HyperFrames — start here
HyperFrames renders video from HTML — a composition is an HTML file whose DOM declares timing with data-* attributes, whose animation runtime is seekable, and whose media playback is owned by the framework. The full authoring contract lives in /hyperframes-core; read it before writing composition HTML.
Below: a capability map (the domain skills, loaded on demand) and the intent router (pick a workflow for any "make me a…" request — usually a video, but also a navigable deck or a composition port). The split is ownership, not output type: a workflow owns an end-to-end deliverable (its own project dir, gated steps, sub-agents, final artifact); a domain skill is a capability layer a workflow pulls in mid-flight and never owns the task.
Capability map — the domain skills
Atomic capabilities you load on demand — not full workflows; they never own the end-to-end task. For "make me a…" intent, use the intent router below.
| You want to… | Skill |
|---|
Author / edit an HTML composition — the data-* contract, clips, tracks, sub-compositions, variables | /hyperframes-core |
| Animate — atomic motion, scene blueprints, transitions, runtime adapters (GSAP / Lottie / Three.js / Anime.js / CSS / WAAPI / TypeGPU) | /hyperframes-animation |
Author seek-safe keyframes — GSAP timelines, CSS keyframes, Anime.js, WAAPI, FLIP, paths, masks, SVG morph/draw, 3D depth, plus hyperframes keyframes diagnostics | /hyperframes-keyframes |
Creative direction — frame.md / design.md, palettes, typography, narration, beat planning, audio-reactive | /hyperframes-creative |
| Media — resolve/generate BGM, SFX, image, icon, brand logo, voice; TTS voiceover, transcription, background removal, captions; cross-project reuse | /media-use |
| CLI dev loop — init, lint, validate, inspect, preview, render, publish, doctor | /hyperframes-cli |
Install registry blocks / components (hyperframes add) | /hyperframes-registry |
| Import Figma content — assets, tokens, components, storyboards→reconstructed motion (REST/CLI); Motion (MCP), shaders (MCP source / native export) | /figma |
Intent routing — pick a workflow
This section knows only the top-level workflows; it does not load their internal references or the domain skills above.
Before routing — confirm the input, not the spec
Routing needs to know what the video is about — its input and subject. If that's unspecified ("make a video about our thing" with no URL, product, topic, or asset), ask before entering any workflow — committing to a workflow IS the routing decision. At most two questions:
- Input — a product (URL / brief), a general website, a GitHub PR, a topic to explain, or an existing talking-head video?
Mode — if the request carries an ongoing autonomous signal ("surprise me", "decide for me", "just build it"), note it and pass it into the workflow: the whole run goes autonomous and no later step re-asks. With no signal, the workflow asks the mode as its first brief question. Default is collaborative. (/motion-graphics is autonomous by design.) Semantics: hyperframes-core → references/brief-contract.md.
Spec defaults — state, don't ask (they never change the route): aspect derives from the destination — social feed (X / LinkedIn / Instagram) → square 1:1, TikTok / Reels / Shorts → 9:16, YouTube / embed / unknown → 16:9; narration / caption language = the user's. The chosen workflow re-confirms its own specifics at its first step (field semantics: hyperframes-core → references/brief-contract.md).
Workflow cheat-sheet
| Workflow | Use it for |
|---|
/product-launch-video | Selling a product (SaaS, app, company / product site) — from a URL, brief, or script → a promo. The default for any commercial URL, even if the site is only named. |
/website-to-video | Showing a site itself — a tour / showcase built from the site's own screenshots. For non-commercial sites (portfolio, blog, docs, personal, event), or when the user wants a tour, not a promo. |
/faceless-explainer | Explaining a topic / concept from text — no product, no URL; every visual is LLM-invented |
/pr-to-video | A GitHub PR / code change → changelog / feature-reveal / fix / refactor explainer |
/embedded-captions | Adding captions / subtitles to an existing talking-head video (footage untouched) |
/talking-head-recut | Packaging an existing talking-head video with designed graphic overlays — lower-thirds, data callouts, kinetic titles, pull-quotes |
/motion-graphics | A short (~under 10s), unnarrated piece where the motion is the message — kinetic type, a stat / chart hit, a logo sting, an animated map, an animated tweet / headline, a standalone lower-third / overlay (MP4 or transparent alpha) |
/music-to-video | A music track → a beat-synced video — lyric video, slideshow, or kinetic promo; the music drives pacing (optional user images / videos cut onto the beat grid) |
/slideshow | A presentation / pitch deck / interactive deck — discrete slides, fragments, branching, hotspots; output is a navigable deck, not a rendered video |
/general-video | Anything else — longer or multi-scene pieces, a static loop / poster, a custom composition |
/remotion-to-hyperframes | Porting an existing Remotion (React) composition to HyperFrames (migration, not creation) |
Disambiguation (only where confusable):
- Motion-first & unnarrated (under ~10s, the motion is the message) →
/motion-graphics, regardless of input.
