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You don't need editing skills or a timeline. Claude Code does the cutting, captions and graphics with free open-source tools running on your own computer. You just tell it what you want, approve its plan, and give notes.
what you'll set upWhat you'll set up 🧰
- Claude Code — the brain. It reads your transcript, plans the edit and runs the tools.
- video-use — the editor. Removes filler words and dead air, colour grades, adds captions and checks its own render.
- HyperFrames — motion graphics (pop-up text, titles, animated callouts) built from code.
- ElevenLabs Speech to Text — gives Claude a word-by-word transcript so it knows exactly where to cut.
- FFmpeg — does the actual cutting and rendering.
- yt-dlp — downloads reference videos so Claude can learn an editing style.
Before you start ✅
| You need | Why |
|---|---|
| Claude desktop app, paid plan | Claude Code lives in the Code tab. Set the environment to Local so it can see your files. |
| Python + Node.js | The editing tools run on them. Claude can install them for you. |
| FFmpeg | Cutting and rendering. |
| An ElevenLabs API key | Transcription. It uses ElevenLabs credits. |
| Git for Windows | Windows only. |
Use the desktop app, not the browser. A cloud session can't see the footage on your computer.
Step 1 · Open Claude Code 💻
Download the desktop app from claude.com/download, sign in, open the Code tab and set the environment to Local.
step 2Step 2 · Make your project folder 📁
Create a folder called AI Video Editor with three folders inside:
AI Video Editor/ ├── raw/ ← your footage goes here ├── references/ ← videos whose editing style you like └── exports/ ← finished edits land here
Open that folder in Claude Code.
step 3Step 3 · Get your ElevenLabs key 🔑
- Go to elevenlabs.io/app/settings/api-keys and create a new key.
- Leave Restrict Key on and give it access to Speech to Text only.
- Copy it straight away. It's only shown once.
Don't paste the key into the chat. In the next step Claude will create a file called .env. You open that file yourself and paste the key after ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=.
Step 4 · Let Claude install everything 🧑🔧
Paste this into Claude Code:
Set up this folder as my video editing workspace. Install and configure: 1. FFmpeg and yt-dlp 2. The video-use skill from https://github.com/browser-use/video-use (clone it, install its dependencies, and link it into my Claude skills folder) 3. The HyperFrames plugin from https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes Create a .env file for my ElevenLabs key but leave the value empty, then tell me exactly which file to open so I can paste the key in myself. Explain each command before you run it.
Claude asks permission before running each command. Read them and approve.
When you've pasted your key into .env, run a health check:
Check the setup is working: confirm FFmpeg, yt-dlp, video-use and HyperFrames are installed, and that the ElevenLabs key loads (don't print the key). List anything that's missing and fix it.
If HyperFrames doesn't show up, run these two commands in Claude Code yourself, then restart the app:
claude plugin marketplace add heygen-com/hyperframes claude plugin install hyperframes@hyperframes
Step 5 · Teach it your editing style 🎓
This is the step that makes your edits look good. Claude studies a video, works out exactly how it's edited, and saves that as a skill — a set of instructions it follows every time it edits for you.
So how does Claude "watch" a video? It downloads it, pulls out frames, transcribes the audio and measures the cuts. It's reading the video rather than watching it the way you would — so the more detail you ask for, the better the result.
Option A — Copy another creator’s style
Find 3 TikToks or Reels with an edit you love, ideally from the same creator. Copy each link.
Prompt 3 — learn a style from reference videos. Swap each bracketed link for one of the links you copied.
I want you to learn the editing style from these videos:
[PASTE TIKTOK OR INSTAGRAM LINK 1]
[PASTE TIKTOK OR INSTAGRAM LINK 2]
[PASTE TIKTOK OR INSTAGRAM LINK 3]
1. Download each one into the references/ folder using
yt-dlp.
