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A nested job is a child render whose output is automatically injected as a video or image layer into a parent composition. You define it inline as an asset of type: "job" inside the parent’s assets array - no separate API call required.

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How It Works

When Nexrender sees an asset with type: "job", it:
  1. Creates the child job and starts rendering it
  2. Holds the parent in pending state until the child finishes
  3. Takes the child’s outputUrl and injects it into the layer specified by layerName in the parent composition
  4. Renders the parent
The creation response returns immediately with the parent job ID and a children array containing the child job IDs, so you can track either independently.

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Basic Example

The simplest nested job: render a child composition and place its output into a layer called "PrecompLayer" in the parent. 
curl -X POST https://api.nexrender.com/api/v2/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "template": {
      "id": "PARENT_TEMPLATE_ID",
      "composition": "main"
    },
    "assets": [
      {
        "type": "job",
        "layerName": "PrecompLayer",
        "template": {
          "id": "CHILD_TEMPLATE_ID",
          "composition": "lower-third"
        },
        "assets": [
          {
            "type": "text",
            "layerName": "name",
            "value": "Jane Smith"
          },
          {
            "type": "text",
            "layerName": "title",
            "value": "Lead Designer"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }'
The parent starts as pending. Once the child finishes, the parent is automatically promoted to queued and rendered.

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Nested Job Asset Fields

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
typestringYesMust be "job"
layerNamestringYesLayer in the parent composition where the child’s output is placed
template.idstringYesTemplate ID for the child job
template.compositionstringYesComposition to render in the child
assetsarrayNoAssets to inject into the child job
previewbooleanNoRender the child at preview quality (default: false)
settings.typestringNoOutput type: "video" or "image" (default: "video")
settings.qualitystringNo"draft" or "full"
settings.codecstringNoOutput codec (e.g. "video_h264_vbr_15mbps") - see full list
settings.enginestringNoAE engine version: "ae2025" or "ae2026" (default: "ae2026")

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Multiple Nested Jobs

You can include more than one nested job asset in a single parent. All children render in parallel - the parent waits for all of them before proceeding. 
{
  "template": {
    "id": "PARENT_TEMPLATE_ID",
    "composition": "final-scene"
  },
  "assets": [
    {
      "type": "job",
      "layerName": "IntroClip",
      "template": {
        "id": "INTRO_TEMPLATE_ID",
        "composition": "intro"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "job",
      "layerName": "LowerThird",
      "template": {
        "id": "LOWER_THIRD_TEMPLATE_ID",
        "composition": "name-card"
      },
      "assets": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "layerName": "speaker",
          "value": "Alex Johnson"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "data",
      "layerName": "BackgroundColor",
      "property": "Color",
      "value": [0.1, 0.1, 0.9]
    }
  ]
}
Regular assets (like the data asset above) and nested job assets can coexist in the same assets array.

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Tracking a Nested Job

Track the parent job normally with GET /jobs/:id. The parent stays in pending while children are rendering and transitions to queued - then render:dorender - once all children complete. To check the child job specifically, use its ID from the children array in the creation response: 
curl -X GET https://api.nexrender.com/api/v2/jobs/01CHILD_JOB_ID_HERE \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

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When to Use Nested Jobs

Nested jobs are useful when one composition depends on the rendered output of another:
  • A lower-third animation that needs to be composited into a final scene
  • A branded intro clip rendered from a separate template and inserted at the start
  • A data-driven chart rendered in isolation and dropped into a presentation layout
  • Any workflow where intermediate renders feed a final assembly composition
If you need to stitch multiple clips end-to-end rather than compositing them as layers, use a Join Job instead.

Join Jobs

Concatenate multiple rendered clips into a single output video

Tracking Renders

Poll status or receive a webhook when rendering completes