# Videodb

> See, Understand, Act on video and audio. See- ingest from local files, URLs, RTSP/live feeds, or live record desktop; return realtime context and playable stream links. Understand- extract frames, build visual/semantic/temporal indexes, and search moments with timestamps and auto-clips. Act- transcode and normalize (codec, fps, resolution, aspect ratio), perform timeline edits (subtitles, text/im…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-affaan-m-ecc-videodb`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [affaan-m](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/affaan-m)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [AI & ML](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/ai-and-ml)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [affaan-m](https://github.com/affaan-m)
- **Source:** https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC/tree/main/skills/videodb
- **Website:** https://ecc.tools

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-affaan-m-ecc-videodb
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# VideoDB Skill

**Perception + memory + actions for video, live streams, and desktop sessions.**

## When to use

### Desktop Perception
- Start/stop a **desktop session** capturing **screen, mic, and system audio**
- Stream **live context** and store **episodic session memory**
- Run **real-time alerts/triggers** on what's spoken and what's happening on screen
- Produce **session summaries**, a searchable timeline, and **playable evidence links**

### Video ingest + stream
- Ingest a **file or URL** and return a **playable web stream link**
- Transcode/normalize: **codec, bitrate, fps, resolution, aspect ratio**

### Index + search (timestamps + evidence)
- Build **visual**, **spoken**, and **keyword** indexes
- Search and return exact moments with **timestamps** and **playable evidence**
- Auto-create **clips** from search results

### Timeline editing + generation
- Subtitles: **generate**, **translate**, **burn-in**
- Overlays: **text/image/branding**, motion captions
- Audio: **background music**, **voiceover**, **dubbing**
- Programmatic composition and exports via **timeline operations**

### Live streams (RTSP) + monitoring
- Connect **RTSP/live feeds**
- Run **real-time visual and spoken understanding** and emit **events/alerts** for monitoring workflows

## How it works

### Common inputs
- Local **file path**, public **URL**, or **RTSP URL**
- Desktop capture request: **start / stop / summarize session**
- Desired operations: get context for understanding, transcode spec, index spec, search query, clip ranges, timeline edits, alert rules

### Common outputs
- **Stream URL**
- Search results with **timestamps** and **evidence links**
- Generated assets: subtitles, audio, images, clips
- **Event/alert payloads** for live streams
- Desktop **session summaries** and memory entries

### Running Python code

Before running any VideoDB code, change to the project directory and load environment variables:

```python
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv(".env")

import videodb
conn = videodb.connect()
```

This reads `VIDEO_DB_API_KEY` from:
1. Environment (if already exported)
2. Project's `.env` file in current directory

If the key is missing, `videodb.connect()` raises `AuthenticationError` automatically.

Do NOT write a script file when a short inline command works.

When writing inline Python (`python -c "..."`), always use properly formatted code — use semicolons to separate statements and keep it readable. For anything longer than ~3 statements, use a heredoc instead:

```bash
python = 0 (negative values are silently accepted but produce broken output)
- `start` must be = 0` before creating `VideoAsset` |
| `generate_video()` / `create_collection()` fails | `Operation not allowed` or `maximum limit` | Plan-gated features — inform the user about plan limits |

## Examples

### Canonical prompts
- "Start desktop capture and alert when a password field appears."
- "Record my session and produce an actionable summary when it ends."
- "Ingest this file and return a playable stream link."
- "Index this folder and find every scene with people, return timestamps."
- "Generate subtitles, burn them in, and add light background music."
- "Connect this RTSP URL and alert when a person enters the zone."

### Screen Recording (Desktop Capture)

Use `ws_listener.py` to capture WebSocket events during recording sessions. Desktop capture supports **macOS** only.

#### Quick Start

1. **Choose state dir**: `STATE_DIR="${VIDEODB_EVENTS_DIR:-$HOME/.local/state/videodb}"`
2. **Start listener**: `VIDEODB_EVENTS_DIR="$STATE_DIR" python scripts/ws_listener.py --clear "$STATE_DIR" &`
3. **Get WebSocket ID**: `cat "$STATE_DIR/videodb_ws_id"`
4. **Run capture code** (see reference/capture.md for the full workflow)
5. **Events written to**: `$STATE_DIR/videodb_events.jsonl`

Use `--clear` whenever you start a fresh capture run so stale transcript and visual events do not leak into the new session.

#### Query Events

