> ## AI Agent Context
> Get the complete documentation index at: https://aistudio.google.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages.
> For the full documentation in a single file, fetch: https://aistudio.google.com/docs/llms-full.txt

# Video understanding

To learn about video generation, see the [Gemini Omni Flash](/docs/omni) guide.

Gemini models can process videos, enabling many frontier developer use cases
that would have historically required domain specific models.
Some of Gemini's vision capabilities include the ability to: describe, segment,
and extract information from videos, answer questions about video content, and
refer to specific timestamps within a video.

You can provide videos as input to Gemini in the following ways:

| Input method | Max size | Recommended use case |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| [File API](/docs/video-understanding#upload-video) | 20GB (paid) / 2GB (free) | Large files (100MB+), long videos (10min+), reusable files. |
| [Cloud Storage Registration](/docs/file-input-methods#registration) | 2GB (per file, no storage limits) | Large files (100MB+), long videos (10min+), persistent, reusable files. |
| [Inline Data](/docs/video-understanding#inline-video) | < 100MB | Small files (<100MB), short duration (<1min), one-off inputs. |
| [YouTube URLs](/docs/video-understanding#youtube) | N/A | Public YouTube videos. |

{% callout type="note" %}
  The [File API](/docs/video-understanding#upload-video) is recommended for most use cases,
  especially for files larger than 100MB or when you want to reuse the file
  across multiple requests.

{% /callout %}

To learn about other file input methods, such as using external URLs or files
stored in Google Cloud, see the
[File input methods](/docs/file-input-methods) guide.

### Upload a video file  {% id="upload-video" %}

The following code downloads a sample video, uploads it using the [Files API](/docs/files),
waits for it to be processed, and then uses the uploaded file reference to
summarize the video.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  import time
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  myfile = client.files.upload(file="path/to/sample.mp4")
  
  while not myfile.state or myfile.state.name != "ACTIVE":
      print("Processing video...")
      time.sleep(5)
      myfile = client.files.get(name=myfile.name)
  
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {"type": "video", "uri": myfile.uri, "mime_type": myfile.mime_type},
          {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this video. Then create a quiz with an answer key based on the information in this video."}
      ]
  )
  
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  async function main() {
    const myfile = await ai.files.upload({
      file: "path/to/sample.mp4",
      config: { mimeType: "video/mp4" },
    });
  
    let getFile = await ai.files.get({ name: myfile.name || '' });
    while (getFile.state === 'PROCESSING') {
        getFile = await ai.files.get({ name: myfile.name || '' });
        console.log(`current file status: ${getFile.state}`);
        console.log('File is still processing, retrying in 5 seconds');
  
        await new Promise((resolve) => {
            setTimeout(resolve, 5000);
        });
    }
    if (getFile.state === 'FAILED') {
        throw new Error('File processing failed.');
    }
  
    const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
      model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
      input: [
        { type: "video", uri: myfile.uri, mime_type: myfile.mimeType },
        { type: "text", text: "Summarize this video. Then create a quiz with an answer key based on the information in this video." }
      ],
    });
    console.log(interaction.output_text);
  }
  
  await main();
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.VideoContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.VideoContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import com.google.genai.types.File;
  import com.google.genai.types.FileState;
  import com.google.genai.types.UploadFileConfig;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.List;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  File myfile =
      client.files.upload(
          "path/to/sample.mp4", UploadFileConfig.builder().mimeType("video/mp4").build());
  
  while (!myfile.state().isPresent()
      || myfile.state().get().knownEnum() != FileState.Known.ACTIVE) {
    System.out.println("Processing video...");
    Thread.sleep(5000);
    myfile = client.files.get(myfile.name().get(), null);
  }
  
  Content videoContent =
      VideoContent.builder()
          .uri(myfile.uri().get())
          .mimeType(VideoContentMimeType.of(myfile.mimeType().get()))
          .build();
  Content textContent =
      TextContent.builder()
          .text(
              "Summarize this video. Then create a quiz with an answer key based on the information in this video.")
          .build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(videoContent, textContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "fmt"
      "log"
      "time"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      myfile, err := client.Files.UploadFromPath(ctx, "path/to/sample.mp4", &genai.UploadFileConfig{
          MIMEType: "video/mp4",
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      for myfile.State != genai.FileStateActive {
          fmt.Println("Processing video...")
          time.Sleep(5 * time.Second)
          myfile, err = client.Files.Get(ctx, myfile.Name, nil)
          if err != nil {
              log.Fatal(err)
          }
      }
  
