BerriAI/litellm · error · ValueError

RunwayML API key is required. Set RUNWAYML_API_SECRET enviro

Error message

RunwayML API key is required. Set RUNWAYML_API_SECRET environment variable or pass api_key parameter.

What it means

Credential guard in the RunwayML videos config's validate_environment: after checking litellm_params and litellm.api_key, the RUNWAYML_API_SECRET lookup still found no key, so the Bearer header cannot be built for video API calls.

Source

Thrown at litellm/llms/runwayml/videos/transformation.py:158

        headers: dict,
        model: str,
        api_key: str | None = None,
        litellm_params: GenericLiteLLMParams | None = None,
    ) -> dict:
        """
        Validate environment and set up authentication headers.
        RunwayML uses Bearer token authentication via RUNWAYML_API_SECRET.
        """
        # Use api_key from litellm_params if available, otherwise fall back to other sources
        if litellm_params and litellm_params.api_key:
            api_key = api_key or litellm_params.api_key

        api_key = (
            api_key or litellm.api_key or get_secret_str("RUNWAYML_API_SECRET") or get_secret_str("RUNWAYML_API_KEY")
        )

        if api_key is None:
            raise ValueError(
                "RunwayML API key is required. Set RUNWAYML_API_SECRET environment variable or pass api_key parameter."
            )

        headers.update(
            {
                "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
                "X-Runway-Version": RUNWAYML_DEFAULT_API_VERSION,
                "Content-Type": "application/json",
            }
        )
        return headers

    def get_complete_url(
        self,
        model: str,
        api_base: str | None,
        litellm_params: dict,
    ) -> str:

View on GitHub (pinned to 77b7c6c40c)

Solutions

1. Set the RUNWAYML_API_SECRET environment variable.
2. Or pass api_key parameter to the video call.

Example fix

os.environ["RUNWAYML_API_SECRET"] = "<key>"

When it happens

Trigger: Triggered when calling the RunwayML video API without RUNWAYML_API_SECRET set or api_key passed.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of BerriAI/litellm@77b7c6c40c (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2e6bd49fa559c8bc. Report an issue: GitHub.