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Leonardo AI Not Working?

Leonardo AI generation failed, tokens exhausted, Motion video not generating, API 401 error, or Elements not applying? Check live status and fix it fast.

Leonardo AI

Leonardo AI — live status

Updated every 5 minutes. Full history at status.leonardo.ai.

Full status →

What's wrong? Diagnose fast

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Generation failed / content block

NSFW safety filter triggered or Element+model incompatibility. Fix: rephrase prompt (remove body-related terms, real person names). Try a different model. Check Element compatibility on its detail page — not all Elements work with all models.

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Tokens / credits exhausted

Free: 150 tokens/day, resets 00:00 UTC. Plan tokens are non-expiring. Check balance at app.leonardo.ai/profile. Failed generation consumed tokens? Report via in-app button for refund. More tokens at leonardo.ai/pricing.

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Motion (video) not generating

Use square images only: 512x512, 768x768, or 1024x1024px. Non-square = poor motion artifacts. Strength 1-3 for subtle movement, 4-5 for dramatic. Each video = 25 tokens. Generation takes 2-5 minutes.

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API 401 / unauthorized

Generate API key at app.leonardo.ai/settings → API Key. Header: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. Base URL: https://cloud.leonardo.ai/api/rest/v1. Error 402 = insufficient tokens. Error 429 = rate limit.

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Elements (LoRA) not applying

Elements have model compatibility requirements. Check the Element detail page for compatible models. Element Weight too low (under 0.3) may have no visible effect. Max 4 Elements per generation. Elements affect style, not subject — use Prompt Magic for subject specificity.

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Image quality / artifacts

Steps: 30-40 for quality (20 is fast but noisy). Guidance Scale: 7 is balanced (higher = follows prompt, lower = creative). Use "Prompt Magic" toggle for better prompt adherence. Negative prompt: "blurry, bad hands, deformed, low quality, watermark".

Leonardo AI API quick reference

Generate image

# Step 1: Start generation
curl -X POST "https://cloud.leonardo.ai/api/rest/v1/generations" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "a futuristic city at night, concept art",
    "modelId": "aa77f04e-3eec-4034-9c07-d0f619684628",
    "width": 1024,
    "height": 768,
    "num_images": 4
  }'
# Returns: { "sdGenerationJob": { "generationId": "abc123" } }

# Step 2: Poll for results
curl "https://cloud.leonardo.ai/api/rest/v1/generations/abc123" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
# Wait for status: "COMPLETE"

List available models

curl "https://cloud.leonardo.ai/api/rest/v1/platformModels" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Generation is async — always poll

The generate endpoint returns a generationId immediately. Poll GET /generations/{id} every 3-5 seconds until status: "COMPLETE". Never wait more than 2 minutes — if still PENDING, the generation likely failed silently.

Leonardo AI plans — token overview

Plan	Price	Daily tokens	Plan tokens
Free	$0	150/day	—
Apprentice	$12/mo	8,500/day	3,500/mo
Artisan	$30/mo	25,000/day	8,500/mo
Maestro	$60/mo	Unlimited	25,000/mo

Daily tokens reset at 00:00 UTC. Plan tokens are non-expiring. Motion video = 25 tokens. Standard 1024px image = 5-8 tokens.

Step-by-step fix

1

Check live Leonardo AI status

Visit status.leonardo.ai. Also check status.leonardo.ai for official incident detail. If operational, the issue is local.
2

Fix generation failures

Test with a simple, clear prompt (no people, no explicit content). If the simple prompt works, remove words from your original one at a time to find the trigger. Remove real person names. If using Elements (LoRA): verify the Element supports your chosen model by checking the Element detail page. Not all Elements are cross-model compatible.
3

Fix tokens / credits running out

Check balance at app.leonardo.ai/profile. Free tier: 150 tokens/day, resets 00:00 UTC (not your local midnight). If a generation failed and used tokens, click "Report Issue" on that generation for a refund. To buy more tokens: leonardo.ai/pricing. Plan tokens are non-expiring and accumulate.
4

Fix Motion video generation

Motion requires square input images: 512×512, 768×768, or 1024×1024. Upload a square image first, then apply Motion. Set strength 1-3 for subtle movement. Each video costs 25 tokens. Motion takes 2-5 minutes. If the Motion tab is missing, check that your plan includes it (Artisan and above).
5

Fix API errors

Generate your API key at app.leonardo.ai/settings → API Key. Header: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. Error 402: insufficient tokens — buy more or wait for daily refresh. Error 429: rate limited — free tier: 150 generations/day. For list of model IDs: GET /v1/platformModels.

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