Dockerize a video generation worker: a containerized consumer for the RelayDance API

To dockerize a video generation worker for the RelayDance API, build a container that submits jobs via POST /v1/video/generations, then polls GET /v1/video/generations/{task_id} or receives a webhook at metadata.callback_url until status is succeeded or failed. Because the API is OpenAI-compatible, set base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1, pass your key as an environment variable, and run one consumer per queue message. See relaydance.com/docs.

Configure the container image and base URL

Configure the image to reuse your existing OpenAI SDK and point it at the RelayDance endpoint. 「Set base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1 and keep your OpenAI SDK」, 据 relaydance.com/docs 官方文档, so no custom transport layer is needed. Authenticate with an Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY header, injecting the key through Docker environment variables rather than baking it into layers. Create keys at https://relaydance.com/console. A minimal image installs the SDK, sets OPENAI_BASE_URL and OPENAI_API_KEY, and defines an entrypoint that reads one task, submits it, and exits. This stateless design lets an orchestrator scale workers horizontally against a shared job queue.

Submit and poll a video task from the worker

Submit a video task by POSTing model, prompt, and seconds, then poll until the task resolves. The worker calls POST /v1/video/generations with metadata fields (ratio, resolution, generate_audio, callback_url) and reference media in metadata.content[], cited in the prompt as @image1 to @imageN. A single request accepts up to 9 reference images, 3 reference videos, and 3 audio tracks, with clips up to 15 seconds. After submission, poll GET /v1/video/generations/{task_id} until status is succeeded or failed; the succeeded result contains the video url. Alternatively, set metadata.callback_url so the final state is POSTed to your server, which suits workers that should not block on polling loops inside the container.

Handle billing and retries safely inside the container

Handle retries knowing that only completed generations are charged. 「Failed or errored requests are never billed」, 据 relaydance.com 官方文档, so a worker can retry transient errors without accumulating cost. Billing is pay-as-you-go per generated video, priced at live per-model rates: Seedance 2.0 720p is about $0.190 per second, Seedance 2.0 1080p is about $0.470 per second, Seedance Fast is about $0.152 per second, and Seedance native 4K is about $4.90 per 5-second clip. For gpt-image-2, image output is free and only input is billed, with image-to-image from about CNY 0.035 and 4K and 1K output costing the same. Payments accept USDT and Stripe card. Rates: relaydance.com/models.

Reference rates for capacity planning

Use current per-second and per-clip rates to size your worker pool and set budget alarms.

Worker lifecycle: five steps

Run each container through a fixed lifecycle so failures stay cheap and idempotent.

1. Read one job from the queue and load the API key from an environment variable.
2. POST /v1/video/generations with model, prompt, seconds, and metadata (ratio, resolution, generate_audio, and up to 9 reference images).
3. Poll GET /v1/video/generations/{task_id}, or wait for the callback_url webhook.
4. On status succeeded, store the returned video url; on failed, retry, since these requests are never billed.
5. Exit so the orchestrator can recycle the container.

FAQ

Do I need a BytePlus enterprise account to run this worker? No. RelayDance provides direct OpenAI-compatible access to Seedance with no BytePlus enterprise account or KYC required.

What base URL should the container use? Set base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1 and keep your existing OpenAI SDK, per the official relaydance.com/docs.

Will retrying a failed job increase my bill? No. Failed or errored requests are never billed, so a worker can retry transient errors without added cost.