🎬 ClipForge

AI-powered short-form video generator. Create viral YouTube Shorts & TikTok videos with AI-generated visuals, natural voices, and cinematic effects — all from a single command.

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Generated in 60 seconds with a single command — watch full demo

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What it does

Give ClipForge a topic. It writes a script, generates cinematic AI visuals, narrates with a natural voice, adds word-by-word animated subtitles, and renders a ready-to-upload short — in under 2 minutes.

clipforge generate --topic "lightning" --style mind_blowing

That's it. You get a 1080x1920 vertical video ready for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Instagram Reels.

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Features

• 🤖 AI Script Writing — 11 content styles (mind_blowing, dark_fact, psychology, space...) with 25+ viral hook templates
• 🎨 AI-Generated Visuals — Contextual images via FLUX Schnell (~$0.003/image), with cinematic Ken Burns camera effects
• 🗣️ Natural TTS Voices — 14+ voices via Edge TTS (100% free, no API key)
• 📝 Word-by-Word Subtitles — Animated ASS subtitles with yellow highlight (85% of viewers watch without sound)
• 🎵 Background Music — Optional music layer with auto-mixing
• 📐 Perfect Format — 1080×1920, H.264, 30fps, optimized for mobile
• 🔄 Fallback System — No AI image API? Falls back to gradient clips. No LLM key? Bring your own script.
• 💰 Almost Free — Edge TTS is free. Groq LLM is free. Only AI images cost money (~$0.01/video)

How it works

Topic → LLM Script → Scene Extraction → AI Images → Ken Burns Clips
                   → Edge TTS Audio → Word Timestamps → ASS Subtitles
                                                      → FFmpeg Compose → 🎬 Video

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Quick Start

Install

pip install clipforge

System requirement: FFmpeg must be installed.

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install ffmpeg

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg

Generate your first video

# With a custom script (no LLM key needed)
clipforge generate \
  --script "Lightning doesn't come from the sky. It shoots up from the ground at 270,000 miles per hour." \
  --output my_first_short.mp4

# With AI script generation (needs a free Groq key)
export CLIPFORGE_LLM_KEY=gsk_your_groq_key
clipforge generate --topic "black holes" --style space

As a Python library

from clipforge import generate_short

# Full auto — topic to video
generate_short(
    topic="the deep ocean",
    style="ocean_deep",
    output="ocean_short.mp4"
)

# Custom script — you write, ClipForge produces
generate_short(
    script="Your custom narration text goes here...",
    output="custom_short.mp4",
    voice="en-GB-RyanNeural"
)

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Configuration

All settings via environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
CLIPFORGE_LLM_PROVIDER	groq	LLM provider: groq (free), openai, anthropic
CLIPFORGE_LLM_KEY	—	API key for script generation
CLIPFORGE_LLM_MODEL	auto	Model name (auto-selects best per provider)
CLIPFORGE_FAL_KEY	—	fal.ai key for AI images (optional)
CLIPFORGE_VOICE	en-US-AndrewMultilingualNeural	Default TTS voice
CLIPFORGE_OUTPUT_DIR	./output	Where to save videos

Get your free keys

1. Groq (free LLM): console.groq.com → Create API Key
2. fal.ai (AI images, ~$0.003/image): fal.ai/dashboard → Keys

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CLI Reference

# Generate a video from a topic
clipforge generate --topic "quantum physics" --style mind_blowing

# Generate from your own script
clipforge generate --script "Your text here..." --voice en-GB-RyanNeural

# Full options
clipforge generate \
  --topic "lightning" \
  --style dark_fact \
  --voice en-US-BrianMultilingualNeural \
  --num-clips 5 \
  --ai-ratio 0.6 \
  --output lightning.mp4

# List available voices
clipforge voices

# Show current config
clipforge config

Content Styles

Style	Vibe
mind_blowing	🤯 Jaw-dropping scientific facts
dark_fact	🌑 Mysterious, little-known stories
psychology	🧠 Fascinating human behavior
space	🌌 Awe-inspiring cosmos
nature	🌿 Incredible natural world
history	⚔️ Forgotten historical stories
ocean_deep	🌊 Deep sea mysteries
future_tech	🚀 Mind-bending technology
body_facts	🫀 Bizarre human body facts
myth_busted	💥 Common misconceptions debunked
food_origins	🍕 Surprising food history

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Advanced Usage

Custom pipeline (mix & match)

from clipforge.story import generate_story
from clipforge.visuals import generate_clips
from clipforge.voice import synthesize_speech
from clipforge.subtitles import generate_subtitles
from clipforge.compose import compose_video

# 1. Write or generate a script
script = generate_story(style="dark_fact", topic="Bermuda Triangle")

# 2. Generate AI visuals
clips = generate_clips(script, output_dir="./clips", num_clips=5, ai_ratio=0.8)

# 3. Text-to-speech
audio, word_timestamps = synthesize_speech(script, output_path="./voice.mp3")

# 4. Animated subtitles
subs = generate_subtitles(word_timestamps, output_path="./subs.ass")

# 5. Compose final video
compose_video(
    clips=clips,
    audio=audio,
    subtitles=subs,
    output="bermuda.mp4",
    music="./my_music.mp3",  # optional
    voice_volume=0.85,
    music_volume=0.08,
)

Batch generation

from clipforge import generate_short

topics = [
    ("lightning", "mind_blowing"),
    ("deep ocean creatures", "ocean_deep"),
    ("ancient Rome secrets", "history"),
]

for topic, style in topics:
    generate_short(topic=topic, style=style)
    print(f"✓ {topic}")

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Output Specs

Property	Value
Resolution	1080×1920 (9:16 portrait)
Codec	H.264 (libx264)
Quality	CRF 23
FPS	30
Audio	AAC 192kbps, 44.1kHz
Subtitles	Burned-in ASS (Montserrat Bold)
Duration	55-65 seconds (optimized for Shorts)

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Cost Breakdown

Component	Cost	Notes
Script (Groq)	Free	Free tier: 30 req/min
Voice (Edge TTS)	Free	Microsoft Edge TTS, unlimited
AI Images (fal.ai)	~$0.009/video	3 images × $0.003
FFmpeg	Free	Open source
Total per video	~$0.01	or $0 without AI images

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How does it compare?

Feature	ClipForge	ShortGPT	MoneyPrinter
AI-generated visuals	✅ Contextual	❌ Stock only	❌ Stock only
Free TTS	✅ Edge TTS	❌ ElevenLabs ($)	✅ Edge TTS
Word-by-word subs	✅ Animated	❌ Basic	❌ Basic
Ken Burns effects	✅ 4 variants	❌	❌
Cost per video	~$0.01	~$0.10+	~$0.05+
One-command generate	✅	❌	❌
No GPU needed	✅	✅	✅

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Contributing

PRs welcome! Areas that need love:

• More content styles and hook templates
• Additional LLM providers
• Video transition effects between clips
• Multi-language support (FR, ES, PT voices exist in Edge TTS)
• Web UI

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License

MIT — do whatever you want with it.

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Built by @DarkPancakes • If this saves you time, drop a ⭐