- A URL or script — ask one thing: is the site selling a product? Yes (SaaS / app / product / company site) →
/product-launch-video — a promo, and the default for any commercial URL even if the site is only named. No, or the user just wants the site shown as-is (portfolio / blog / docs / personal / event) → /website-to-video — a tour. A GitHub PR link → /pr-to-video; a concept with no product or site → /faceless-explainer.
- Existing footage — plain spoken-word subtitles →
/embedded-captions; designed overlay cards → /talking-head-recut. Neither edits the footage itself (re-timing / recolor / reframe / reorder / audio is NLE editing — out of scope).
- A music track is the input (an audio file, or a video to pull audio from) with no narration →
/music-to-video — the music's beats/energy drive the pacing. (Narrated pieces stay with the input-matched workflow above; /motion-graphics is for short unnarrated motion that isn't music-driven.)
- A presentation / pitch deck / interactive deck (discrete slides, navigation, presenter mode) →
/slideshow — output is a navigable deck, not a rendered video. An explicit "slideshow" request proceeds directly; an adjacent trigger ("deck / slides / presentation / convert this page") makes /slideshow confirm it's a slideshow before authoring, and switch to the appropriate non-slideshow workflow if not.
- Length is a guide, not a gate — intent picks the workflow; go to
/general-video only when the piece is clearly longer than ~3 min, or is a static / loop / custom format.
After picking — guarantee the workflow is installed
Once you've picked a workflow, run the update step before reading its skill — workflow skills install on demand, so the one you matched may not be on this machine yet (its trigger phrases live in this router precisely so you can route to skills that aren't installed):
npx hyperframes skills update <workflow-name>
Bare name, no leading / — e.g. npx hyperframes skills update pr-to-video. Naming a skill guarantees it plus the core domain skills every workflow depends on are installed and current: a fast no-op when everything already is, a targeted install of just the missing/stale skills when not — never the full set. Then read the workflow's skill and continue. The same command works for an on-demand domain skill from the capability map (e.g. npx hyperframes skills update figma).
If the command fails, surface its error to the user instead of improvising the workflow from memory. Manual fallback (no HyperFrames CLI available): npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes --skill <workflow-name>; everything at once: npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes --all.
Keeping skills current
HyperFrames skills are versioned and install lazily: the core set eagerly, the workflows on first use.
- Core set — this router, the
hyperframes-* domain skills, and media-use. npx hyperframes init (which every creation workflow runs when scaffolding) checks GitHub and refreshes the core set plus anything else already installed. It never expands the install — workflow skills you haven't used are not pulled. Re-running init on an up-to-date machine is a no-op; offline (or rate-limited) it degrades gracefully and never hard-fails. The --skip-skills flag is currently neutered (a temporary measure while the skills.sh registry catches up); CI/tests opt out via the HYPERFRAMES_SKIP_SKILLS=1 env var.
- Workflow skills — installed and refreshed at trigger time by the update step above (
skills update <workflow-name>).
If a task is behaving unexpectedly, or before a long build, confirm the installed skills are current:
- Check:
npx hyperframes skills check (add --json for a machine-readable verdict; exits non-zero when anything installed is outdated or the core set is incomplete — workflow skills not yet installed are reported as available on demand, not as a failure).
- Update:
npx hyperframes skills update — refreshes the core set plus everything installed to the latest, and removes skills no longer published. Without names it never installs workflows you haven't used; naming skills (skills update <name…>) additionally installs those.
- Full set, explicitly:
npx hyperframes skills (or npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes --all).
The CLI also surfaces a one-line reminder when a render / lint / validate run detects stale skills.
Workflow details
/product-launch-video
- Input: A product being marketed — (a) a product URL (crawled with headless Chrome for assets + brand tokens), (b) a script / brief that names the product's site even without a link (PLV resolves + crawls it, unless the user opts out), or (c) a script with no derivable site / "don't scrape" (no-capture mode — pick a style preset that supplies palette + design system). A supplied script can be the verbatim voice-over or restructured per scene — PLV asks.
- Output: a product launch / SaaS promo as a HyperFrames composition → MP4 (sweet spot 30–90s) — the product's value is the subject, not a walkthrough of the site. For a plain tour of the site, use
/website-to-video.
- Triggers: "launch video for X", "promo for our site", "explain my SaaS in a minute", "turn my script into a 60s promo", "text-only launch video, don't scrape".
/website-to-video
- Input: A website / URL whose goal is to show the site itself, not to sell a product. Best for non-commercial sites (portfolio, blog, docs, personal, event), or when the user explicitly wants a tour of a site as-is. Captured with headless Chrome for real screenshots + brand assets. If the site is selling something and the user wants a promo, use
/product-launch-video.
- Output: a site tour / showcase / social clip built from the site's own visuals → MP4.
- Triggers: "turn this website into a video", "site tour from ", "social clip from our homepage", "I just have a URL — make something".
