API call. - **Image & video generation** — Flux, Sora, Runway, WAN models for visual content.
This skill gives you the **complete Venice platform**: text generation, web search, embeddings, TTS, speech-to-text, image generation, video creation, upscaling, and AI editing.
> **⚠️ API changes:** If something doesn't work as expected, check [docs.venice.ai](https://docs.venice.ai) — the API specs may have been updated since this skill was written.
## Prerequisites
- **Python 3.10+** - **Venice API key** (free tier available at [venice.ai/settings/api](https://venice.ai/settings/api))
## Setup
### Get Your API Key
1. Create account at [venice.ai](https://venice.ai) 2. Go to [venice.ai/settings/api](https://venice.ai/settings/api) 3. Click "Create API Key" → copy the key (starts with `vn_...`)
### Configure
**Option A: Environment variable** ```bash export VENICE_API_KEY="vn_your_key_here" ```
**Option B: Clawdbot config** (recommended) ```json5 // ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json { skills: { entries: { "venice-ai": { env: { VENICE_API_KEY: "vn_your_key_here" } } } } } ```
### Verify ```bash python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py models --type text ```
## Scripts Overview
| Script | Purpose | |--------|---------| | `venice.py` | Text generation, models, embeddings, TTS, transcription | | `venice-image.py` | Image generation (Flux, etc.) | | `venice-video.py` | Video generation (Sora, WAN, Runway) | | `venice-upscale.py` | Image upscaling | | `venice-edit.py` | AI image editing |
---
# Part 1: Text & Audio
## Model Discovery & Selection
Venice has a huge model catalog spanning text, image, video, audio, and embeddings.
### Browse Models ```bash # List all text models python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py models --type text
# List image models python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py models --type image
# List all model types python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py models --type text,image,video,audio,embedding
# Get details on a specific model python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py models --filter llama ```
### Model Selection Guide
| Need | Recommended Model | Why | |------|------------------|-----| | **Cheapest text** | `qwen3-4b` ($0.05/M in) | Tiny, fast, efficient | | **Best uncensored** | `venice-uncensored` ($0.20/M in) | Venice's own uncensored model | | **Best private + smart** | `deepseek-v3.2` ($0.40/M in) | Great reasoning, efficient | | **Vision/multimodal** | `qwen3-vl-235b-a22b` ($0.25/M in) | Sees images | | **Best coding** | `qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct` ($0.75/M in) | Massive coder model | | **Frontier (budget)** | `grok-41-fast` ($0.50/M in) | Fast, 262K context | | **Frontier (max quality)** | `claude-opus-4-6` ($6/M in) | Best overall quality | | **Reasoning** | `kimi-k2-5` ($0.75/M in) | Strong chain-of-thought | | **Web search** | Any model + `enable_web_search` | Built-in web search |
---
## Text Generation (Chat Completions)
### Basic Generation ```bash # Simple prompt python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "What is the meaning of life?"
# Choose a model python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Explain quantum computing" --model deepseek-v3.2
# System prompt python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Review this code" --system "You are a senior engineer."
# Read from stdin echo "Summarize this" | python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat --model qwen3-4b
# Stream output python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Write a story" --stream ```
### Web Search Integration ```bash # Auto web search (model decides when to search) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "What happened in tech news today?" --web-search auto
# Force web search with citations python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Current Bitcoin price" --web-search on --web-citations
# Web scraping (extracts content from URLs in prompt) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Summarize: https://example.com/article" --web-scrape ```
### Uncensored Mode ```bash # Use Venice's own uncensored model python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Your question" --model venice-uncensored
# Disable Venice system prompts for raw model output python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Your prompt" --no-venice-system-prompt ```
### Reasoning Models ```bash # Use a reasoning model with effort control python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Solve this math problem..." --model kimi-k2-5 --reasoning-effort high
# Strip thinking from output python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Debug this code" --model qwen3-4b --strip-thinking ```
### Advanced Options ```bash # Temperature and token control python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Be creative" --temperature 1.2 --max-tokens 4000
# JSON output mode python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "List 5 colors as JSON" --json
# Prompt caching (for repeated context) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Question" --cache-key my-session-123
# Show usage stats python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py chat "Hello" --show-usage ```
---
## Embeddings
Generate vector embeddings for semantic search, RAG, and recommendations:
```bash # Single text python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py embed "Venice is a private AI platform"
# Multiple texts (batch) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py embed "first text" "second text" "third text"
# From file (one text per line) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py embed --file texts.txt
# Output as JSON python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py embed "some text" --output json ```
Model: `text-embedding-bge-m3` (private, $0.15/M tokens)
---
## Text-to-Speech (TTS)
Convert text to speech with 60+ multilingual voices:
```bash # Default voice python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py tts "Hello, welcome to Venice AI"
# Choose a voice python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py tts "Exciting news!" --voice af_nova
# List available voices python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py tts --list-voices
# Custom output path python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py tts "Some text" --output /tmp/speech.mp3
# Adjust speed python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py tts "Speaking slowly" --speed 0.8 ```
**Popular voices:** `af_sky`, `af_nova`, `am_liam`, `bf_emma`, `zf_xiaobei` (Chinese), `jm_kumo` (Japanese)
Model: `tts-kokoro` (private, $3.50/M characters)
---
## Speech-to-Text (Transcription)
Transcribe audio files to text:
```bash # Transcribe a file python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py transcribe audio.wav
# With timestamps python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py transcribe recording.mp3 --timestamps
# From URL python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py transcribe --url https://example.com/audio.wav ```
Supported formats: WAV, FLAC, MP3, M4A, AAC, MP4
Model: `nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v3` (private, $0.0001/audio second)
---
## Check Balance
```bash python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice.py balance ```
---
# Part 2: Images & Video
## Pricing Overview
| Feature | Cost | |---------|------| | Image generation | ~$0.01-0.03 per image | | Image upscale | ~$0.02-0.04 | | Image edit | $0.04 | | Video (WAN) | ~$0.10-0.50 | | Video (Sora) | ~$0.50-2.00 | | Video (Runway) | ~$0.20-1.00 |
Use `--quote` with video commands to check pricing before generation.
