Short Form

Short-Form Repurposing Engine

Turn a long-form YouTube video into 3-5 short-form clips optimized for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok. Identifies the most clip-worthy moments, generates platform-specific hooks and captions, and provides timestamps for editing.

When This Skill Activates

Activate when the user wants to:

• Create Reels, Shorts, or TikTok clips from a YouTube video
• Repurpose long-form content into short-form
• Identify the best clips from a video
• Generate captions and hooks for short-form content

Example triggers:

• "Create shorts from my latest video"
• "Repurpose this for short-form"
• "What are the best clips from this video?"
• /short-form or /short-form <youtube-url>

Pipeline

Step 1 — Get the Transcript

If the user provided a YouTube URL, use it.

If the user said "latest video", auto-detect:

yt-dlp --flat-playlist --playlist-end 1 --print url --print title "https://www.youtube.com/channel/YOUR_CHANNEL_ID/videos"

Confirm with user: "Found your latest video: [TITLE]. Pulling clips from this one."

Fetch transcript using these methods in order:

Method 1 — Apify:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/content-cascade/scripts/fetch-transcript-apify.js" "<youtube-url>"

Method 2 — youtube-transcript:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/content-cascade/scripts/fetch-transcript.js" "<youtube-url>"

Method 3 — yt-dlp subtitles:

yt-dlp --write-sub --sub-lang en-orig --skip-download --sub-format json3 -o "$TEMP/yt-transcript" "<youtube-url>"

Fall back to --write-auto-sub --sub-lang en if en-orig unavailable.

Parse json3:

node -e "
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const dir = process.env.TEMP;
const file = fs.readdirSync(dir).find(f => f.startsWith('yt-transcript') && f.endsWith('.json3'));
if (!file) { console.error('No subtitle file found'); process.exit(1); }
const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(dir, file), 'utf8'));
const text = data.events.filter(e => e.segs).map(e => e.segs.map(s => s.utf8 || '').join('')).join(' ').replace(/\n/g, ' ').replace(/\\s+/g, ' ').trim();
console.log(text);
"

Validation: Sanity-check first 1-2 sentences against video title. Wrong transcript → try next method.

If all methods fail: "Captions aren't available yet — YouTube takes 30-60 minutes after upload. Try again later."

Step 2 — Identify Clip-Worthy Moments

Scan the transcript for 3-5 best short-form moments. Each clip: 30-90 seconds when spoken (~75-225 words).

What makes a clip-worthy moment:

1. Self-contained insight — makes sense without the full video
2. High shock value — surprising stat, counterintuitive claim, unexpected result (70+ shock score)
3. Emotional peak — passion, frustration, excitement, humor in delivery
4. Quotable statement — a line worth screenshotting and sharing
5. Demo moment — visual reveal or before/after that works vertical
6. Contrarian take — bold opinion that sparks comments/debate

NOT clip-worthy:

• Setup/context without payoff
• References to other parts of the video ("as I mentioned earlier...")
• Technical walkthroughs needing wide screen context
• Transitions between topics

Step 3 — Generate Content Per Clip

For each clip:

Clip Title: Working title for internal reference.

Approximate Timestamps: Start → End (from original video). If no json3 timestamps available, estimate at ~150 words per minute.

Transcript Excerpt: The exact words from this segment.

Short-Form Hook (first 1-3 seconds): The scroll-stopper. Apply Kallaway framework:

• Text overlay: 2-5 words, maximum impact. First frame.
• Spoken opening: First sentence. Immediate curiosity or tension.
• Map to a Horseman desire
• Fifth-grade reading level

Rewritten Script (if needed): If the transcript segment has tangents or loose pacing for short-form, provide a tightened version. If the original is already tight, skip.

Caption: Platform-ready. Short, punchy:

• One-line hook (complements, doesn't duplicate the video hook)
• 1-2 lines of context or value tease
• CTA ("Follow for more Claude Code tips" or "Full breakdown linked in bio")

Hashtags: 5-10 relevant. Mix of:

• Broad reach: #ai #claudecode #programming #tech
• Niche: #claudecodetips #aiautomation #ragpipeline
• Trending (if applicable)

Platform Notes:

• Reels: Polished editing, text overlays throughout, trending audio optional
• Shorts: YouTube algorithm favors rewatchability — should make sense on loop
• TikTok: Raw/authentic > polished, conversation-starter hooks, stitch/duet bait

Step 4 — Rank Clips

1. Best for reach — highest viral potential (broadest appeal, highest shock)
2. Best for conversions — drives traffic to full video or your paid community
3. Best for engagement — sparks the most comments/debate

Step 5 — Output

## Video: [Title]
**Source:** [YouTube URL]
**Clips identified:** [N]

---

### Clip 1: [Clip Title] — Best for [reach/conversions/engagement]

**Timestamps:** [MM:SS — MM:SS]
**Duration:** ~[X] seconds

**Hook:**
- Text overlay: "[2-5 words]"
- Spoken: "[First sentence]"

**Transcript excerpt:**
> [Exact words from this segment]

**Rewritten script:** [Tightened version, or "Original is tight — use as-is"]

**Caption:**
[Ready-to-paste]

**Hashtags:** #tag1 #tag2 #tag3 #tag4 #tag5

---

### Clip 2: [Clip Title]
[Same structure...]

Step 6 — Save to Vault (Optional)

Save to YOUR_VAULT_PATH/content/short-form/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>-shorts.md:

---
title: "Short-Form Clips — [Video Title]"
date: YYYY-MM-DD
youtube_video_id: VIDEO_ID
source_video: "[Video Title]"
clips: [N]
status: draft
---

[Full clip breakdown]

Key Principles

• First frame decides everything. Short-form lives or dies in 1 second. Text overlay + opening words must stop the scroll.
• Self-contained > teaser. Deliver value in the clip itself. "Watch the full video for the answer" kills completion rate. Give value, THEN mention the full video.
• Vertical thinking. Not everything translates to short-form. Only pick moments that genuinely work in the format.
• Comments = algorithm fuel. Contrarian takes, surprising stats, and hot takes drive comments, which drive reach.
• 3-5 clips per video is the sweet spot. More and quality drops. Fewer and you're leaving content on the table.
• Don't over-produce. Captions should sound natural, not copywritten. your voice is direct and conversational.