      contents := []interactions.Content{
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.VideoContent{
              URI:      genai.Ptr(myfile.URI),
              MimeType: interactions.VideoContentMimeType(myfile.MIMEType).ToPointer(),
          }),
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
              Text: "Summarize this video. Then create a quiz with an answer key based on the information in this video.",
          }),
      }
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput(contents),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  VIDEO_PATH="path/to/sample.mp4"
  MIME_TYPE=$(file -b --mime-type "${VIDEO_PATH}")
  NUM_BYTES=$(wc -c < "${VIDEO_PATH}")
  DISPLAY_NAME=VIDEO
  
  tmp_header_file=upload-header.tmp
  
  echo "Starting file upload..."
  curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/upload/v1beta/files" \
  -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
  -D ${tmp_header_file} \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Protocol: resumable" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: start" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Header-Content-Type: ${MIME_TYPE}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{'file': {'display_name': '${DISPLAY_NAME}'}}" 2> /dev/null
  
  upload_url=$(grep -i "x-goog-upload-url: " "${tmp_header_file}" | cut -d" " -f2 | tr -d "\r")
  rm "${tmp_header_file}"
  
  echo "Uploading video data..."
  curl "${upload_url}" \
  -H "Content-Length: ${NUM_BYTES}" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Offset: 0" \
  -H "X-Goog-Upload-Command: upload, finalize" \
  --data-binary "@${VIDEO_PATH}" 2> /dev/null > file_info.json
  
  file_uri=$(jq -r ".file.uri" file_info.json)
  file_name=$(jq -r ".file.name" file_info.json)
  echo file_uri=$file_uri
  
  echo "File uploaded successfully. File URI: ${file_uri}"
  
  echo "Waiting for file to be processed..."
  while true; do
  curl -s "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/${file_name}" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" > file_status.json
  state=$(jq -r ".state" file_status.json)
  echo "Current state: $state"
  if [ "$state" == "ACTIVE" ]; then
    break
  elif [ "$state" == "FAILED" ]; then
    echo "File processing failed."
    exit 1
  fi
  sleep 5
  done
  
  echo "Generating content from video..."
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {"type": "video", "uri": "'${file_uri}'", "mime_type": "'${MIME_TYPE}'"},
        {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this video. Then create a quiz with an answer key based on the information in this video."}
      ]
    }' 2> /dev/null > response.json
  
  jq ".steps[].content[0].text" response.json
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

To optimize token efficiency and performance, consider using
[Agentic video processing](/docs/video-understanding#agentic-video-understanding).

Always use the Files API when the total request size (including the file, text
prompt, system instructions, etc.) is larger than 20 MB, the video duration is
significant, or if you intend to use the same video in multiple prompts.
The File API accepts video file formats directly.

To learn more about working with media files, see
[Files API](/docs/files).

### Pass video data inline  {% id="inline-video" %}

Instead of uploading a video file using the File API, you can pass smaller
videos directly in the request. This is suitable for
shorter videos under 20MB total request size.

Here's an example of providing inline video data:

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  import base64
  
  video_file_name = "/path/to/your/video.mp4"
  video_bytes = open(video_file_name, 'rb').read()
  
  client = genai.Client()
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model='gemini-3.8-flash',
      input=[
          {"type": "text", "text": "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences."},
          {
              "type": "video",
              "data": base64.b64encode(video_bytes).decode('utf-8'),
              "mime_type": "video/mp4"
          }
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  import * as fs from "node:fs";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  const base64VideoFile = fs.readFileSync("path/to/small-sample.mp4", {
    encoding: "base64",
  });
  
  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      { type: "text", text: "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences." },
      {
        type: "video",
        data: base64VideoFile,
        mime_type: "video/mp4",
      }
    ],
  });
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.VideoContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.VideoContentMimeType;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import java.nio.file.Files;
  import java.nio.file.Paths;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.Base64;
  import java.util.List;
  