2. Break down the editing style they share, in detail:
- Pacing: average shot length and how often it cuts
- Jump cuts: how tight they are and whether pauses are
removed
- Zooms and punch-ins: when they happen and how far
- Captions: font style, size, colour, position, words
per line, animation, and which words get highlighted
- Motion graphics, emojis, pop-ups or B-roll and when
they appear
- Colour grade and overall look
- Sound effects, music and audio levels
- Hook: what happens in the first 3 seconds
3. Show me your breakdown and ask me anything you're
unsure about.
Once I approve it, turn it into a reusable skill saved at
.claude/skills/my-editing-style/SKILL.md so you follow this
style every time you edit for me.Option B — Copy your own style
Already have videos you like? Use those instead. Give it 3 to 5 links if you can — one video is a guess, five is a pattern.
Prompt 4 — learn my style. Swap each bracketed link for a link to one of your videos. Got more than 3? Add a new line for each one.
These are my own videos. Learn my editing style from them: [PASTE LINK TO VIDEO 1] [PASTE LINK TO VIDEO 2] [PASTE LINK TO VIDEO 3] Download each one into references/ with yt-dlp. Then find what's consistent across all of them: pacing, jump cuts, zooms, caption style, graphics, colour, sound effects and how I hook in the first 3 seconds. Ignore anything that only happens once. Show me your breakdown first. Once I approve it, save it as a skill at .claude/skills/my-editing-style/SKILL.md with the name "my-editing-style".
Step 6 · Film and drop in your footage 🎥
Shoot vertically (9:16). Put the raw clips in raw/. Talk naturally: false starts, ums and retakes are fine, Claude will cut them.
step 7Step 7 · Edit ✂️
Switch to the strongest model first: type /model and pick Opus 5.5. Then:
Edit the footage in raw/ into a 9:16, 1080x1920 vertical video using my-editing-style. - Cut filler words, false starts, repeated takes and dead pauses - Make the first 3 seconds a strong hook - Add captions, punch-in zooms, motion graphics and sound effects the way my style skill describes - Target length: [30–60] seconds Before you cut anything, show me your edit plan (what you'll keep, cut and add, with timestamps) and wait for my OK. After rendering, watch your own export at every cut and check for jump cuts, audio pops, and captions covering my face. Fix anything you find, then save the final file to exports/.
Step 8 · Give notes like you would to an editor 💬
Just talk to it. Some notes I use:
Tighten the first 5 seconds, it's too slow.
Make the captions smaller and move them up so they don't cover my chin.
Add a punch-in zoom every time I say a number.
At 0:12 add pop-up text that says "3 steps".
Warm up the colour slightly.
Export a second version with no captions.
Batch your notes into one message. It saves usage and ElevenLabs credits.
When you're happy, lock the lessons in so the next edit needs fewer notes:
Update my-editing-style with everything I corrected in this session, so you get it right first time next edit.
If something breaks 🛠️
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| "I can't see your files." | You're in a cloud session. Switch the environment to Local. |
| ElevenLabs permission error. | Your key needs Speech to Text access. Edit the key's permissions on ElevenLabs. |
| "FFmpeg not found" or the skill isn't showing. | Restart Claude Code after installing. |
| Edit doesn't match the reference style. | Add more reference videos and re-run Step 5. |
| Burning through usage. | Plan before cutting, batch notes, and don't re-render after every tiny change. |
Still stuck? Paste this:
Something's not working. Check my setup step by step (FFmpeg, yt-dlp, video-use, HyperFrames, the .env key without printing it, and the folder structure), tell me what's wrong in plain English, and fix it.
Quick recap 🗺️
- Open Claude Code (desktop, Local).
- Make raw/, references/, exports/.
- Get a Speech-to-Text-only ElevenLabs key.
- Let Claude install everything, paste the key into .env yourself.
- Teach it your style once.
- Drop footage in raw/.
- Edit on Opus 5.5, approve the plan first.
- Give notes, then save them into your style.
Rules I'd follow 🔑
- Keep your API key out of the chat. It goes in
.env, nowhere else. - Always approve the plan before it cuts. Fixing a plan is free, re-rendering isn't.
- Train on your own videos if you have them. Your style, your brand.
- Review the commands Claude wants to run. It asks for a reason.
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