# reel-editor

Turns a raw talking-head clip from a phone or webcam into a finished vertical reel: voice cleanup, cuts, captions and graphics in your brand style.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 554 installs · ★ 34
- Author: nicolapocock
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor/tree/HEAD/skills/reel-editor/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-12
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/reel-editor

## What it does

The skill walks a clip through transcription, audio cleanup, cutting, graphics with captions, QA and delivery of a finished MP4. Every look decision — colours, fonts, caption style, sounds, CTA — comes from your brand file, not from defaults baked into the skill. The workspace is `~/reels/` unless `REELS_HOME` is set.

Before editing, it checks the tools with `bash scripts/doctor.sh`: ffmpeg, Node, the HyperFrames skills and the CapCut connector if the brand file enables it. Transcription runs through ElevenLabs Scribe when `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` is in `~/.config/reels/.env`, otherwise local Whisper — timing can drift around 0.3 s. Audio is targeted at -14 LUFS, the level Instagram and TikTok expect.

With no `~/reels/brand.md`, the skill runs the setup interview first and will not edit a clip even if you say to just use whatever. It proposes cuts and the graphics plan for your approval, but removes fillers and shortens pauses inside kept lines on its own, as hard as the brand's `"pacing"` says. Final render is `bash scripts/render.sh <folder> --final`, with resolution from the brand file.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --skill reel-editor -a claude-code
```

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

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --skill reel-editor -a codex
```

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

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --skill reel-editor -a cursor
```

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

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor reel-editor
```

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

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --skill reel-editor -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --path skills/reel-editor
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

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

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor --skill reel-editor -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/nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor/tree/HEAD/skills/reel-editor/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- cut a vertical reel from a phone clip
- drop fillers and dead pauses without hand-editing
- get captions timed to the exact word
- build graphics and cards in your brand style
- export an upload-ready MP4

## Example prompts
- edit this into a reel
- make this a YouTube Short with captions and graphics
- set up my brand

## 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: 5e615bb6779a0870.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 5e615bb6779a0870
```text
---
name: reel-editor
description: Use when someone drops a raw talking-head video (phone clip, selfie video, webcam recording) and wants it edited into a short-form reel, TikTok or YouTube Short in their own brand style - "edit this", "make this a reel", "cut this down", "add captions and graphics", "send it to CapCut". Also use the first time someone installs this skill or says "set up my brand".
---

# Reel editor

Turns a raw talking-head clip into a finished, on-brand vertical reel. Every brand choice (colours, fonts, caption style, sounds, CTA) comes from the person's **brand file**, never from defaults baked into this skill. You do the editing; they only make the calls that are theirs.

## Before anything else: is there a brand file?

The workspace is `~/reels/` unless `REELS_HOME` is set.

- **No `~/reels/brand.md`** → run the setup interview in `references/setup-interview.md` first. Do not edit a clip without a brand file, even if they say "just use whatever". The interview takes 5 minutes and it is the whole point of this skill.
- **Brand file exists** → read `brand.md` and `brand.json` in full, then continue.

## Check the tools (once per machine)

`bash scripts/doctor.sh` - checks ffmpeg, Node, the HyperFrames skills and (if the brand file says CapCut) the CapCut connector. Fix anything it flags before editing. Install steps are in the repo README.

## The edit, in order

Each reel gets its own folder: `~/reels/<yyyy-mm-dd>-<short-name>/`. Copy the raw clip in (never edit the original).

1. **Transcribe** - `python3 scripts/transcribe.py <clip> transcript.json`. Uses ElevenLabs Scribe when `ELEVENLABS_API_KEY` is in `~/.config/reels/.env` (tight word timing; captions land on the word), else local Whisper (free, timing can drift ~0.3 s).
2. **Clean the voice** - `bash scripts/clean_audio.sh <clip> voice.wav` (add `--denoise` if there is background noise). Targets -14 LUFS, the level Instagram and TikTok expect.
3. **Review (their call)** - propose: lines to cut (repeats, false starts, rambles), fillers to drop, CTA moved to the end, target under 60 s, and the graphics plan. **Wait for their yes before cutting.** This is the step people care most about.
   **Look at the start and end before proposing cuts:** grab a frame every 0.5 s for the first and last 4 s. Cut any camera setup (pointing at the floor/garden, flipping the camera, reaching for the phone) even if words are spoken over it. Start on the first frame where they're settled in shot, and on a word that works as an opener.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 5e615bb6779a0870

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 5e615bb6779a0870 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2540 of 7474 bytes. © nicolapocock · MIT · https://github.com/nicolapocock/claude-reel-editor/tree/HEAD/skills/reel-editor/SKILL.md

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