  String videoFileName = "/path/to/your/video.mp4";
  byte[] videoBytes = Files.readAllBytes(Paths.get(videoFileName));
  String base64Video = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(videoBytes);
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  Content textContent =
      TextContent.builder().text("Please summarize the video in 3 sentences.").build();
  Content videoContent =
      VideoContent.builder()
          .data(base64Video)
          .mimeType(VideoContentMimeType.VIDEO_MP4)
          .build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(textContent, videoContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "encoding/base64"
      "fmt"
      "log"
      "os"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      videoFileName := "/path/to/your/video.mp4"
      videoBytes, err := os.ReadFile(videoFileName)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
      base64Video := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(videoBytes)
  
      contents := []interactions.Content{
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
              Text: "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences.",
          }),
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.VideoContent{
              Data:     genai.Ptr(base64Video),
              MimeType: interactions.VideoContentMimeTypeVideoMp4.ToPointer(),
          }),
      }
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput(contents),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  {% callout type="note" %}
  Note: If you get an `Argument list too long` error, the base64 encoding of
      your file might be too long for the curl command line. Use the File API
      method instead for larger files.

  {% /callout %}

  ```shell
  VIDEO_PATH=/path/to/your/video.mp4
  
  if [[ "$(base64 --version 2>&1)" = *"FreeBSD"* ]]; then
  B64FLAGS="--input"
  else
  B64FLAGS="-w0"
  fi
  
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {"type": "text", "text": "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences."},
        {
          "type": "video",
          "data": "'$(base64 $B64FLAGS $VIDEO_PATH)'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4"
        }
      ]
    }' 2> /dev/null
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

### Pass YouTube URLs  {% id="youtube" %}

{% callout type="note" %}
  Preview: The YouTube URL feature is in preview and is available at no charge.
  Pricing and rate limits are likely to change.

{% /callout %}

You can pass YouTube URLs directly to Gemini API as part of your request as
follows:

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client()
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model='gemini-3.8-flash',
      input=[
          {"type": "text", "text": "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences."},
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hE5-98ZeCg"
          }
      ]
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      { type: "text", text: "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences." },
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hE5-98ZeCg",
      }
    ],
  });
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  import com.google.genai.Client;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Content;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.CreateModelInteraction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Interaction;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.InteractionsInput;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.Model;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.TextContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.interactions.VideoContent;
  import com.google.genai.gaos.models.operations.CreateInteractionRequestBody;
  import java.util.Arrays;
  import java.util.List;
  
  Client client = new Client();
  
  Content textContent =
      TextContent.builder().text("Please summarize the video in 3 sentences.").build();
  Content videoContent =
      VideoContent.builder()
          .uri("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hE5-98ZeCg")
          .build();
  
  List<Content> contents = Arrays.asList(textContent, videoContent);
  
  CreateModelInteraction params =
      CreateModelInteraction.builder()
          .model(Model.of("gemini-3.8-flash"))
          .input(InteractionsInput.ofContent(contents))
          .build();
  
  Interaction interaction =
      client.interactions.create(CreateInteractionRequestBody.of(params)).interaction().get();
  
  System.out.println(interaction.outputText().orElse(""));
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  package main
  
  import (
      "context"
      "fmt"
      "log"
  
      "google.golang.org/genai"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/interactions"
      "google.golang.org/genai/interactions/models/operations"
  )
  
  func main() {
      ctx := context.Background()
      client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, nil)
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      contents := []interactions.Content{
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.TextContent{
              Text: "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences.",
          }),
          interactions.NewContent(interactions.VideoContent{
              URI: genai.Ptr("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hE5-98ZeCg"),
          }),
      }
  
      res, err := client.Interactions.Create(ctx, operations.CreateInteractionRequest{
          Body: operations.NewCreateInteractionRequestBody(interactions.CreateModelInteraction{
              Model: interactions.Model("gemini-3.8-flash"),
              Input: interactions.NewInteractionsInput(contents),
          }),
      })
      if err != nil {
          log.Fatal(err)
      }
  
      if res.Interaction.OutputText != nil {
          fmt.Println(*res.Interaction.OutputText)
      }
  }
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {"type": "text", "text": "Please summarize the video in 3 sentences."},
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hE5-98ZeCg"
        }
      ]
    }' 2> /dev/null
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

**Limitations:**

* For the free tier, you can't upload more than 8 hours of YouTube video per day.
* For the paid tier, there is no limit based on video length.
* For models prior to Gemini 2.5, you can upload only 1 video per request. For Gemini 2.5 and later models, you can upload a maximum of 10 videos per request.
