# Ghost Editor > AI video editor for talking-head reels. Turns a raw phone recording of someone talking to camera (retakes, pauses, false starts) into a finished vertical 1080x1920 reel for Instagram, TikTok or Shorts: best take of each sentence, pause trimming, word-timed captions that never cover the face and stay inside the platform safe area, motion scenes on the spoken word, sound effects and music mixed aga… - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-kurbaitaev-ghost-editor-ghost-editor` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [kurbaitaev](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/kurbaitaev) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Content & Media](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/content-and-media) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [kurbaitaev](https://github.com/kurbaitaev) - **Source:** https://github.com/kurbaitaev/ghost-editor ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-kurbaitaev-ghost-editor-ghost-editor ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # ghost-editor One recording in, one reel out. The creative work is choosing takes and planning beats. The scripts do everything else the same way every time: cut math, zoom tweens, captions, SFX levels, asset copying, QA. Nothing on screen says anything the speaker did not say. A meme is a reaction, so it lands ON or just AFTER the punchline, never before it. Skill dir: `~/.claude/skills/ghost-editor` (below: `$S`). A reel project is any directory (`$P`); `build.mjs` copies what it needs into `$P/assets` so the project renders on its own. ## Pipeline ``` prep.sh -> $P/assets/talk.mp4 1080x1920 30 fps, voice at -16 LUFS transcribe.py -> $P/build/words.whisper.json + take table (all takes) face_track.py -> $P/build/face.json (captions and cards never cover the face) choose takes -> $P/reel.json takes (references/take-selection.md) plan beats -> $P/reel.json beats/zoom (references/reel-json.md) build.mjs -> $P/index.html + SFX table + rule warnings lint + snapshot, look at the frames render -> $P/build/reel.mp4 qa.py -> levels, SFX-vs-voice on a stem, silences, contact sheet deliver -> ~/Desktop/-reel.mp4 ``` ### 0. Check the toolchain once per session `bash $S/scripts/doctor.sh`: tools, GEMINI_API_KEY and the media library, each with its fix. On a fresh machine run `python3 $S/scripts/library_restore.py` first (SFX, memes and music aren't in git). Say what is missing; don't improvise around it. ### 1. Prep and look ```bash bash $S/scripts/prep.sh $P ffmpeg -v error -i $P/assets/talk.mp4 -vf "fps=1/10,scale=216:384,tile=6x3" -frames:v 1 -update 1 $P/build/sheet.jpg ``` Look at the sheet. Check that it is the right person (show the frames and confirm with the user when there is any doubt). Note where the face sits (the zoom origin, default `50% 29%`), where the chin is (the card band starts at y 990), and how bright the wall is. ### 2. Transcribe everything ```bash python3 $S/scripts/transcribe.py $P/assets/talk.mp4 --out $P/build/words.whisper.json --lang en ``` The table is the take map in original seconds; `*` marks restart phrases ("okay, again"). Fix mangled names later in `captions.fixes`. ### 2b. Track the face ```bash python3 $S/scripts/face_track.py $P/assets/talk.mp4 --out $P/build/face.json ``` Always. The build places captions, cards and reactions around the face, inside the platform's safe area. ### 3. Choose takes (`references/take-selection.md`) Ask for the script if there is one. Pick the take of each sentence that is fluent and later, keep one-breath runs as one take, and cut on WORD times: `a` = first word - 0.10..0.15, `b` = last word + 0.20..0.30. When a meme will follow a line, end that take 0.6 to 1 s after the last word so the meme sound has air. Aim for 45 to 75 s. ### 3b. A single clean take? If the recording is already one good take, don't pick takes by hand: `python3 $S/scripts/autocut.py $P/assets/talk.mp4 --noise -30` prints `takes` with the pauses removed. ### 4. Pick a style, plan beats (`references/styles.md`, `references/reel-json.md`) Seven presets: `clean`, `editorial`, `meme`, `cinematic`, `launch`, `kinetic`, `pop`. Ask the user which one (show `examples/gallery/` or the showcase video) or pick by the speaker's energy. Start from `examples/gallery/.reel.json`. To match a reference edit: `python3 $S/scripts/reference_study.py --out [--raw ]` writes a 1 fps contact sheet, full-res frames every 2 s and Gemini 2.5 Pro's second-by-second edit log with a mapping onto our beats. Treat the log as a draft: verify type, sizes and framing against the frames. Then map every scene to a word time. Start from the closest file in `examples/`. Walk the transcript sentence by sentence. For each one, ask what the speaker just made the viewer imagine, and show it on the word. Leave some sentences bare; silence in the band makes the next card land. Memes: 1 to 3 per minute, on punchlines, from the library: ```bash python3 $S/scripts/meme_find.py "the line with the punchline" python3 $S/scripts/meme_find.py --list ``` If the library has nothing that fits, say so and offer to