---
## Image Generation
```bash # Basic generation python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --prompt "a serene canal in Venice at sunset"
# Multiple images python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --prompt "cyberpunk city" --count 4
# Custom dimensions python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --prompt "portrait" --width 768 --height 1024
# List available models and styles python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --list-models python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --list-styles
# Use specific model and style python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --prompt "fantasy" --model flux-2-pro --style-preset "Cinematic"
# Reproducible results with seed python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-image.py --prompt "abstract" --seed 12345 ```
**Key flags:** `--prompt`, `--model` (default: flux-2-max), `--count`, `--width`, `--height`, `--format` (webp/png/jpeg), `--resolution` (1K/2K/4K), `--aspect-ratio`, `--negative-prompt`, `--style-preset`, `--cfg-scale` (0-20), `--seed`, `--safe-mode`, `--hide-watermark`, `--embed-exif`
---
## Image Upscale
```bash # 2x upscale python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-upscale.py photo.jpg --scale 2
# 4x with AI enhancement python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-upscale.py photo.jpg --scale 4 --enhance
# Enhanced with custom prompt python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-upscale.py photo.jpg --enhance --enhance-prompt "sharpen details"
# From URL python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-upscale.py --url "https://example.com/image.jpg" --scale 2 ```
**Key flags:** `--scale` (1-4, default: 2), `--enhance` (AI enhancement), `--enhance-prompt`, `--enhance-creativity` (0.0-1.0), `--url`, `--output`
---
## Image Edit
AI-powered image editing:
```bash # Add elements python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-edit.py photo.jpg --prompt "add sunglasses"
# Modify scene python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-edit.py photo.jpg --prompt "change the sky to sunset"
# Remove objects python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-edit.py photo.jpg --prompt "remove the person in background"
# From URL python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-edit.py --url "https://example.com/image.jpg" --prompt "colorize" ```
**Note:** The edit endpoint uses Qwen-Image which has some content restrictions.
---
## Video Generation
```bash # Get price quote first python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-video.py --quote --model wan-2.6-image-to-video --duration 10s
# Image-to-video (WAN - default) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-video.py --image photo.jpg --prompt "camera pans slowly" --duration 10s
# Image-to-video (Sora) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-video.py --image photo.jpg --prompt "cinematic" \ --model sora-2-image-to-video --duration 8s --aspect-ratio 16:9 --skip-audio-param
# Video-to-video (Runway Gen4) python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-video.py --video input.mp4 --prompt "anime style" \ --model runway-gen4-turbo-v2v
# List models with available durations python3 {baseDir}/scripts/venice-video.py --list-models ```
**Key flags:** `--image` or `--video`, `--prompt`, `--model` (default: wan-2.6-image-to-video), `--duration`, `--resolution` (480p/720p/1080p), `--aspect-ratio`, `--audio`/`--no-audio`, `--quote`, `--timeout`
**Models:** - **WAN** — Image-to-video, configurable audio, 5s-21s - **Sora** — Requires `--aspect-ratio`, use `--skip-audio-param` - **Runway** — Video-to-video transformation
---
# Tips & Ideas
### 🔍 Web Search + LLM = Research Assistant Use `--web-search on --web-citations` to build a research workflow. Venice searches the web, synthesizes results, and cites sources — all in one API call.
### 🔓 Uncensored Creative Content Venice's uncensored models work for both text AND images. No guardrails blocking legitimate creative use cases.
### 🎯 Prompt Caching for Agents If you're running an agent loop that sends the same system prompt repeatedly, use `--cache-key` to get up to 90% cost savings.
### 🎤 Audio Pipeline Combine TTS and transcription: generate spoken content with `tts`, process audio with `transcribe`. Both are private inference.
### 🎬 Video Workflow 1. Generate or find a base image 2. Use `--quote` to estimate video cost 3. Generate with appropriate duration/model 4. Videos take 1-5 minutes depending on settings
---
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution | |---------|----------| | `VENICE_API_KEY not set` | Set env var or configure in `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json` | | `Invalid API key` | Verify at [venice.ai/settings/api](https://venice.ai/settings/api) | | `Model not found` | Run `--list-models` to see available; use `--no-validate` for new models | | Rate limited | Check `--show-usage` output | | Video stuck | Videos can take 1-5 min; use `--timeout 600` for long ones |
## Resources
- **API Docs**: [docs.venice.ai](https://docs.venice.ai) - **Status**: [veniceai-status.com](https://veniceai-status.com) - **Discord**: [discord.gg/askvenice](https://discord.gg/askvenice)