/faceless-explainer
- Input: Arbitrary text — a topic, article, or notes — being explained, with no product being marketed and no site to capture. (Forked from
/product-launch-video; no headless Chrome.)
- Output: faceless explainer → MP4, every visual LLM-invented per scene (typography / abstract / diagram / data-viz); ships the
pin-and-paper preset. (sweet spot 30–90s).
- Triggers: "faceless explainer about X", "explain how DNS works as a video", "turn this article into an explainer", "explainer from my notes".
/pr-to-video
- Input: A GitHub pull request — a PR URL, an
owner/repo#N ref, or "this PR" — read via the gh CLI (not a site to scrape).
- Output: code-change explainer (changelog / feature-reveal / fix / refactor) → MP4 — diff highlights, before/after, file-tree + impact scenes. ≤ (sweet spot 30–90s).
- Triggers: "make a video about this PR", "turn PR #1187 into a changelog video", "release-notes video from github.com/org/repo/pull/123".
/embedded-captions
- Input: An existing talking-head video (MP4) to caption — actual footage, not a URL or brief. Transcribed and matted locally (no API key) so the subject can occlude captions.
- Output: the same footage untouched, with a caption layer — one visual identity picked from its catalog (36, from a quiet verbatim rail to full VFX constitutions); the subject occludes the embedded captions. Any length.
- Triggers: "add captions / subtitles to this video", "captions behind the subject", "cinematic captions for my clip".
/talking-head-recut
- Input: An existing talking-head / interview / podcast video (MP4) to package with on-screen graphics — actual footage. Transcribed locally (Whisper). The clip plays in full underneath, untouched.
- Output: the same footage with timed graphic-overlay cards — kinetic titles, lower-thirds, data callouts, pull-quotes, side panels, picture-in-picture — synced to the transcript. Any length.
- Triggers: "package this video", "add graphic overlays / lower-thirds / data callouts to my talk", "turn this interview into a graphics-packaged edit".
/motion-graphics
- Input: A short, design-led motion graphic where the motion is the message — typically under ~10s, no narration. Genres: kinetic typography, a stat / number count-up, a chart hit, a logo sting, a lower-third / overlay, an animated map (regions / routes / zoom-to-place), a search-driven page / tweet / news-article shot, or asset-fusion (a real image's geometry becomes the chart).
- Output: a short motion graphic → MP4 or a transparent overlay (alpha WebM / MOV) for a lower-third / callout.
- Triggers: "an 8s logo sting", "animate this stat", "a kinetic-type intro", "turn this tweet into a motion graphic", "a transparent lower-third overlay".
/music-to-video
- Input: A music track — an audio file, or a video to pull the audio from — with no narration and no website capture. Optionally, user-supplied images / videos to weave in. The track is analyzed once into a deterministic beat / energy map (
audiomap.json) the whole video is built on.
- Output: a beat-synced HyperFrames composition → MP4 where the music drives pacing. Typography and templates are the floor (a complete video needs zero assets); any supplied media is cut onto the same beat grid (beat-cut / ken-burns). The genre — lyric video, slideshow, kinetic promo — emerges from the per-frame choices; the pipeline never branches on it.
- Triggers: "make a video for this song", "beat-synced video from this track", "lyric video", "turn this music into a video", "music visualizer / kinetic promo to this beat".
/slideshow
- Input: A presentation / pitch deck / interactive deck to author — a brief, an outline, or an existing page to convert to slides. Not a request for a rendered video; if the intent is ambiguous, the skill confirms "do you want this as a HyperFrames slideshow?" before authoring.
- Output: a runnable HyperFrames composition + a JSON island the player's
SlideshowController reads to turn the GSAP timeline into a navigable deck — discrete slides, fragment reveals, branching sequences, hotspot navigation, presenter mode, and speaker notes. The deliverable is a deck, not an MP4.
- Triggers: "make a pitch deck / presentation / slide deck", "an interactive deck", "convert this page into slides", "a slideshow with presenter mode".
/general-video
- Input: Anything not above — a creative brief, a single element to animate, an edit to a composition you're building. Input- and length-agnostic.
- Output: a HyperFrames composition (any length / format) via the original flow: design system → prompt expansion → plan → layout-before-animation → build (delegating to the
hyperframes-* skills) → validate.
- Triggers: "make a title card", "animate this", "a longer brand / sizzle reel", "a multi-scene composition", "a static loop / poster", any "make a video" that fits no row above.
/remotion-to-hyperframes
- Input: An existing Remotion (React) composition's source — the user explicitly asks to port / convert / migrate it. One-way (Remotion → HyperFrames); not creation-from-input. A passing mention of Remotion is not a trigger.
- Output: a HyperFrames HTML composition translated from the Remotion source, graded against the Remotion render (SSIM eval harness + tiered test corpus).
- Triggers: "port my Remotion project to HyperFrames", "convert this Remotion comp", "migrate from Remotion".