Direct answer
The short version
Treat a generated-video URL as a temporary delivery mechanism unless the exact provider route explicitly creates a persistent media asset. When a task succeeds, download the file before the documented deadline, verify its bytes and expected media properties, copy it into customer-controlled storage, and record the provider, model, task ID, source expiry, checksum and final object reference. Do not expose a temporary provider URL as the permanent application asset.
Are generated video URLs permanent?
Usually not. Alibaba Cloud's current Wan 2.7 text-to-video API reference says both the task ID and returned video URL expire after 24 hours. Tencent Cloud TokenHub's current Vidu guide says the generated video address in creations[].url is temporary and valid for 12 hours. Those are route-specific facts observed on the source access date, not universal promises for every model, region or reseller.
Another route can use a different storage contract. Tencent Cloud VOD's AIGC video task schema exposes Temporary and Permanent storage modes, with Temporary as the default, while a persistent result can include a VOD FileId and an optional expiry setting. The buyer must compare the exact API route, not only the underlying model brand.
- Exact provider, product, region, endpoint and model ID
- Whether the result is a temporary URL, a retrievable file ID or a managed media asset
- The documented task-query and download deadline
- Whether a persistent mode is explicit, optional or unavailable
- The source page and access date used for the decision
What should happen immediately after a task succeeds?
Move the job into a dedicated delivery state instead of marking it complete as soon as the provider reports success. Fetch the result using a bounded timeout, confirm a successful response, inspect the media signature and expected size, and write the object to the customer's chosen storage. Only then should the workflow mark delivery as verified.
MiniMax's current video workflow illustrates why submission, generation and retrieval are separate steps: a successful task returns a file_id, which is then used to obtain a download link and save the video. Keep those steps separately observable so a download failure does not silently become another paid generation request.
- Persist the provider task ID and sanitized request ID before polling
- Capture the result URL issue time and known expiry without logging credentials
- Download to a temporary object with strict byte and time limits
- Verify container type, byte count and a one-way checksum
- Promote the verified object to the customer's final storage path
Where should the accepted output live?
Use storage controlled by the customer and selected for the customer's own region, access and retention requirements. The final record should point to an internal object or media identifier, not to the temporary provider URL. A customer can then decide who may read, publish or delete the asset without making normal playback depend on a generation endpoint.
A provider-managed persistent mode can be appropriate when the customer already operates that media platform, but it remains a separate product decision. Confirm storage charges, account scope, object expiry, access controls and egress behaviour in the live account. IT CaoCao does not need the customer's production key or media to prepare this decision matrix.
- Customer-owned bucket, media library or approved asset system
- Object naming that does not expose prompts or personal data
- Access policy and publishing path separated from generation
- Explicit retention owner and deletion trigger
- Recorded storage and transfer costs rather than assumed free hosting
How should expiring result links be monitored?
Store an absolute expiry timestamp when the provider publishes enough information to calculate it. Schedule the first download immediately after success and leave a measured safety margin for retries. Alert on delivery age, not just job status, because a successful generation can still become unrecoverable if the result is never copied.
When documentation does not state a fixed lifetime or a link can be refreshed from a file ID, record that uncertainty explicitly and test the live account with synthetic media. Do not assume that querying the task again resets the deadline, and do not build a refresh loop unless the provider documents or demonstrates that behaviour.
- Result discovered at, documented expiry at and last verified access at
- First download attempt, bounded retry count and next retry time
- Provider status, HTTP outcome and destination write outcome
- Warning threshold before the remaining window becomes unsafe
- Escalation that stops short of automatically regenerating the video
How do you retry delivery without buying another generation?
A failed download is not proof that generation failed. Retry the file transfer only when the provider result remains valid, using the same task or file identifier. A new generation request should require a separate decision after the workflow confirms that the original output cannot be recovered.
Make the state machine distinguish generation failure, provider-result expiry, transient download failure, checksum failure, destination-storage failure and creative rejection. Each outcome has a different owner and cost implication. Reusing the original result where safe reduces accidental duplicate charges and preserves traceability.
- Retry GET or file retrieval, not task creation, for transient transfer errors
- Use an idempotent destination object key for the same accepted result
- Keep partial objects quarantined until verification succeeds
- Require an explicit bounded policy before any regeneration
- Record accepted-output cost separately from transfer recovery work
What belongs in the output-delivery test matrix?
Test the full path with approved synthetic media for every shortlisted provider route. Measure the interval from terminal task success to verified storage, exercise one controlled transfer interruption, and confirm that the final application reads the copied asset rather than the provider link.
Repeat the test when the provider, region, model, endpoint or storage mode changes. Documentation can change after an article is reviewed, so live procurement and implementation work should preserve dated evidence and recheck the current account before launch.
- Normal download immediately after success
- A delayed download inside the documented validity window
- One interrupted transfer resumed or retried without regeneration
- Checksum or media-validation failure handled without publication
- Destination write failure followed by a bounded recovery
- Final playback from customer-controlled storage
Which decision criteria make an output path production-ready?
Approve a route only when the team can retrieve every required result within a tested safety margin, verify it, place it in the approved destination and recover from a transfer failure without creating an uncontrolled new generation. The operating record should separate provider-documented behaviour from behaviour observed in the customer's account.
A production decision also needs a named owner for storage cost, access, retention and exception handling. If the provider's current documentation and live behaviour disagree, stop at the tested volume and resolve the difference before exposing the route to customer workloads.
- Documented or tested result lifetime leaves a practical recovery margin
- The downloader is bounded, observable and independent of task submission
- File verification occurs before the asset is published or handed off
- The final object is controlled by the customer and has an explicit owner
- A failed transfer cannot silently trigger another billable generation
- Retest triggers include model, endpoint, region and storage-mode changes
Frequently asked questions
Questions buyers ask next
Can I use the video URL returned by an AI API in my production application?
Only if the exact route documents it as a persistent asset and the live account confirms the required storage behaviour. Otherwise, treat it as a temporary delivery URL, copy the verified video into customer-controlled storage and serve the stored object.
How long do Chinese AI video API result links remain valid?
There is no single industry value. As accessed on September 15, 2026, Alibaba Cloud documents 24 hours for the cited Wan task ID and video URL, while Tencent Cloud TokenHub documents 12 hours for the cited Vidu result URL. Recheck the exact provider, route, model and region before use.
Should a failed download create a new video-generation task?
No, not automatically. Retry retrieval of the existing result within a bounded policy when it remains valid. Regeneration should be a separate, explicit decision because it can create another billable output.
What evidence should be retained after an output is copied?
Keep content-free operational metadata: provider, endpoint and model, task or file ID, timestamps, documented expiry, byte count, checksum, destination object reference and verification result. Keep credentials, prompts and media out of routine operating reports.
Primary sources
Evidence reviewed
Provider documentation changes. Recheck the live source before making a procurement decision.
- Alibaba Cloud Model Studio: Wan 2.7 text-to-video API referenceAccessed 2026-09-15
- Tencent Cloud TokenHub: Vidu video generation guideAccessed 2026-09-15
- Tencent Cloud VOD: create an AIGC video taskAccessed 2026-09-15
- Tencent Cloud VOD: AIGC video output data structuresAccessed 2026-09-15
- MiniMax API: video generation workflowAccessed 2026-09-15