> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.tella.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get the beats of an audio or video source

> Returns the tempo, every beat and every bar's first beat (downbeat) of an audio or video source owned by the caller or their workspace, in ms of source time. Each source is analyzed once and cached; the first request can take a few seconds, and answers 503 `unavailable` if the analysis is still running, so retry.



## OpenAPI

````yaml /openapi.json get /v1/sources/{sourceId}/beats
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  description: >-
    The Tella Public API allows you to programmatically access your videos and
    playlists, including transcripts, chapters, and thumbnails.


    ## Authentication


    All requests require a Bearer token in the Authorization header:

    ```

    Authorization: Bearer tella_pk_xxxxx...

    ```


    API keys can be generated in your Tella workspace settings.


    ## Rate Limiting


    The API is rate-limited to 200 requests per minute per user within a
    workspace.

    Rate limit information is returned in response headers:

    - `RateLimit-Policy`: Named quota, request limit, and window in seconds

    - `RateLimit`: Remaining quota and seconds until reset

    - `X-RateLimit-Limit`: Maximum requests per window

    - `X-RateLimit-Remaining`: Remaining requests in current window

    - `X-RateLimit-Reset`: Unix timestamp in milliseconds when the window resets


    A `429 Too Many Requests` response also includes `Retry-After` in seconds.
  title: Tella Public API
  version: 1.0.0
servers:
  - description: Production
    url: https://api.tella.com
security: []
tags:
  - description: Video operations
    name: Videos
  - description: Sections of a video
    name: Clips
  - description: Playlist operations
    name: Playlists
  - description: Sidebar groups for organizing playlists
    name: Playlist Groups
  - description: Tags for categorizing and filtering videos
    name: Tags
  - description: 'Tella''s editor agent, working in a video: start a chat and follow it'
    name: Agent chats
  - description: >-
      Viewing analytics for a video or across the workspace: plays, watch time,
      retention, geography, referrers
    name: Analytics
  - description: The signed-in user, their workspace, its plan and agent credits
    name: Account
  - description: Personal, workspace, and default video backgrounds
    name: Backgrounds
  - description: >-
      Reusable media saved to a workspace, plus Tella's curated sound effect and
      background music catalogs — the same items the editor's media panels show
    name: Library
  - description: >-
      Motion graphics documents a video plays live as a Tella Motion clip,
      overlay or b-roll, edited with the editor's own commands
    name: Tella Motion
  - description: >-
      Screen walkthroughs an agent films of a web page with no one recording.
      Takes are started and read over the MCP server
    name: Auto Capture
  - description: Webhook endpoint management
    name: Webhooks
externalDocs:
  description: API versioning and deprecation policy
  url: https://www.tella.com/docs/versioning
paths:
  /v1/sources/{sourceId}/beats:
    get:
      tags:
        - Sources
      summary: Get the beats of an audio or video source
      description: >-
        Returns the tempo, every beat and every bar's first beat (downbeat) of
        an audio or video source owned by the caller or their workspace, in ms
        of source time. Each source is analyzed once and cached; the first
        request can take a few seconds, and answers 503 `unavailable` if the
        analysis is still running, so retry.
      operationId: getSourceBeats
      parameters:
        - description: Streaming upload source identifier
          in: path
          name: sourceId
          required: true
          schema:
            description: Streaming upload source identifier
            example: su_abc123def456
            type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/MusicBeatsResponse'
          description: OK
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '400':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: bad_request
                message: The request was malformed or contained invalid parameters.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: The request was malformed or contained invalid parameters.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '401':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: unauthorized
                message: Authentication is required. Provide a valid API key.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: Authentication is required. Provide a valid API key.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '403':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: forbidden
                message: You don't have permission to access this resource.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: You don't have permission to access this resource.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '404':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: not_found
                message: The requested resource was not found.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: The requested resource was not found.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '409':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: conflict
                message: >-
                  The request conflicts with the resource's current state, e.g.
                  an Idempotency-Key whose first request is still in progress.
                  Retry once it settles.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: >-
            The request conflicts with the resource's current state, e.g. an
            Idempotency-Key whose first request is still in progress. Retry once
            it settles.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '429':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: rate_limited
                message: You have exceeded the rate limit. Please slow down.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: You have exceeded the rate limit. Please slow down.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Retry-After:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RetryAfter'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '500':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: server_error
                message: An unexpected error occurred
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: An unexpected error occurred
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '501':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: not_implemented
                message: The requested operation is not implemented.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: The requested operation is not implemented.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
