# moviepy

A skill for building video in Python: overlays readable text on LTX-2 and SadTalker footage and composites clips inside one build.py.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1000 installs · ★ 2344
- Author: digitalsamba
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-21
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/moviepy

## What it does

The skill covers moviepy 2.x for projects where a generative model makes the visuals and code puts text on top. LTX-2 garbles letterforms in frame, SadTalker returns a talking head with no captions, so names, prices and source credits get drawn separately and composited over the finished clip. The pattern is `VideoFileClip` for the background, a text layer as `ImageClip`, then `CompositeVideoClip` and `write_videofile`.

Two runnable references ship in `examples/`: a 15-second ad-style spot anchored to its audio track, and an animated chart with a deterministic source line. Both run with `uv run build.py` and produce an `out.mp4` right away. Dependencies are `moviepy`, `Pillow` and `matplotlib`, declared in the root `pyproject.toml` and installed with `uv sync` from the repo root.

The catch: `TextClip(method='label')` in moviepy 2.x clips letter ascenders and descenders, and on Apple Silicon you may not notice the sliced edges for a while. The author's fix is to render text into a transparent PNG with PIL and cache it by content hash. For long time-coded subtitles the skill points elsewhere — `ffmpeg` with the `subtitles` filter or a dedicated subtitle tool.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --skill moviepy -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/moviepy/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --skill moviepy -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --skill moviepy -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit moviepy
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --skill moviepy -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --path .claude/skills/moviepy
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit --skill moviepy -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/digitalsamba/claude-code-video-toolkit/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/moviepy/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- put a readable title card over an LTX-2 clip
- add a name plate under a SadTalker talking head
- build a 15-second ad spot in a single Python file
- credit the data source under an animated chart
- caption a video meant to be watched muted

## Example prompts
- overlay the title "INTRODUCING LONGARM" on `lugh_ltx.mp4` and render `out.mp4`
- add a lower third with the speaker name to the SadTalker output
- build a short ad spot in `build.py` with a title card and source attribution

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c743438017d0e481.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c743438017d0e481
```text
---
name: moviepy
description: Python video composition with moviepy 2.x — overlaying deterministic text on AI-generated video (LTX-2, SadTalker), compositing clips, single-file build.py video projects. Use when adding labels/captions/lower-thirds to LTX-2 or SadTalker outputs, building short ad-style spots in pure Python without Remotion, or doing programmatic video composition. Triggers include text overlay on video, label LTX-2 clip, caption SadTalker output, lower third, build.py video, moviepy, Python video composition, sub-30s ad spot.
---

# moviepy for Video Production

moviepy is the toolkit's go-to library for **putting deterministic text on top of AI-generated video** and for building short, single-file Python video projects without a Remotion toolchain.

The deeper principle is **trustworthy text**: any genre where text *has to* be readable, accurate, and consistent (legally, editorially, or commercially) is a genre where AI-rendered in-frame text is unacceptable and a moviepy overlay step is the natural fix. Names must be spelled right. Prices must be exact. Source attributions must be pixel-perfect. AI generation models cannot guarantee any of that.

## When to use moviepy vs. Remotion

| Use moviepy when… | Use Remotion when… |
|-------------------|---------------------|
| Overlaying text/labels on an LTX-2 or SadTalker output | Building long-form sprint reviews or product demos |
| Building sub-30s ad-style spots in a single `build.py` | Multi-template, multi-brand, design-heavy work |
| Compositing data-driven visuals (matplotlib `FuncAnimation` → mp4) | Anything needing React components or design system reuse |
| One-off transformations on existing video files | Anything where the project lifecycle (planning → render) matters |
| You want zero Node.js / no React mental overhead | You want hot-reload preview in Remotion Studio |

Two runnable references for everything in this skill live in `examples/`:

- **`examples/quick-spot/build.py`** — 15-second ad-style spot. Audio-anchored timeline, text overlay, optional VO + ducked music. Renders silent out of the box with zero external assets.
- **`examples/data-viz-chart/build.py`** — animated time-series chart with deterministic title and source attribution. Demonstrates the matplotlib (data) + moviepy (trustworthy text) split.

Both run with `uv run build.py` and produce a real `out.mp4` immediately. Read them alongside this skill — every pattern below is shown working there.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE c743438017d0e481

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