Bring Your Own ElevenLabs Key
Connect your personal ElevenLabs account to Cliptude to unlock your own voice library, use your own ElevenLabs quota, and access voices you've cloned or purchased — all within the standard video creation flow.
Step 1 — Get your ElevenLabs API key
- Log in to your ElevenLabs account at elevenlabs.io/app/settings/api-keys.
- Click Create API key
- Copy the key — it starts with
sk_followed by a long string of characters.
Keep this key safe. It grants access to your ElevenLabs account. You can revoke it from your ElevenLabs dashboard at any time if needed.
Step 2 — Save it on Cliptude
When you start creating a video, Step 2 is Voice Selection. At the top of that page you'll see a card titled "Bring Your Own ElevenLabs Key".
Paste your ElevenLabs API key into the password field. The characters are hidden from view as you type — nobody looking over your shoulder can see it.
Cliptude immediately validates the key against ElevenLabs, then encrypts it and stores only the ciphertext. A masked preview (e.g. sk_x...y456) is shown to confirm the key is saved.
Once saved, the page reloads with your voices from ElevenLabs — including any cloned voices, voices you've purchased, and your full library — shown in the voice list.
What changes once your key is connected
Your voice library appears in the list
The voice selection screen loads voices from your ElevenLabs account instead of Cliptude's default library. All voices you've added, cloned, or purchased are available.
Voice ID search uses your account
When you paste a voice ID into the search bar and click Search Voice, the lookup is made with your key — so private voices from your account are found, not just public shared voices.
Your ElevenLabs quota is used
Voiceover generation for your videos will consume characters from your own ElevenLabs plan rather than Cliptude's shared quota. This means voice generation is not limited by Cliptude's system usage.
Cliptude credits still apply normally
Connecting your ElevenLabs key does not change how Cliptude credits are calculated. The same credit cost per minute of video applies — you are simply using your own ElevenLabs quota for the TTS step.
Privacy & Security
Your key is protected end-to-end
- • Your raw API key is never written to disk or any log. It exists in memory only for the brief moment validation and encryption take place.
- • The key is encrypted with Fernet symmetric encryption (AES-128 in CBC mode with a random IV) before being stored in the database.
- • Only a masked preview (e.g.
sk_x...y456) is displayed back to you — not even the last few real characters of your key. - • Nobody can read your key — not Cliptude staff, not database administrators. The encryption key is kept separate from the database and is not accessible through normal application paths.
If you ever need to revoke access, you can delete your key from your ElevenLabs dashboard (elevenlabs.io/app/settings/api-keys) at any time. Cliptude will then fall back to the system shared voice library for future videos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I update or remove my key?
Yes. To replace your key, simply paste a new one into the field on the Voice Selection page and click "Save encrypted key" — the old ciphertext is overwritten immediately. To revoke access without saving a new key, delete the key from your ElevenLabs dashboard. The saved ciphertext in Cliptude will no longer produce a valid API call.
What happens if my key is invalid or expired?
Cliptude validates the key against ElevenLabs when you save it. If validation fails (e.g. the key has been revoked), an error message is shown and the key is saved as invalid. While the key is marked invalid, Cliptude falls back to using its shared system voice library for your videos, so generation continues uninterrupted.
Does this cost extra Cliptude credits?
No. Connecting your ElevenLabs key does not change the Cliptude credit cost for your videos. Credits are calculated based on video duration regardless of which ElevenLabs account the TTS is billed to.
Do I need an ElevenLabs paid plan?
A free ElevenLabs account will work for short videos, but ElevenLabs free plans have a monthly character limit (10,000 characters). For longer videos or high volumes, an ElevenLabs Creator plan or higher is recommended so you don't run out of quota mid-generation.