* You can only upload public videos (not private or unlisted videos).

## Agentic video understanding  {% id="agentic-video-understanding" %}

By default, video inputs use static processing (extracting frames at 1 FPS) across all models, including Gemini 4.
Gemini 4 Argon, 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, and 3.5 Flash Lite models also support
**agentic video understanding**, an opt-in mode where the model dynamically explores the video
timeline, selectively inspecting transcripts and adaptively adjusting frame
rates and resolution on the fly based on the prompt.

| **Mode** | **Description** | **Supported models** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Static** (default) | Extracts frames at a fixed rate (1 FPS) and places them into context in a single pass. Default for all Gemini models, including Gemini 4. | All Gemini models |
| **Agentic** | The model dynamically navigates the video timeline, loading only the content it needs based on the prompt. Up to 88% more token-efficient and ~7% higher quality on long-form content. | Gemini 4 Argon, 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash Lite |

### Choose a processing mode  {% id="when-to-use" %}

Select the processing mode that matches your video length and query type:

- **Static (default):** Best for short clips (under 5 minutes), broad full-video summaries where the entire recording is relevant, latency-sensitive queries, or frame-level precision across the entire clip. On short videos or broad prompts that require inspecting most of the video, static processing avoids the additional thinking tokens (`total_thought_tokens`) and tool-call round-trips (`total_tool_use_tokens`) incurred by timeline navigation.
- **Agentic:** Best for long-form videos (over 5–10 minutes), needle-in-a-haystack retrieval, or queries targeting specific moments or topics. The model inspects transcripts first and loads only relevant visual segments on demand, reducing video input token usage by up to 88% without filling the context window.

{% callout type="note" %}
  For long videos or complex prompts where agentic processing takes more time,
  use streaming or [background execution](/docs/background-execution).
  This keeps the connection active, surfaces intermediate
  reasoning steps, and avoids connection or authentication timeouts.

{% /callout %}

### Set the processing mode  {% id="set-processing-mode" %}

To use agentic video understanding, set `"processing": "agentic"` on the video
part in the `input` array.

Agentic video processing can take longer on long videos because the model
performs multiple inspection passes to navigate the timeline. To avoid losing
progress if a network connection drops, the following example uses
the `background` parameter to run the task asynchronously on the server. You can also
run requests synchronously without background execution by omitting the `background`
parameter, which works well for shorter videos.

For details on polling, retrieving results, and managing background tasks, see
the [background execution](/docs/background-execution) guide.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  import time
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  # Upload a long video
  video_file = client.files.upload(file="path/to/lecture.mp4")
  
  while video_file.state.name == "PROCESSING":
      time.sleep(2)
      video_file = client.files.get(name=video_file.name)
  
  # Use agentic processing with background execution
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": video_file.uri,
              "mime_type": video_file.mime_type,
              "processing": "agentic"
          },
          {"type": "text", "text": "What are the three main arguments presented?"}
      ],
      background=True,
  )
  
  while interaction.status == "in_progress":
      time.sleep(5)
      interaction = client.interactions.get(interaction.id)
  
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  // Upload a long video
  let videoFile = await ai.files.upload({
    file: "path/to/lecture.mp4",
    config: { mimeType: "video/mp4" }
  });
  
  while (videoFile.state === "PROCESSING") {
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
    videoFile = await ai.files.get({ name: videoFile.name || '' });
  }
  
  // Use agentic processing with background execution
  let interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: videoFile.uri,
        mime_type: videoFile.mimeType,
        processing: "agentic"
      },
      { type: "text", text: "What are the three main arguments presented?" }
    ],
    background: true,
  });
  
  while (interaction.status === "in_progress") {
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
    interaction = await ai.interactions.get(interaction.id);
  }
  
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  # 1. Start the interaction in the background
  interaction=$(curl -s -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "'${file_uri}'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4",
          "processing": "agentic"
        },
        {"type": "text", "text": "What are the three main arguments presented?"}
      ],
      "background": true
    }')
  
  id=$(echo "$interaction" | jq -r '.id')
  
  # 2. Poll until the interaction finishes
  while [ "$(echo "$interaction" | jq -r '.status')" = "in_progress" ]; do
    sleep 5
    interaction=$(curl -s "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions/$id" \
      -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY")
  done
  
  echo "$interaction" | jq '.'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

{% callout type="note" %}
  To verify that agentic processing was used, inspect `interaction.steps`. The
  presence of `processing_call` and `processing_result` indicates that
  the model dynamically navigated the video.

{% /callout %}

### Response steps  {% id="response-steps" %}

Agentic processing adds two new step types to the `steps` array:

* `processing_call`: the model requested a video segment or audio transcript, identified by `id`.
* `processing_result`: the result of that load, linked by `call_id`.

These appear interleaved with `thought` steps (when summaries are enabled) and precede the final `model_output` step. They can be used to show a progress trace in your UI but do not require a response.

The following example shows the response payload with interleaved processing steps:

```json
{
  "steps": [
    {
      "type": "thought",
      "signature": "sig_thought_1",
      "summary": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Inspecting transcript for key discussion topics..."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "processing_call",
      "id": "call_01",
      "signature": "sig_call_01"
    },
    {
      "type": "processing_result",
      "call_id": "call_01",
      "signature": "sig_result_01"
    },
    {
      "type": "thought",
      "signature": "sig_thought_2",
      "summary": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Loading visual frames to verify slide content..."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "processing_call",
      "id": "call_02",
      "signature": "sig_call_02"
    },
    {
      "type": "processing_result",
      "call_id": "call_02",
      "signature": "sig_result_02"
    },
    {
      "type": "thought",
      "signature": "sig_thought_3",
      "summary": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "Synthesizing answer from gathered evidence..."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "model_output",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "The three main arguments presented in the lecture are..."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

### Mix processing modes across videos  {% id="mix-processing-modes" %}

Set different processing modes for each video in the same request:

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  import time
  from google import genai
  
  client = genai.Client()
  
  lecture = client.files.upload(file="path/to/long-lecture.mp4")
  experiment = client.files.upload(file="path/to/short-experiment.mp4")
  
  # Use agentic processing with background execution
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": lecture.uri,
              "mime_type": lecture.mime_type,
              "processing": "agentic"  # Use agentic video understanding
          },
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": experiment.uri,
              "mime_type": experiment.mime_type,
              "processing": "static"  # Use static processing
          },
          {"type": "text", "text": "Compare the lecture content with the experiment results."}
      ],
      background=True,
  )
  
  while interaction.status == "in_progress":
      time.sleep(5)
      interaction = client.interactions.get(interaction.id)
  
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  import { GoogleGenAI } from "@google/genai";
  
  const ai = new GoogleGenAI({});
  
  const lecture = await ai.files.upload({
    file: "path/to/long-lecture.mp4",
    config: { mimeType: "video/mp4" }
  });
  const experiment = await ai.files.upload({
    file: "path/to/short-experiment.mp4",
    config: { mimeType: "video/mp4" }
  });
  
  // Use agentic processing with background execution
  let interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: lecture.uri,
        mime_type: lecture.mimeType,
        processing: "agentic" // Use agentic video understanding
      },
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: experiment.uri,
        mime_type: experiment.mimeType,
        processing: "static" // Use static processing
      },
      { type: "text", text: "Compare the lecture content with the experiment results." }
    ],
    background: true,
  });
  
  while (interaction.status === "in_progress") {
    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 5000));
    interaction = await ai.interactions.get(interaction.id);
  }
  
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  # 1. Start the interaction in the background
  interaction=$(curl -s -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "'${lecture_uri}'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4",
          "processing": "agentic"
        },
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "'${experiment_uri}'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4",
          "processing": "static"
        },
        {"type": "text", "text": "Compare the lecture content with the experiment results."}
      ],
      "background": true
    }')
  
  id=$(echo "$interaction" | jq -r '.id')
  
  # 2. Poll until the interaction finishes
  while [ "$(echo "$interaction" | jq -r '.status')" = "in_progress" ]; do
    sleep 5
    interaction=$(curl -s "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions/$id" \
      -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY")
  done
  
  echo "$interaction" | jq '.'
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

### Multi-turn video conversations  {% id="multi-turn-video" %}

Video context is preserved across turns in a conversation. When using agentic
processing:

- **Stateful mode** (using `previous_interaction_id`): The server retains the
  video context. No additional handling is needed.
- **Stateless mode** (using `step_list`): In stateless mode, the response
  includes `processing_call` and `processing_result` steps that encode the
  video context. You must include all steps from the response in your next
  request's `step_list` to preserve video context. While omitting them does not
  currently return an API error, the video context is lost, significantly
  reducing response quality on follow-up questions. Note that returned steps
  sent in subsequent requests contribute to input token counts.