add one (step 9). Don't force a meme. ### 5. Build ```bash node $S/scripts/build.mjs $P ``` Read its output: the edit timeline (a missing word means a cut inside it), the caption text, the SFX table (time, sound, role, volume, why) and the WARNINGS. Fix every warning in reel.json or explain why it stays. ### 6. Lint and look ```bash cd $P && npx hyperframes lint # must be 0 errors; sub-composition/track-density warnings are fine npx hyperframes snapshot --at ``` Edit seconds = the take's edit start (printed) + (original t - take a). Look at `snapshots/contact-sheet.jpg`: cards on the chin, text wrapping, the meme clipped by the frame edge, captions colliding with a card. ### 7. Render and QA ```bash npx hyperframes render -o build/reel.mp4 --quiet python3 $S/scripts/qa.py $P build/reel.mp4 ``` QA renders an SFX-only stem and prints each hit's peak against the voice and its role target. Targets: ui ≈ -14, whoosh -12, impact -8, meme -3 dB vs voice p95 peak; flags anything louder than the voice or inaudible. It also checks loudness (-16 ±1.5 LUFS, TP ≤ -0.5), silences > 0.8 s inside the speech, and writes `build/contact.jpg`. It never adds gain. ### 8. Deliver Copy to `~/Desktop/-reel.mp4` (plus a 720p preview under 30 MB if asked). Handover: the takes chosen (original seconds and why), the beats and memes in plain words, the SFX count per minute, anything QA flagged, and the obvious follow-ups (music from the platform's library at post time, a different meme, the URL for the end card). ### 9. Library work ```bash python3 $S/scripts/trends.py # what's new on imgflip / Know Your Meme, what we lack python3 $S/scripts/meme_add.py --tags ... --use ... --triggers ... --trend hot python3 $S/scripts/sfx_fetch.py --only --force # after editing KIT in sfx_fetch.py python3 $S/scripts/audition.py --open # soundboard + meme wall for a human listen ``` Always look at a new meme's `preview.png` before using it. Sounds with a `review` flag in the manifest have not been confirmed by ear. `references/sound-and-memes.md` has the mixing reasoning, sources, licences and the dead ends not to retry. ## Rules that came from getting it wrong - Transcribe the whole recording; choose takes from the table, never by scrubbing. - Cut on word times, never whisper segment times. - Snap zooms, not crossfades, between takes of the same sentence. - Voice loudness is fixed in prep, before SFX. Never lift the finished mix. - SFX level is relative to this voice (build measures it). Never hand-tune `data-volume`. - A meme sound never sits on top of a word. Give it a pause. - No meme sound twice in one reel. Meme sounds: 1 to 3 per minute. - One card in the band and one thing in the reaction slot at a time. - No em dashes in on-screen text. - Meme sounds and green-screen clips are unlicensed rips: fine for IG and TikTok, not for YouTube (Content ID). Say so if the user mentions YouTube. ## Files - `scripts/prep.sh` transcode + voice loudnorm - `scripts/transcribe.py` whisper (PATH) → words json + take table - `scripts/build.mjs` reel.json → HyperFrames index.html, SFX mixing and rules - `scripts/qa.py` render QA with SFX stem level check - `scripts/sfx_fetch.py` build/refresh the SFX kit (Mixkit + yt-dlp), normalized, manifest - `scripts/meme_add.py` add a meme clip/still (key, crop, alpha WebM, preview) - `scripts/meme_find.py` shortlist memes and meme sounds for a line - `scripts/trends.py` trending meme names not yet in the library - `scripts/audition.py` HTML soundboard + meme wall - `scripts/doctor.sh` checks tools, key and library, with fixes - `scripts/reference_study.py` reverse-engineer a reference edit (sheet, frames, Gemini edit log) - `references/reference-study-prompt.md` the edit-log prompt (improve it here) - `examples/` real reel.json files from shipped reels (motion EN, motion RU, memes RU) - `README.md` install, agent setup (Claude Code / Codex / any agent), quick start - `scripts/lib/motion.mjs` scenes (card, stats, fly3d, image, sentence), scene transitions, editorial captions, music bed - `scripts/autocut.py` pause-trimmed takes for a single clean take - `scripts/broll_gen.py` AI still B-roll with Gemini (9:16), needs GEMINI_API_KEY - `library/music/` licensed music beds + manifest - `library/sfx/` kit + manifest.json; `library/memes//` clips + meta.json - `templates/fonts/` Geist (OFL) - `references/reel-json.md` the spec and beat types - `references/take-selection.md` choosing takes (adapted from mariagorskikh/talking-head-reel, MIT) - `references/sound-and-memes.md` mixing, sources, licences, dead ends ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [kurbaitaev](https://github.com/kurbaitaev) - **Source:** [kurbaitaev/ghost-editor](https://github.com/kurbaitaev/ghost-editor) - **License:** MIT 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:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"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-kurbaitaev-ghost-editor-ghost-editor - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/kurbaitaev - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. 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