# Watch Video > Watch a video — a screen recording, a demo clip, a bug report attachment, any video file or URL — by turning it into a readable contact sheet, frames and a transcript. Use whenever a message, ticket or comment carries a video link or path and the recording would answer a question — "watch this", "check the video", "what does the recording show", "what did they say". Handles phone and tablet captures in either orientation; transcribes only when the audio actually carries speech. - Skill: `anaidenko/watch-video` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add anaidenko/watch-video` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/anaidenko/watch-video/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: anaidenko (https://skillmd.com/u/anaidenko) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/anaidenko/watch-video --- # watch-video Claude cannot play video, but it can read images. This turns a recording into a contact sheet plus individual frames, and transcribes the audio when there is any. **Public share links need no auth** — most screen-recording tools (Zight, CloudApp, Loom, Droplr, ...) produce links that are viewable without logging in. Fetch them directly; don't ask the user for screenshots as a first move. ## Run it ``` "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/video-digest.sh" [--ticket ] [--title ] ``` `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` is the plugin's install directory — use it rather than a relative path. The script sits at the plugin **root**, not inside this skill's own folder, so a relative `./scripts/...` resolves to the wrong place and fails with "no such file or directory". Outside a plugin install (a plain clone), `./scripts/video-digest.sh` from the repo root is the equivalent. Pass `--ticket` and `--title` when known — they name the output directory, which is how the user navigates a persistent cache later. By default output goes to the OS temp directory; pass `--output ` for a persistent one. Useful flags: `--max-frames N`, `--no-dedupe`, `--transcript never`, `--force`, `--sample-fps N` (raises the pre-dedupe frame pool — combine with `--no-dedupe` when a transient frame keeps getting dropped). Full list and current config: `--help`. ## Read it 1. **`contact-sheet.jpg` first** — one image, the whole clip, timestamps burned in. Usually enough on its own. 2. **`frames/frame_NNN.jpg`** only when the sheet leaves something unresolved. 3. **`transcript.txt`** when present. It is **grouped by frame**: each block gives the words spoken while that frame was on screen, so speech and screen state read together. A `—` means nobody spoke over that frame. The unbroken transcript follows at the end for a quick "what is this clip about". The first and last frames are always included — the opening state and the outcome. "Last" is the last frame that survived dedupe, not the end of the file, so it lands on real content instead of a black screen a recorder can leave at the end. Timestamps on the sheet are approximate (frame ordinal × interval, not true PTS) — fine for navigating, not for quoting exact times. Cell size adapts to the source, so tablet and phone recordings in either orientation both stay legible. The frames in `frames/` are always full resolution — open one when the sheet's downscale hides a detail. ## What to watch out for - **The default frame count is a starting point, not a limit.** When the sheet doesn't settle the question, re-run with a higher `--max-frames` and say what was ambiguous. Do this before handing anything back to the user. - **A sequence where a count changes (items deleted, created, or reordered) needs dense re-extraction before any conclusion goes into a report.** The default budget is tuned for "what is this clip about", not "what exactly happened, in what order". A real triage session read a sparse sheet as "a deleted item reappeared" — re-extracted at a much higher `--max-frames`, the same clip showed something else entirely (a second, different item was deleted; a transient loading state the sparse sheet had skipped explained the miscount). The wrong conclusion had already been written into a report before the density was raised. Treat any story involving a count as provisional until checked at higher density, not just when the sheet already looks ambiguous. - **Dedupe can drop the exact frame that explains a discrepancy.** It keeps visually distinct frames, but a brief loading/transient state can look similar enough to the frame before or after it to get dropped. If a count or an order doesn't add up, re-run with `--no-dedupe` in addition to a higher `--max-frames`. - **A missing `transcript.txt` usually means silence, not failure.** Screen recorders often write an empty audio track when the mic is off; the tool measures loudness and skips transcription below a threshold. The summary line says which happened. - **The recording date is not necessarily today, or the date it was shared.** `meta.json` carries `recorded` and `recorded_source` — check them before assuming a recording reflects the current state of anything. - **`archived/` (inside a persistent output dir) is the user's.** A recording moved there is resolved; the tool refuses to re-process it without `--force`. Don't move things in or out on the user's behalf. - **`source.url` is a double-clickable shortcut** to the original, for when frames aren't enough. It exists only for a URL input — a local file has no url to record. - Frames answer _what happened on screen_. They do not prove _why_ — confirm the mechanism elsewhere before reporting a cause. - **End the answer with where the output landed, one markdown link per line.** The script's last lines print the output directory and the paths to `contact-sheet.jpg`, `frames/`, `transcript.txt`, `source.url` and `meta.json` — pass those through as `[label](file:///abs/path)` so the host can render them clickable; a bare path string is inert in most chat UIs. **One link per line, not `·`-joined on one line** — several markdown links crammed together render as a cluttered run-on, each expanding inline. A summary with no paths leaves the user unable to open the sheet, check a frame you described, or reach the original recording, and they have to ask. A short closing list is enough: 
Output: [](file:///path/to/<run-dir>)
- [contact-sheet.jpg](file:///path/.../contact-sheet.jpg)
- [frames/](file:///path/.../frames/) (N)
- [transcript.txt](file:///path/.../transcript.txt) — only when the audio had signal; omit
  this line entirely when it wasn't written, don't link a file that doesn't exist
- [source.url](file:///path/.../source.url)
- [meta.json](file:///path/.../meta.json)
## Dependencies `ffmpeg` (with `libfreetype` for timestamps), `ffprobe` and `python3` are required and checked up front. `curl` is needed only for a URL input, `whisper` only when the audio carries speech, `yt-dlp` only for sites the built-in scraper can't resolve — all three degrade gracefully without failing the run. See `"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/video-digest.sh" doctor` for what's currently available.