## Refer to timestamps in the content  {% id="refer-timestamps" %}

You can ask questions about specific points in time within the video using
timestamps of the form `MM:SS`.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  prompt = "What are the examples given at 00:05 and 00:10 supposed to show us?"
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  const prompt = "What are the examples given at 00:05 and 00:10 supposed to show us?";
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  String prompt = "What are the examples given at 00:05 and 00:10 supposed to show us?";
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  prompt := "What are the examples given at 00:05 and 00:10 supposed to show us?"
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  PROMPT="What are the examples given at 00:05 and 00:10 supposed to show us?"
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## Extract detailed insights from video  {% id="transcribe-video" %}

Gemini models offer powerful capabilities for understanding video content by
processing information from both the **audio and visual** streams. This lets you
extract a rich set of details, including generating descriptions of what is
happening in a video and answering questions about its content.

For visual descriptions, the model samples the video at a rate of **1 frame
per second** (FPS). This default sampling rate works well for most content, but
note that it may miss details in videos with rapid motion or quick scene
changes.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  prompt = "Describe the key events in this video, providing both audio and visual details. Include timestamps for salient moments."
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  const prompt = "Describe the key events in this video, providing both audio and visual details. Include timestamps for salient moments.";
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Java" %}
  ```java
  String prompt =
      "Describe the key events in this video, providing both audio and visual details. Include timestamps for salient moments.";
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="Go" %}
  ```go
  prompt := "Describe the key events in this video, providing both audio and visual details. Include timestamps for salient moments."
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  PROMPT="Describe the key events in this video, providing both audio and visual details. Include timestamps for salient moments."
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## Customize video processing  {% id="customize-video-processing" %}

You can customize video processing in the Gemini API by setting clipping
intervals or providing custom frame rate sampling. These customization options
are only supported when processing the video in `"static"` mode.

### Set clipping intervals  {% id="clipping-intervals" %}

You can clip video by specifying `start_offset` and `end_offset` in the `processing` configuration object.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": video_file.uri,
              "mime_type": video_file.mime_type,
              "processing": {
                  "type": "static",
                  "start_offset": 1200,
                  "end_offset": 1500,
              },
          },
          {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this section of the video."},
      ],
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: videoFile.uri,
        mime_type: videoFile.mimeType,
        processing: {
          type: "static",
          start_offset: 1200,
          end_offset: 1500,
        },
      },
      { type: "text", text: "Summarize this section of the video." },
    ],
  });
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "'${file_uri}'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4",
          "processing": {
            "type": "static",
            "start_offset": 1200,
            "end_offset": 1500
          }
        },
        {"type": "text", "text": "Summarize this section of the video."}
      ]
    }' 2> /dev/null
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

### Set a custom frame rate  {% id="custom-frame-rate" %}

You can set custom frame rate sampling by passing an `fps` argument in the `processing` configuration object.

