Music quickstart

This guide will show you how to generate music with our Music API.

Using the Music API

Create an API key

Create an API key in the dashboard here, which you’ll use to securely access the API.

Store the key as a managed secret and pass it to the SDKs either as a environment variable via an .env file, or directly in your app’s configuration depending on your preference.

.env

.env

ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=<your_api_key_here>

Install the SDK

SDK

We'll also use the dotenv library to load our API key from an environment variable.

Python

pip install elevenlabs
pip install python-dotenv

TypeScript

npm install @elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js
npm install dotenv

CLI

Install the ElevenLabs CLI. Homebrew (macOS) and Scoop (Windows) are recommended.

Homebrew (macOS)

Homebrew (macOS)

brew install elevenlabs/tap/elevenlabs

Scoop (Windows)

Scoop (Windows)

scoop bucket add elevenlabs https://github.com/elevenlabs/scoop-bucket
scoop install elevenlabs

npm

npm

npm install -g @elevenlabs/cli

curl

curl

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/elevenlabs/cli/releases/latest/download/elevenlabs-cli-installer.sh | sh

Then authenticate — this opens your browser to authorize the CLI:

Bash

elevenlabs auth login

Make the API request

SDK

Create a new file named example.py or example.mts, depending on your language of choice and add the following code:

Python

# example.py
from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs
from elevenlabs.play import play
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()

elevenlabs = ElevenLabs(
    api_key=os.getenv("ELEVENLABS_API_KEY"),
)

track = elevenlabs.music.compose(
    prompt="Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.",
    music_length_ms=10000,
    model_id="music_v2_5",
)

# Save the track to a file
with open("path/to/music.mp3", "wb") as f:
    for chunk in track:
        f.write(chunk)

TypeScript

// example.mts
import { ElevenLabsClient } from "@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js";
import { Readable } from "stream";
import { createWriteStream } from "fs";
import { pipeline } from "stream/promises";
import "dotenv/config";

const elevenlabs = new ElevenLabsClient();

const track = await elevenlabs.music.compose({
  prompt: "Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.",
  musicLengthMs: 10000,
  modelId: "music_v2_5",
});

// Save the track to a file
await pipeline(Readable.from(track), createWriteStream("path/to/music.mp3"));

Then run it:

Python

python example.py

TypeScript

npx tsx example.mts

You should hear the generated music playing.

CLI

Generate a track and save it to a file:

Bash

elevenlabs music compose \
  --prompt "Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts." \
  --music-length-ms 10000 \
  --model-id music_v2_5 \
  --output music.mp3

Open music.mp3 to hear the result.

Composition plans

A composition plan is a JSON object that describes the music you want to generate in finer detail. Use text prompts for quick prototyping and composition plans when you need specific chunk structure, precise lyrics timing, or complex arrangements.

Composition plans guide

Learn how to structure songs with chunks, styles, and lyrics for precise control.

Generating a composition plan

A composition plan can be generated from a prompt by using the API.

Python

from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs
from elevenlabs.play import play
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()

elevenlabs = ElevenLabs(
api_key=os.getenv("ELEVENLABS_API_KEY"),
)

composition_plan = elevenlabs.music.composition_plan.create(
    prompt="Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.",
    music_length_ms=10000,
    model_id="music_v2_5",
)

print(composition_plan)

TypeScript

import { ElevenLabsClient } from "@elevenlabs/elevenlabs-js";
import "dotenv/config";

const elevenlabs = new ElevenLabsClient();

const compositionPlan = await elevenlabs.music.compositionPlan.create({
  prompt: "Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.",
  musicLengthMs: 10000,
  modelId: "music_v2_5",
});

console.log(JSON.stringify(compositionPlan, null, 2));

The above will generate a composition plan similar to the following:

JSON

{
  "chunks": [
    {
      "text": "[Intro]",
      "durationMs": 3000,
      "positiveStyles": [
        "electronic",
        "fast-paced",
        "rising synth arpeggio",
        "glitch fx",
        "filtered noise sweep",
        "soft punchy kick building tension",
        "high adrenaline"
      ],
      "negativeStyles": ["soft pads", "melodic vocals", "ambient textures"],
      "contextAdherence": "high"
    },
    {
      "text": "[Peak Drop]",
      "durationMs": 4000,
      "positiveStyles": [
        "full punchy drums",
        "distorted bass stab",
        "aggressive rhythmic hits",
        "rapid arpeggio sequences"
      ],
      "negativeStyles": ["smooth transitions", "clean bass", "slow buildup"],
      "contextAdherence": "high"
    },
    {
      "text": "[Final Burst]",
      "durationMs": 3000,
      "positiveStyles": [
        "glitch stutter",
        "energy burst vox chopped sample",
        "quick transitions",
        "snare rolls"
      ],
      "negativeStyles": ["long reverb tails", "fadeout", "gentle melodies"],
      "contextAdherence": "high"
    }
  ]
}

