Step 1
Set it up with one prompt
Open Claude Code (or the Code tab in the Claude desktop app) on your Mac, in the folder where you keep projects. Paste this. Claude downloads the editor, installs everything it needs, fixes anything that breaks, and tells you when it is ready.
Takes about 10 minutes, most of it downloading. You do not need to know what any of it means.
Copy-paste prompt
Set up the free Claude Shortform Video Editor on my Mac. Repo: https://github.com/TakeOff-Team/claude-shortform-video-editor (built by Zach Geleott, MIT licensed) 1) Clone the repo into the folder I'm in right now, then run its setup.sh. It installs ffmpeg, Node, Python, Whisper (speech to text that runs on my Mac), yt-dlp and Remotion. 2) If anything fails, read the error, fix it, and run setup.sh again until it says "All set." Explain each fix to me in plain English, because I'm not technical. 3) If it needs Homebrew and I don't have it, stop and give me the exact command to paste into Terminal (it needs my Mac password, so you can't run it for me). Wait for me to say done, then keep going. 4) When setup finishes, run ./edit doctor and show me the result. 5) Then tell me: - That I need to open Claude Code inside the claude-shortform-video-editor folder for the commands to work, and the exact command to get there. - What each command does, in one line each: /build-style, /inspiration, /clip, /captions, /storyboard, /edit-video - That my first step is /build-style with 3 to 5 videos I'd love mine to look like. Don't tell me something worked unless you actually checked.
The code is public: github.com/TakeOff-Team/claude-shortform-video-editor
Step 2
Teach it your style
Open Claude Code inside the claude-shortform-video-editor folder and type /build-style.
It asks what your content is about, who it is for and how you want it to feel. Then it asks for 3 to 5 videos you would love yours to look like. Yours or another creator's, links or files.
It watches each one frame by frame and writes your style guide into my-style/. Every edit after that uses it.
The one rule it never breaks, whatever your style: every visual shows what is being said, the moment it is said. Say "your inbox" and an inbox shows up. Say "3 tools" and three logos pop in. That is what keeps people watching.
Step 3
The 6 codes
Type any of these in Claude Code inside the editor folder. Use one piece at a time, or /edit-video for the whole thing.
/clip Removes all the dead space
Give it your raw footage. It keeps your last good take of every line and cuts the restarts, stutters, "ummm"s and every pause longer than a tenth of a second. You get back a tight cut with the audio already mastered.
Try it
/clip, then drag in your raw video (and your script, if you have one)
/captions Adds perfect captions
Word-by-word captions, spelled right, in your caption style. If you have not built a style yet, it asks you two quick questions (what look and what colours) instead of a full setup. Misspelled a name? Tell it once and it adds the name to your vocabulary for good.
Try it
/captions, then drag in the video
/storyboard Plans the edit before it edits
Plans the whole edit and shows it as a storyboard: one real frame per beat, what you are saying, and what will be on screen. Nothing renders yet. Leave a note on any beat, press "Copy all notes", paste them back, and it rebuilds until you approve. Every note gets saved for next time.
Try it
/storyboard, then drag in the video
/inspiration Learns to edit like any video
Give it an already-edited video (an Instagram, TikTok or YouTube link, or a file). It studies it frame by frame (layouts, captions, colours, pace, how it opens) and works out why each choice works. Then it tells you what that video does that your style does not, and adds the parts you pick.
Try it
/inspiration https://www.instagram.com/reel/...
/build-style Builds your style from scratch
Run this first. A quick interview (what your content is about, who it is for, how you want it to feel), then 3 to 5 videos you would love yours to look like. It learns how to think in that style, not just copy it, so your videos feel like you without all looking identical.
Try it
/build-style
/edit-video The whole thing, end to end
All of the above in one go: clip, captions, graphics that show what you are saying the moment you say it, storyboard for your approval, render, audio mastered to -14 LUFS, and a quality check on every beat before you see it.
Try it
/edit-video, then drag in the raw video
Bonus
Add your own background music
Give Claude any song you want as a music bed. It drops the music under your voice so you are always easy to hear, and saves it to my-style/music/ so every future video uses it.
Use music you have the rights to post. The apps will mute a video with a song they flag.
Read Before You Start
5 things to know
Mac and Claude Code only
It runs in Claude Code (or the Code tab in the Claude desktop app) on a Mac, Apple Silicon or Intel. It does not work in claude.ai in the browser or on Windows. You need about 5 GB of free space.
Open Claude Code inside the folder
The codes only exist inside the claude-shortform-video-editor folder. Open Claude Code anywhere else and typing /clip does nothing. This is the number one "it is not working" message.
Homebrew needs your password
If your Mac does not have Homebrew, setup will stop and hand you one command to paste into Terminal. It needs your Mac password, so Claude cannot run it for you. Paste it, then tell Claude to keep going.
Private videos will not download
Public Instagram, TikTok and YouTube links work for /inspiration and /build-style. Private ones do not. Save the video or screen record it, and give Claude the file instead.
Plan on some back and forth at first
This is not "five minutes and you have a perfect video." The first few edits take notes. The good part: it remembers every note in my-style/feedback.md, so after a few videos you barely have to give any.
Credit
Free, open source, yours
I built this as a brand-neutral version of the editor I use on my own videos. It learns your look, not mine. MIT licensed, so you can change anything.
The audio mastering method and caption rules are adapted from Jake Schincariol's master-skills. Rendering runs on Remotion, which is free for individuals and companies with up to 3 people. Bigger teams need a Remotion company license.
If it helps you, tag me in what you make.