{% tabs %}
  {% tab label="Python" %}
  ```python
  interaction = client.interactions.create(
      model="gemini-3.8-flash",
      input=[
          {
              "type": "video",
              "uri": video_file.uri,
              "mime_type": video_file.mime_type,
              "processing": {
                  "type": "static",
                  "fps": 0.5,  # Sample 1 frame every 2 seconds
              },
          },
          {"type": "text", "text": "Describe the scene changes in this video."},
      ],
  )
  print(interaction.output_text)
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="JavaScript" %}
  ```javascript
  const interaction = await ai.interactions.create({
    model: "gemini-3.8-flash",
    input: [
      {
        type: "video",
        uri: videoFile.uri,
        mime_type: videoFile.mimeType,
        processing: {
          type: "static",
          fps: 0.5, // Sample 1 frame every 2 seconds
        },
      },
      { type: "text", text: "Describe the scene changes in this video." },
    ],
  });
  console.log(interaction.output_text);
  ```

  {% /tab %}

  {% tab label="REST" %}
  ```shell
  curl -X POST "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/interactions" \
    -H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "input": [
        {
          "type": "video",
          "uri": "'${file_uri}'",
          "mime_type": "video/mp4",
          "processing": {
            "type": "static",
            "fps": 0.5
          }
        },
        {"type": "text", "text": "Describe the scene changes in this video."}
      ]
    }' 2> /dev/null
  ```

  {% /tab %}

{% /tabs %}

## Supported video formats  {% id="supported-formats" %}

Gemini supports the following video format MIME types:

* `video/mp4`
* `video/mpeg`
* `video/mov`
* `video/avi`
* `video/x-flv`
* `video/mpg`
* `video/webm`
* `video/wmv`
* `video/3gpp`

## Technical details about videos  {% id="technical-details-video" %}

- **Supported models and context**: All Gemini models can process video data.  -   Models with a 1M context window can process videos up to 3 hours long by
    default (at low media resolution), or up to 1 hour long at high media
    resolution.

- **Processing modes**: Gemini 4 Argon, 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash Lite,
  and later models support two video processing modes:  -   **Static**: Frames are extracted at 1 FPS and placed into context (default
    for all models). Audio is processed at 1Kbps (single channel).
    Timestamps are added every second. Best for short clips or when every frame
    matters (such as frame-by-frame inspection). Note that fast action sequences
    might lose detail due to the 1 FPS sampling rate.
  -   **Agentic**: The model dynamically navigates the video, loading
    transcript and/or frames and/or audio on demand. This uses up to 88%
    fewer tokens for long-form content, though navigation may increase Time to First Token (TTFT) and total token usage on short clips (<5 minutes) or broad queries due to
    internal reasoning and tool round-trips. Best
    for long-form videos and targeted queries to optimize token costs and response quality.
    Supported on Gemini 4 Argon, 3.8 Flash, 3.6 Flash, and 3.5 Flash Lite.
    See [Agentic video understanding](/docs/video-understanding#agentic-video-understanding) for details.

- **Token calculation (static mode)**: Each second of video is tokenized as
  follows:  -   Individual frames (sampled at 1 FPS):    -   If `media_resolution` is set to low, frames are tokenized at 66
      tokens per frame.
    -   Otherwise, frames are tokenized at 258 tokens per frame.

  -   Audio: 32 tokens per second.
  -   Metadata is also included.
  -   Total: Approximately 100 tokens per second of video at default (low) media
    resolution, or approximately 300 tokens per second of video at high media
    resolution.

- **Token calculation (agentic mode)**: Token usage varies based on content
  complexity and the model's navigation strategy. Navigation reasoning tokens
  generated during video exploration are accounted as **thought tokens**
  (`total_thought_tokens`), while frames, audio, and transcript loaded on
  demand are accounted as tool use tokens (`total_tool_use_tokens`).
  Agentic processing typically uses up to 88% fewer total tokens than static
  processing for long-form content because the model loads only the transcript
  and/or frames and/or audio it needs to answer the prompt (see the
  [tokens guide](/docs/tokens#video)).
- **Media resolution**: Gemini 3 introduces granular control over multimodal
  vision processing with the `media_resolution` parameter. The
  `media_resolution` parameter determines the **maximum number of tokens
  allocated per input image or video frame.** Higher resolutions improve the
  model's ability to read fine text or identify small details, but increase
  token usage and latency. The `media_resolution` and `processing` parameters
  are independent: you can set both on the same video input.

For more details on token calculations, see the
[tokens](/docs/tokens) guide.

- **Timestamp format**: When referring to specific moments in a video within
  your prompt, use the `MM:SS` format (e.g., `01:15` for 1 minute and 15
  seconds).
- **Prompt placement**: If combining text and a single video, place the text prompt
  *after* the video part in the `input` array.
- **Timeouts for long requests**: For videos that require extended
  processing time or complex multi-step reasoning, use streaming or
  [background execution](/docs/background-execution).
  Synchronous, non-streaming requests that experience backend retries under
  high demand can exceed connection or authentication token validity windows,
  which may surface as unexpected `401 Unauthorized` or timeout errors.
  Streaming keeps the connection active and surfaces intermediate reasoning
  and tool call progress.

## What's next  {% id="whats-next" %}

- [Media resolution](/docs/media-resolution): Control the
  resolution of video frames to balance quality and token usage.
- [Tokens](/docs/tokens): Understand how video content is tokenized
  in both static and agentic processing modes.
- [Background execution](/docs/background-execution): Run long-running
  video understanding tasks asynchronously to avoid connection timeouts.
- [System instructions](/docs/text-generation#system-instructions):
  System instructions let you steer the behavior of the model based on your
  specific needs and use cases.
- [Files API](/docs/files): Learn more about uploading and managing
  files for use with Gemini.
- [File prompting strategies](/docs/files#prompt-guide): The Gemini
  API supports prompting with text, image, audio, and video data, also known as
  multimodal prompting.
- [Safety guidance](/docs/safety-guidance): Sometimes generative AI
  models produce unexpected outputs, such as outputs that are inaccurate,
  biased, or offensive. Post-processing and human evaluation are essential to
  limit the risk of harm from such outputs.