Using a composition plan

A composition plan can be used to generate music by passing it to the compose method.

Python

# You can pass in composition_plan or prompt, but not both.
composition = elevenlabs.music.compose(
    composition_plan=composition_plan,
    model_id="music_v2_5",
)

play(composition)

TypeScript

// You can pass in compositionPlan or prompt, but not both.
const composition = await elevenlabs.music.compose({
    compositionPlan,
    modelId: "music_v2_5",
});

await play(composition);

Generating music with details

For each music generation a composition plan is created from the prompt. You can opt to retrieve this plan by using the detailed response endpoint.

Python

track_details = elevenlabs.music.compose_detailed(
    prompt="Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 130–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.",
    music_length_ms=10000,
    model_id="music_v2_5",
)

print(track_details.json) # json contains composition_plan and song_metadata. The composition plan will include lyrics (if applicable)
print(track_details.filename)
# track_details.audio contains the audio bytes

TypeScript

const trackDetails = await elevenlabs.music.composeDetailed({
  prompt: 'Create an intense, fast-paced electronic track for a high-adrenaline video game scene. Use driving synth arpeggios, punchy drums, distorted bass, glitch effects, and aggressive rhythmic textures. The tempo should be fast, 30–150 bpm, with rising tension, quick transitions, and dynamic energy bursts.',
  musicLengthMs: 10000,
  modelId: "music_v2_5",
});

console.log(JSON.stringify(trackDetails.json, null, 2)); // json contains composition_plan and song_metadata. The composition plan will include lyrics (if applicable)
console.log(trackDetails.filename);
// trackDetails.audio contains the audio bytes

Copyrighted material

Attempting to generate music or a composition plan that contains copyrighted material will result in an error. This includes mentioning a band or musician by name or using copyrighted lyrics.

Prompts with copyrighted material

In these cases, the API will return a bad_prompt error that contains a suggestion of what prompt you could use instead.

Python

try:
    # This will result in a bad_prompt error
    track = elevenlabs.music.compose(
        prompt="A song that sounds like 'Bohemian Rhapsody'",
        music_length_ms=10000,
        model_id="music_v2_5",
    )
  except Exception as e:
      if e.body['detail']['status'] == 'bad_prompt':
          prompt_suggestion = e.body['detail']['data']['prompt_suggestion']
          print(prompt_suggestion) # Prints: An epic rock ballad with dramatic tempo changes, operatic harmonies, and a narrative structure that blends melancholy with bursts of theatrical intensity.

          # Use the prompt suggestion to generate the track instead

TypeScript

try {
  // This will result in a bad_prompt error
  const track = await elevenlabs.music.compose({
    prompt: "A song that sounds like 'Bohemian Rhapsody'",
    musicLengthMs: 10000,
    modelId: "music_v2_5",
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error.body.detail.status === 'bad_prompt') {
    const promptSuggestion = error.body.detail.data.prompt_suggestion;
    console.log(promptSuggestion); // Logs: An epic rock ballad with dramatic tempo changes, operatic harmonies, and a narrative structure that blends melancholy with bursts of theatrical intensity.

    // Use the prompt suggestion to generate the track instead
  }
}

Composition plans with copyrighted material

If styles using copyrighted material are used when generating a composition plan, a bad_composition_plan error will be returned. Similar to music prompts, a suggested composition plan composition_plan_suggestion will be returned within the error.

Search documentation

Help Center

Music quickstart

Using the Music API

Create an API key

Install the SDK

SDK

CLI

Make the API request

SDK

CLI

Composition plans

Composition plans guide

Generating a composition plan

Using a composition plan

Generating music with details

Copyrighted material

Prompts with copyrighted material

Composition plans with copyrighted material

Next steps

Stream music

Music inpainting

API reference

Help Center