```python
import json
import os
import time
from pathlib import Path

events_dir = Path(os.environ.get("VIDEODB_EVENTS_DIR", Path.home() / ".local" / "state" / "videodb"))
events_file = events_dir / "videodb_events.jsonl"
events = []

if events_file.exists():
    with events_file.open(encoding="utf-8") as handle:
        for line in handle:
            try:
                events.append(json.loads(line))
            except json.JSONDecodeError:
                continue

transcripts = [e["data"]["text"] for e in events if e.get("channel") == "transcript"]
cutoff = time.time() - 300
recent_visual = [
    e for e in events
    if e.get("channel") == "visual_index" and e["unix_ts"] > cutoff
]
```

## Additional docs

Reference documentation is in the `reference/` directory adjacent to this SKILL.md file. Use the Glob tool to locate it if needed.

- [reference/api-reference.md](reference/api-reference.md) - Complete VideoDB Python SDK API reference
- [reference/search.md](reference/search.md) - In-depth guide to video search (spoken word and scene-based)
- [reference/editor.md](reference/editor.md) - Timeline editing, assets, and composition
- [reference/streaming.md](reference/streaming.md) - HLS streaming and instant playback
- [reference/generative.md](reference/generative.md) - AI-powered media generation (images, video, audio)
- [reference/rtstream.md](reference/rtstream.md) - Live stream ingestion workflow (RTSP/RTMP)
- [reference/rtstream-reference.md](reference/rtstream-reference.md) - RTStream SDK methods and AI pipelines
- [reference/capture.md](reference/capture.md) - Desktop capture workflow
- [reference/capture-reference.md](reference/capture-reference.md) - Capture SDK and WebSocket events
- [reference/use-cases.md](reference/use-cases.md) - Common video processing patterns and examples

**Do not use ffmpeg, moviepy, or local encoding tools** when VideoDB supports the operation. The following are all handled server-side by VideoDB — trimming, combining clips, overlaying audio or music, adding subtitles, text/image overlays, transcoding, resolution changes, aspect-ratio conversion, resizing for platform requirements, transcription, and media generation. Only fall back to local tools for operations listed under Limitations in reference/editor.md (transitions, speed changes, crop/zoom, colour grading, volume mixing).

### When to use what

| Problem | VideoDB solution |
|---------|-----------------|
| Platform rejects video aspect ratio or resolution | `video.reframe()` or `conn.transcode()` with `VideoConfig` |
| Need to resize video for Twitter/Instagram/TikTok | `video.reframe(target="vertical")` or `target="square"` |
| Need to change resolution (e.g. 1080p → 720p) | `conn.transcode()` with `VideoConfig(resolution=720)` |
| Need to overlay audio/music on video | `AudioAsset` on a `Timeline` |
| Need to add subtitles | `video.add_subtitle()` or `CaptionAsset` |
| Need to combine/trim clips | `VideoAsset` on a `Timeline` |
| Need to generate voiceover, music, or SFX | `coll.generate_voice()`, `generate_music()`, `generate_sound_effect()` |

## Provenance

Reference material for this skill is vendored locally under `skills/videodb/reference/`.
Use the local copies above instead of following external repository links at runtime.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [affaan-m](https://github.com/affaan-m)
- **Source:** [affaan-m/ECC](https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://ecc.tools

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** yes
- **Filesystem access:** yes
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** yes
- **Dynamic code execution:** yes

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-affaan-m-ecc-videodb
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/affaan-m
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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