Code Video

<skill> is the folder that contains this SKILL.md. The engine lives in <skill>/template/:

• kit.js: hand-drawn lines, text and kinetic type, camera, transitions, pixel sprites, minis, image pixelation, video clips, phone and cursor props, motion blur, useFonts
• style modules for the credited looks and formats: handdrawn.js, motion.js, sand.js, lyric.js, beat.js (each draws that original's signature pieces)
• look modules arcade.js, terminal.js, thermal.js, transit.js, blueprint.js: one shared scene API plus each look's signature format scene (references/looks.md)
• minis-ai.js: ready-made minis for AI-related topics (Claude, Codex, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Qwen)
• render.mjs: parallel render with headless Chrome; muxes audio.wav when present
• main.js: scene skeleton

<skill>/scripts/audio.py synthesizes music and sound effects, <skill>/scripts/beats.py finds a song's beat grid, and <skill>/scripts/reference_sheet.py puts a credited original's frames above yours.

Required tools: node/npm, ffmpeg built with libx264, Google Chrome, and uv. If any is missing, stop and say which one.

for c in node npm ffmpeg uv; do command -v $c >/dev/null || echo "missing: $c"; done; ffmpeg -hide_banner -encoders | grep -q libx264 || echo "missing: libx264"

0. Ask for the look and the format, then the settings

The look is only the drawing style; the format is the story's structure. Any look works with any format, except that the lyric and beat formats bring their own look unless the user asks for another. First ask for both in one short message with two numbered lists (more options than one question can hold). Skip what the user already named, and suggest a format from the topic (a comparison suggests versus, a lineup suggests route map, and so on).

Looks:

Formats (details in references/formats.md):

When you list looks and formats, name each credited one's original source with its link.

Then ask the settings in one AskUserQuestion call. Skip anything the user already said, and put the recommended option first.

• Length: 30 s / 15 s / 45 s / 60 s
• Frame: 16:9 1920×1080 / 9:16 1080×1920 / 1:1 1080×1080 / 16:9 2560×1440
• Characters: logo mascot + topic minis / user-specified minis / logo mascot only / none
• On-screen language: the language of this conversation / English / both

Characters take the look's form: 8-bit sprites, sand silhouettes, pixel heroes, or flat icons. Minis are a supporting cast that fits the topic. Use the user's cast if they name one. Otherwise pick a cast from the research and propose it in the plan (see "Minis" in references/storyboard.md).

Use these defaults for anything you did not ask, and state them in the plan:

• 30 fps (60 fps with motion blur for the beat format), H.264 MP4, at most 10 MB per 30 s (a little more when there is sound)
• Sound as listed for the look; the lyric and beat formats always have music. There are no sung vocals.

Rules for every look and format

• Credited looks reproduce the original. Before planning, open the guide and look at its reference frames <skill>/docs/styles/<key>.jpg with the Read tool. Every item in the guide's Signature table must appear on screen; the table is a requirement, not a menu. Extras come after the signature, never instead of it.
• Language: every piece of on-screen text follows the on-screen language setting, including labels, HUD, lyrics, receipts, terminal output, and the end card.
• Theme from research: the palette comes from the brand's real colours (CI page, site CSS, or logo pixels) and the fonts from the brand where possible. Show the palette as hex values with their source in the plan. Looks with a fixed material or field (sand, dark motion field, terminal green, thermal paper, blueprint blue) keep it and carry the brand in the logo, one accent, and the end card.
• Numbers: every number has a source. Compute ages and "N years" from the founding date instead of copying an old "N years" line from the site. Do not invent UI readouts or example stats; use real values or leave them out.
• Credit: credited looks and formats name the creator whose idea they adapt. Keep those credits when you change a guide.
• Wait for your own work. Run renders in the foreground with a long Bash timeout (up to 600000 ms). When you start agents or commands in the background, wait for their results before you end your turn: in a non-interactive run nothing wakes you up again.

1. Research

Follow references/research.md.

• Keep it proportional: for a video under a minute, about 10 sourced facts and the brand assets are enough. Give a read-only agent one narrow brief (the questions, the sites, a cap of about 15 fetches) and run independent searches in parallel.
• Check the headline numbers against the original sentence yourself.
• If sources disagree on a number, ask the user which one to use.

2. Plan approval

Show the following and get approval before you create the work folder:

• research summary with source links
• look and format, and the scene timeline using the patterns and timing in their guides
• for a credited look or format: its signature table with the scene that shows each item
• palette (hex values and where each came from) and fonts
• sound plan when the look or format has sound: tempo, sections, and cues
• numbers used and numbers dropped, asset list (logo URL, fonts, characters, clips, song licence), work folder location

If the user changes scenes or emphasis, restate the revised flow once, then proceed.

3. Build

cp -R <skill>/template <work-folder>/<name>-video && cd <work-folder>/<name>-video
chmod -R u+w .   # the installed skill may be read-only, and cp keeps its modes
npm i
bash <skill>/scripts/fetch_fonts.sh assets/fonts
curl -fsSL -o assets/logo_src.png '<official logo URL>'
uv run --with pillow python <skill>/scripts/clean_logo.py assets/logo_src.png assets/logo.png

• index.html: set size, fps, and length in window.VIDEO; declare the fonts the guide names with @font-face (and only those); load the style module for a credited look or format (handdrawn.js, motion.js, sand.js, lyric.js, beat.js) or one look module for looks 4–8 (its fonts load through useFonts(LOOK.fonts)).
• With a look module, build scenes from the scene API and the format's signature scene (references/looks.md); set brand colours on LOOK.colors.
• main.js: THEME, scene functions, and boot(). The API is in references/kit-api.md.
• Use the real logo and wordmark files.
• Draw the logo mascot as a drawPixels sprite (or as a silhouette in the sand look).
• Register minis in MINIS and draw them with drawMini. For AI-related topics, load minis-ai.js and draw only the missing characters.
• Show the user one still of the character lineup early and get it confirmed.
• Keep copy and numbers as constants at the top of main.js. For two versions (a pending number, two languages), branch on one URL parameter and render each with QUERY=lang=ko node render.mjs video ….
• Sound: write audio.json with the same scene times as main.js, then uv run --with numpy --with scipy python <skill>/scripts/audio.py audio.json audio.wav. For the beat format, run beats.py on the song first and cut on its grid.

4. QA

Follow references/qa-checklist.md.

1. Render stills with node render.mjs stills <mid-scene times and times just before and after each transition>.
2. Build review sheets with uv run --with pillow python <skill>/scripts/contact_sheet.py stills <temp-folder> and look at them.
3. Fix what you find.
4. Render the video once with CRF=25 node render.mjs video <Name>.mp4, extract the transition frames and one frame every 2 s, and check the file size. With sound, check the audio stream, loudness, and cue timing.
5. For a credited look or format, build uv run --with pillow python <skill>/scripts/reference_sheet.py <key> <Name>.mp4 <temp-folder>/ref.jpg, look at it, and tick every signature item. Fix any miss and render again.

5. Delivery

• The QA render is the delivery file. Render again only after a fix; if it exceeds the size target, raise CRF to 27 or lower boot({ noise }).
• Delete intermediate files such as stills/ and logs.
• Send the MP4 with SendUserFile (display render) and report:
  • spec: look, format, length, resolution, fps, file size, sound
  • the original source of a credited look or format, with its link, and the signature checklist result
  • scene list
  • facts used, with source links
  • numbers dropped and why, and items that need confirmation
  • the re-render command, noting that it must run inside the work folder