Discussions
Custom avatar not found via API (avatar_not_found)
13 days ago by Ross Jackson
I’m trying to generate a video using a custom avatar I created in the HeyGen Studio, but the API can’t see it. Every call to:
POST https://api.heygen.com/v2/video/generate
X-Api-Key: <my API key>
Content-Type: application/json
{
"video_inputs": [{
"type": "avatar",
"avatar_id": "6c6486f966a74669b07b4b11146a0a94",
"avatar_style": "normal",
…
}],
…
}
returns HTTP 400 with:
{
"error": {
"code": "avatar_not_found",
"message": "Avatar 6c6486f966a74669b07b4b11146a0a94 not found or no longer available."
}
}
—but when I call the “List Avatars” endpoint:
GET https://api.heygen.com/v2/avatars
X-Api-Key: <same API key>
my avatar ID (“6c6486f966a74669b07b4b11146a0a94”) does not appear under either data.avatars[]
or data.talking_photos[]
.
What I’ve checked so far:
- In the Studio UI I can create a video using my custom avatar.
- I’m calling exactly the v2 REST endpoints (no streaming API).
- I’ve allowed 15+ minutes after creation for processing.
- I’ve verified there are no stray whitespace or copy/paste errors in the ID.
Account / Region details:
- HeyGen account:
Ross - [email protected]
- SDK / HTTP client: Python 3.11, aiohttp
Can you please help me understand why my custom avatar isn’t listed via the API and how to resolve the avatar_not_found
error? Thank you!