        '503':
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                docsUrl: https://docs.tella.com/
                error: unavailable
                message: >-
                  A dependency was unavailable and the request was not executed.
                  Safe to resend unchanged after the Retry-After delay.
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
          description: >-
            A dependency was unavailable and the request was not executed. Safe
            to resend unchanged after the Retry-After delay.
          headers:
            Deprecation:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Deprecation'
            RateLimit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimit'
            RateLimit-Policy:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/RateLimitPolicy'
            Sunset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/Sunset'
            X-RateLimit-Limit:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitLimit'
            X-RateLimit-Remaining:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitRemaining'
            X-RateLimit-Reset:
              $ref: '#/components/headers/XRateLimitReset'
      security:
        - BearerAuth: []
components:
  schemas:
    MusicBeatsResponse:
      additionalProperties: false
      description: >-
        Tempo, beats and bars of a music track, analyzed once per track and
        cached
      properties:
        beatsMs:
          description: >-
            Every beat, in ms: on the video's playback timeline for background
            music (the same times as `get_timeline`), in source time for a
            source
          example:
            - 512
            - 1012
            - 1512
            - 2012
          items:
            minimum: 0
            type: number
          type: array
        beatsPerBar:
          description: 'Beats in each bar: 4, or 3 for a waltz-like meter'
          example: 4
          maximum: 9007199254740991
          minimum: -9007199254740991
          type: integer
        bpm:
          description: Tempo in beats per minute. 0 when the track has no beat at all
          example: 120
          minimum: 0
          type: number
        confidence:
          description: >-
            How clearly the track has a pulse, 0 to 1. Steady produced music is
            usually above 0.4; beatless ambient music below 0.1, where the beats
            are only a guess
          example: 0.86
          maximum: 1
          minimum: 0
          type: number
        downbeatsMs:
          description: >-
            The first beat of every bar, a subset of `beatsMs`. Cut or start a
            motion on these for the strongest musical accents
          example:
            - 512
            - 2512
          items:
            minimum: 0
            type: number
          type: array
        durationMs:
          description: >-
            Length of the timeline the beats are on: the video's playback
            duration for background music, the source's duration for a source
          example: 95200
          minimum: 0
          type: number
        trackDurationMs:
          description: >-
            Length of one pass of the track. Background music restarts after it,
            so its beat grid restarts too
          example: 180036
          minimum: 0
          type: number
      required:
        - bpm
        - beatsPerBar
        - confidence
        - trackDurationMs
        - durationMs
        - beatsMs
        - downbeatsMs
      type: object
    ErrorResponse:
      additionalProperties: false
      description: Standard error response format
      properties:
        docsUrl:
          description: Link to Tella API documentation
          example: https://docs.tella.com/
          format: uri
          type: string
        error:
          description: Machine-readable error code
          enum:
            - bad_request
            - unauthorized
            - forbidden
            - not_found
            - rate_limited
            - server_error
            - conflict
            - edit_conflict
            - not_implemented
            - unavailable
          example: not_found
          type: string
        message:
          description: Human-readable error message
          example: Resource not found
          type: string
      required:
        - error
        - message
        - docsUrl
      type: object
  headers:
    Deprecation:
      description: Indicates that an API operation is deprecated, following RFC 9745
      example: '@1767225600'
      schema:
        type: string
    RateLimit:
      description: >-
        Current quota with remaining requests (`r`) and seconds until reset
        (`t`)
      example: '"public-api";r=95;t=42'
      schema:
        type: string
    RateLimitPolicy:
      description: >-
        Named quota policy with the request limit (`q`) and window in seconds
        (`w`)
      example: '"public-api";q=100;w=60'
      schema:
        type: string
    Sunset:
      description: >-
        Indicates when a deprecated API operation will become unavailable,
        following RFC 8594
      example: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 23:59:59 GMT
      schema:
        type: string
    XRateLimitLimit:
      description: Maximum requests allowed in the current window
      example: 100
      schema:
        type: integer
    XRateLimitRemaining:
      description: Requests remaining in the current window
      example: 95
      schema:
        type: integer
    XRateLimitReset:
      description: Unix timestamp in milliseconds when the window resets
      example: 1704067200000
      schema:
        format: int64
        type: integer
    RetryAfter:
      description: Seconds to wait before retrying a rate-limited request
      example: 45
      schema:
        minimum: 1
        type: integer
  securitySchemes:
    BearerAuth:
      description: API key obtained from your Tella account settings
      scheme: bearer
      type: http

````

## Related topics

- [Get the audio waveform JSON for a source](https://www.tella.com/docs/api-reference/clips/get-the-audio-waveform-json-for-a-source.md)
- [Get the audio waveform JSON for a source on no clip](https://www.tella.com/docs/api-reference/sources/get-the-audio-waveform-json-for-a-source-on-no-clip.md)
- [Create a source upload (video, audio, image, or LUT)](https://www.tella.com/docs/api-reference/sources/create-a-source-upload-video-audio-image-or-lut.md)
- [Background Music](https://www.tella.com/docs/mcp-tools/background-music.md)
- [Get the beats of the background music](https://www.tella.com/docs/api-reference/videos/get-the-beats-of-the-background-music.md)


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