Getting Started

From raw recording to social-ready content in under 2 minutes.

---

1. Install

npm install -g vidpipe

2. Set Up

vidpipe init

The setup wizard walks you through everything — API keys, FFmpeg verification, social accounts. Just follow the prompts.

3. Process Your First Video

vidpipe /path/to/video.mp4

That's it. Go grab a coffee — your AI editor will cut the dead air, generate highlight clips, burn captions, write social posts, and draft a blog while you wait.

---

What Happens Next

After your AI editor finishes (~5–15 minutes for a 10–30 min video), you'll find:

Output	Files
📝 Transcripts	transcript.json — word-level timestamps
✂️ Edited Video	*-edited.mp4 — silence removed, *-captioned.mp4 — with burned captions
🎬 Shorts	15–60s highlight clips in landscape, portrait (9:16), square, and feed (4:5)
🎞️ Medium Clips	1–3 min standalone segments with crossfade transitions
📑 Chapters	YouTube timestamps, Markdown, JSON, and FFmpeg metadata
📱 Social Posts	Drafts for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X
📰 Blog Post	Dev.to-style article with web-sourced links
📄 Summary	README.md with key-frame screenshots

Want to see the full output tree?

recordings/my-video/
├── my-video.mp4
├── my-video-edited.mp4
├── my-video-captioned.mp4
├── README.md
├── transcript.json
├── blog-post.md
├── shorts/
│   ├── highlight-clip.mp4
│   ├── highlight-clip-portrait.mp4
│   └── highlight-clip/posts/
├── medium-clips/
│   └── topic-deep-dive.mp4
├── chapters/
│   ├── chapters.json
│   └── chapters-youtube.txt
└── social-posts/
    ├── tiktok.md
    ├── youtube.md
    ├── instagram.md
    ├── linkedin.md
    └── x.md

---

Watch Mode

Want continuous processing? Point vidpipe at a folder:

vidpipe --watch-dir ~/Videos/Recordings

Every new .mp4 dropped in that folder is automatically processed.

---

Verify Your Setup

Something not working? Run the doctor:

vidpipe --doctor

This checks Node.js, FFmpeg, API keys, and folder permissions in one shot.

---

Prerequisites

What do I need installed?

Requirement	Version	How to Get It
Node.js	20+	nodejs.org
FFmpeg	6.0+	Auto-bundled on Windows x64, macOS, Linux x64. Others: see FFmpeg Setup
OpenAI API key	—	platform.openai.com/api-keys — needed for transcription
GitHub Copilot	Active subscription	Default AI provider. Alternatives: OpenAI or Claude

Optional:

Tool	Purpose
Git	Auto-commit output (on by default, skip with --no-git)
Exa AI key	Web-search links in social posts and blog

---

Common First-Run Issues

Symptom	Fix
Missing required: OPENAI_API_KEY	Run vidpipe init or set OPENAI_API_KEY in .env
FFmpeg errors	Run vidpipe --doctor — usually a missing or outdated install
No videos detected	Check your --watch-dir path exists and contains .mp4 files
Slow first run	Normal — Whisper API dominates. Cached transcripts speed up re-runs

---

Skip What You Don't Need

# Transcription only (fastest)
vidpipe --no-silence-removal --no-shorts --no-social --no-captions --no-git /path/to/video.mp4

# Everything except social media
vidpipe --no-social /path/to/video.mp4

# No git commits (useful during testing)
vidpipe --no-git /path/to/video.mp4

---

Next Steps

• Brand Customization — tailor AI output to your voice
• Social Publishing — review, schedule, and publish posts
• Configuration — all CLI flags, env vars, and advanced options
• FFmpeg Setup — platform-specific installation instructions