Runway Install Auth

Overview

Install the Runway ML SDK and configure API key authentication for AI video generation.

Prerequisites

Runway account at runwayml.com
API key from the Runway Developer Portal (dev.runwayml.com)
Python 3.9+ or Node.js 18+

Instructions

Step 1: Install SDK

set -euo pipefail
# Python
pip install runwayml

# Node.js
npm install @runwayml/sdk

Step 2: Configure Environment

# .env
RUNWAYML_API_SECRET=key_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Step 3: Verify Connection (Python)

from runwayml import RunwayML

client = RunwayML()  # Reads RUNWAYML_API_SECRET from env

# The client is ready — no explicit auth call needed
# SDK auto-authenticates on first API call
print("RunwayML client initialized")

Step 4: Verify Connection (Node.js)

import RunwayML from '@runwayml/sdk';

const runway = new RunwayML();  // Reads RUNWAYML_API_SECRET from env
console.log('RunwayML client initialized');

Output

runwayml SDK installed
API key configured via environment variable
Client ready for video generation

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
`401 Unauthorized`	Invalid API key	Verify key at dev.runwayml.com
`ModuleNotFoundError`	SDK not installed	`pip install runwayml`
`RUNWAYML_API_SECRET not set`	Missing env var	Set in .env or export

Resources

Next Steps

Generate your first video: runway-hello-world