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    Getting started with VanillaSky

    Describe the video you want. VanillaSky turns it into an editable first cut with scenes, motion, media, and music; you finish it in Studio. No animation code, cloud renderer, credits, or account required.

    Make a video

    1. Describe — tell your agent what happened, who it is for, and what should appear. Add a product URL, screenshots, clips, brand assets, or exact proof when you have them.
    2. Review — your agent creates and visually checks the first cut, then opens it in Studio. Play it and adjust the copy, scenes, timing, music, media, or brand.
    3. Export — export the MP4 from Studio when it feels ready.

    What happens automatically

    Behind those three steps, the agent chooses a brief-specific art direction and editable scene templates, resolves relevant stock footage when it strengthens the story, catches invalid or ungrounded content, and inspects a contact sheet for composition and repetition. It can make one focused visual repair before review when the first cut still looks generic.

    The working video stays in one local video.json file. The agent and Studio can edit that same file; Studio follows external changes live and warns before either side overwrites unsaved work. A full MP4 is deliberately deferred until you export from Studio, so quality checks improve the editable cut instead of blocking on a disposable render.

    Install the skill

    With the skills CLI, which supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and 75+ other agents:

    bash
    npx skills add VanillaSkyAi/skills --skill vanillasky

    That installs the agent instructions. On first use, the skill runs its bundled scripts/install-cli.mjs bootstrapper to clone the official public release and put its local CLI on PATH. The official CLI is not published as an npm package: never install a package merely named vanillasky from npm.

    Or clone the public repository and copy the skill manually:

    bash
    git clone https://github.com/VanillaSkyAi/skills vanillasky-skills
cp -R vanillasky-skills/vanillasky ~/.claude/skills/vanillasky

    The repository includes the skill, CLI, scene registry, music, examples, and these same documentation files. The local Studio and renderer live in its cli/ directory.

    Requirements

    • Node 18 or newer.
    • A Chromium-based browser. Chrome, Edge, or Chromium is detected automatically. Otherwise run npx playwright install chromium.
    • ffmpeg. npm install provides it through ffmpeg-static; a system ffmpeg also works.

    The CLI never downloads a browser itself. Set PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH when you want it to use an existing Playwright browser directory.

    Your first video

    From a checkout of VanillaSkyAi/skills:

    bash
    git clone https://github.com/VanillaSkyAi/skills vanillasky-skills
cd vanillasky-skills
npm install --prefix cli
npm install -g ./cli

vanillasky validate examples/launch-demo.json
vanillasky render examples/launch-demo.json --sheet --out ./sheet
vanillasky studio examples/launch-demo.json

    Inspect sheet/sheet.png, then review and edit the video in Studio. The user exports the MP4 from Studio when satisfied.

    For a video your agent created in another project, run the same handoff against that file:

    bash
    vanillasky resolve video.json # only when the config uses mediaKeyword
vanillasky validate video.json --preflight
vanillasky render video.json --sheet --out ./sheet
vanillasky studio video.json

    The config's format selects the correct validation contract. Do not hardcode --format launch for reviews, milestones, or product updates.

    Do not render a full MP4 by default. The full CLI render is for CI, headless environments, or when someone explicitly asks for the file:

    bash
    vanillasky render video.json --open

    Start each agent session

    The skill runs two read-only checks before composing:

    bash
    vanillasky update --check
vanillasky setup --check
vanillasky templates

    update --check reports whether a newer public release exists. setup --check reports the configured browser, default orientation, Pexels key, music preference, and DESIGN.md status.

    templates lists the exact IDs, jobs, use-when guidance, durations, and variable names bundled with that CLI release. After shortlisting a scene, inspect its complete schema without a web request:

    bash
    vanillasky templates bigNumber --json

    A Pexels key is optional. When a config uses mediaKeyword, run vanillasky resolve video.json before validation to persist the selected URLs. Without a key, use supplied media, direct URLs, or templates that do not depend on stock search. A DESIGN.md is optional too; it only provides automatic brand tokens.

    Local media paths can point to screenshots and clips by absolute path or relative to video.json; Studio and render serve them automatically. To turn a product page or local HTML prototype into an editable scene asset, run:

    bash
    vanillasky capture prototype.html --out assets/product.png

    What is included

    • Curated scene templates for hooks, proof, product surfaces, social moments, and closers.
    • Four story formats: launch, review, milestone, and update.
    • A bundled music library with mood, energy, and duration metadata.
    • A local Studio with live preview and MP4 export.
    • A public registry with every template's schema and source.
    • Portrait and landscape output: 1080×1920 or 1920×1080.

    Where to go next