shang-zhu Violin — operating skill
Always uses the default config (Together for translation, cartesia/sonic-3 for TTS). If the user asks for OpenAI, ElevenLabs, or custom configs, stop and point them to the Violin repo — those flows aren't supported through the global CLI.
Pre-flight
Run these silently first. Abort if any fails:
command -v violin # 1. CLI on PATH
test -f "<input>" # 2. Input exists
printenv TOGETHER_API_KEY # 3. Key available
If violin is missing: tell the user to uv tool install violin, then violin --install-skill to refresh this skill file. Do not auto-install.
If TOGETHER_API_KEY is missing:
- Inside the Violin repo → populate
.env(auto-loaded) - Elsewhere →
export TOGETHER_API_KEY=...in~/.zshrc/~/.bashrc, thensourceit
Decisions
- CLI vs API: single run-and-wait file → CLI (
violin). Multi-job / HTTP / web UI → API server (violin-api); print the command, don't auto-start it. - Style (
--style): defaultstandard. Kids content →kids, formal/lecture →academic, casual →casual, dramatic →storyteller, news →news. Runviolin --style listif unsure. - Voiceover: keep default (mix dubbed audio over a quiet original). Use
--no-voiceoveronly when the user explicitly says "replace audio entirely".
Run
violin <input> <output> --language <Lang> [flags]
Flags
| Flag | Default | When to set |
|---|---|---|
--language / -l |
required | Target language (e.g. Chinese, Spanish, Japanese). |
--voice / -v |
auto (native voice picked by preferences.voice_gender) |
Only when the user names a specific voice from the catalog (e.g. "warm female narrator"). Otherwise omit and let the default kick in. |
--source-language |
auto-detect |
Only if Whisper mis-detects the source language. |
--style / -s |
standard |
See Decisions above. |
--no-subtitles |
off | User says "no SRT" / "video only". |
--no-voiceover |
off | User says "replace original audio entirely". |
--config / -c |
config/default.yaml |
Don't use through this skill — repo-only flow. |
--timings-out |
off | Only when the user wants a per-step timing JSON for debugging / benchmarking. |
Language coverage
33 target languages total. 16 ship with handpicked native-speaker voices: Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Turkish, German, Korean, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish. The other 17 fall back to the English voice catalog (multilingual under Cartesia Sonic 3) — quality is decent but the voice isn't a native speaker. Mention this caveat only if the user is translating to a fallback language and asks about voice quality.
Report back
- Output video path + SRT path (printed by the run).
- Total cost (printed at end — surface, don't hide).
- If voiceover was on, mention the
_original.m4asidecar.
Don'ts
- Don't run on multi-GB videos without first quoting the rough cost (audio length × per-provider rates in
pipeline/pricing.py). - Don't fabricate a "subtitles-only" mode — the CLI requires the full pipeline. If the user only wants SRT, run the full pipeline and hand them just the
.srt, warning them of the cost first. - Don't try to switch to OpenAI or ElevenLabs from this skill. Point the user to the repo +
--config config/other_api.yaml(or their own override). - Don't paraphrase the README. For supported languages (33), voice catalog, and full flag docs, point them at
README.mdorviolin --help.