One-prompt Claude Code short-form edit
No stills could be taken from the video, so only the cover image was seen.
A workflow where you install Claude Code, open a local folder workspace, supply named open-source video tools, brief Claude as your short-form editor with those links, feed a reel style you like plus your own footage path, then review by voice and optionally save the process as a skill so Claude can repeat list-style edits without a timeline.
- Install Claude Code (Codex works too) and download the desktop app.
- Open Claude Code; it starts in Chat, so switch it over to Code.
- Make a folder on your computer for the workspace (example name used: My Boss Editor).
- Select the folder via Local, then Open folder, so that folder is the workspace.
- Copy these GitHub repositories into the setup: FFmpeg for cut, crop, mix, mute and render; faster-whisper for word-level transcription cuts are placed against; Whisper as the speech model faster-whisper runs; yt-dlp to download source video; OpenCV plus contrib to follow whoever is talking in the v…
- Prompt Claude with the links using: You are my short form editor. Here are all the GitHub links to help you do your job.
- Find an edit you like and send it with: I like the style of this reel. Can we duplicate this style and use it for a video of mine?
- Shoot your video.
- Send it to Claude by copying the file path and pasting it in.
- Review the result and use your voice to edit.
- Bonus: prompt turn this into a skill so next time it knows the process.
Install or open Claude Code on desktop, switch from Chat to Code, and open one empty local folder as the workspace.
Only the cover image was available, not mid-video stills; the post does not show full install outputs, exact repo setup commands, or the finished skill file. Repo links appear in the caption but must be opened by the reader from the post itself. No cost or plan details are stated.
A prompt for your AI
You are my short form editor for vertical video. Use open-source tooling in the same roles this method uses: FFmpeg for cut, crop, mix, mute and render; faster-whisper for word-level transcription that cuts sit against; Whisper as the speech model behind that; yt-dlp when a source must be pulled; OpenCV with contrib to follow whoever is talking in a vertical crop; Puppeteer to render captions and titles; HyperFrames for simple HTML motion graphics. Treat the workspace folder and any footage path I already have open as the project. Match the simple list-style short-form edit I reference. Propose the edit plan, apply the same style of cuts and on-screen list treatment, then wait for spoken or typed review notes and revise. When the pass looks right, turn this whole process into a reusable skill so the next clip can run the same short-form editor flow without re-explaining the stack.
Skill from @paytonkaleiwahea on TikTok.
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