pr-to-video

PR to HyperFrames

Use this skill to ingest a GitHub pull request, understand the change, plan a code-change explainer, and build it frame by frame in HyperFrames. The input is a code change (read via gh), not a website — there is no capture step and no real assets beyond the contributors' avatars.

Confirm the route before Step 0. You are the orchestrator. Run each step, verify its gate, and only then continue. This skill is for a GitHub pull request (a code change). Route other intents elsewhere: a product launch/promo → /product-launch-video; a general website tour → /website-to-video; a topic explainer with no PR → /faceless-explainer; captions on existing footage → /embedded-captions; a short unnarrated motion graphic → /motion-graphics; a whole-repo or multi-PR release walkthrough → /general-video. Out of scope: live / at-render-time data — PR facts are read once at author time and baked in. If the user says only "make a video" or the route is uncertain, read /hyperframes first.

You are the orchestrator. Work in videos/<project>/. Run steps in order and pass each gate before continuing. User-gated steps are Step 0, Step 3, and Step 6. Do every step yourself except Step 5, where you dispatch one sub-agent per frame. Do not put design or motion rules here; those live in the frame-worker sub-agent, hyperframes-creative, and hyperframes-animation.

Workflow: Step 0 setup → hyperframes.json; Step 1 ingest → capture/extracted/ + assets/<login>.png; Step 2 design system → frame.md; Step 3 storyboard/script → STORYBOARD.md and SCRIPT.md; Step 3.1 audio → audio_meta.json; Step 4 visual design → enriched STORYBOARD.md; Step 5 frames → compositions/frames/NN-*.html and index.html; Step 6 final render → renders/video.mp4.

---

Step 0: Setup and Brief

Goal: Lock the PR reference and the core video brief, and create the HyperFrames project if needed.

Get the PR reference (a full URL, an <owner>/<repo>#<N> ref, or "this PR" in a checked-out repo) and, in one message, confirm the brief — lead with a recommended default for each and pre-fill anything /hyperframes already set: angle (changelog / feature-reveal / fix-explainer / refactor-walkthrough — default: infer from the PR), audience (default: developers), length (default: scale to the PR's change size — see below), aspect (default 16:9), language. The style is always claude. Proceed only after the user replies; a "go" accepts the defaults.

Recommend the length from the PR's change size, not a fixed guess. Before confirming the brief, peek at the PR once — a read-only call that also grounds the angle (Step 1 still does the full deterministic fetch):

gh pr view <PR_REF> --json title,additions,deletions,changedFiles

Pick the tier from additions + deletions (nudged up by changedFiles) and lead with it as the default (the user can override; hard cap ~3 min):

PR change size	Recommended length
trivial (≲ 50 lines changed)	~20–40s
focused (~50–200 lines)	~40–70s
substantial (~200–600 lines)	~70–110s
large (≳ 600 lines, or 25+ files)	~110–180s

State the basis in one phrase when you propose it (e.g. "~40s — small change, +44/−13 across 12 files"). A huge PR doesn't mean a long video — if the story is one headline change, keep it tight and say so.

Initialize only if hyperframes.json is missing. Name <project> from the PR in kebab-case, such as acme-sdk-pr-1842; never use the workspace name or a timestamp.

npx hyperframes init "videos/<project>" --non-interactive --skip-skills --example=blank

Show sign-in status before the brief — run npx hyperframes auth status and relay its output verbatim (don't paraphrase or rewrite it). It reports whether voice/BGM will use HeyGen or local engines and, when not signed in, how to sign in. If not signed in, STOP and wait for the user to choose — sign in, or say "go"/"offline" to continue with local engines — before asking the brief or anything else. Treat it as a real decision point, not a passing note; don't fold the choice into the brief question, and don't write keys into a per-repo .env. (In autonomous mode, note the status and continue offline.) See ../hyperframes-media → Preflight for the canonical guidance.

Gate: hyperframes.json exists; the PR ref is captured; angle, length, aspect ratio, and language are locked; sign-in status was shown (signed in, or continuing offline).

---

Step 1: Ingest the PR (no capture)

Goal: Fetch the PR's facts and fold them into the project as the source of information. There is no website capture. fetch-pr.mjs runs gh deterministically — completing the files list via paginated gh api so a large PR doesn't truncate at ~100 files, and writing only capture/pr.json + capture/diff.patch (no scratch dir). Then ingest.mjs folds that into the synthetic capture package offline.

PR="<url | owner/repo#N | N>"

# Fetch the PR deterministically: runs gh, completes the files list via paginated
# gh api (so a big PR doesn't truncate at ~100 files), writes only capture/pr.json +
# capture/diff.patch — no scratch dir. gh auth / not-found / private errors exit 1 here.
(cd "videos/<project>" && node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/fetch-pr.mjs --pr "$PR" --out-dir ./capture)

# Offline transform → capture/extracted/{tokens.json (colors:[] → claude palette),
# visible-text.txt (the brief), people.json (contributors, bot-filtered, avatarFile=assets/<login>.png)}.
(cd "videos/<project>" && node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/ingest.mjs \
  --pr-json ./capture/pr.json --diff ./capture/diff.patch --out-dir ./capture/extracted)

# The people front's one network step — download each contributor's GitHub avatar to
# assets/<login>.png for an optional credits close. Best-effort; always exits 0.
(cd "videos/<project>" && node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/fetch-people-avatars.mjs \
  --people ./capture/extracted/people.json)

If fetch-pr.mjs exits 1 (gh auth / not found / private), report its stderr and stop — do not fabricate PR contents. If ingest.mjs exits 1, read its stderr (usually a malformed pr.json), fix, and rerun (deterministic). fetch-people-avatars.mjs always exits 0; missing avatars just mean no credits close to author.

Gate: capture/pr.json, capture/diff.patch, capture/extracted/tokens.json, capture/extracted/visible-text.txt, and capture/extracted/people.json exist; you can state the PR's change in one clear sentence. assets/<login>.png is best-effort — its absence is not a failure.

---

Step 2: Design System

Goal: Adopt the claude frame preset; a script turns it into this video's frame.md + caption skin.

The style is fixed — claude (warm editorial; a navy code surface built for diffs). Run:

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/build-frame.mjs --preset claude --hyperframes .

The script copies the claude preset's FRAME.md → frame.md, remixes it onto any brand tokens in capture/extracted/tokens.json (a PR has none → colors:[]/fonts:[] keeps claude's own palette, a complete design), copies the preset's caption skin to .hyperframes/caption-skin.html, and self-validates (exits 1 on a broken mapping). Proceed as soon as it exits 0 — no hand-editing.

Gate: build-frame.mjs exited 0 — frame.md exists from the claude preset, and .hyperframes/caption-skin.html exists as the caption skin source.

---

Step 3: Storyboard and Script

Goal: Turn the PR into an approved frame-by-frame explanation plan.

Read references/story-design.md, ../hyperframes-core/references/storyboard-format.md, and ../hyperframes-core/references/script-format.md. Use them to write STORYBOARD.md and, when narration is needed, SCRIPT.md.

Use story-design.md for the PR archetype (changelog / feature-reveal / fix-explainer / refactor-walkthrough), the PR-native frame types, hook, persuasion, beats, the per-frame word budget, and the optional credits close. The sequence comes from narrative design, not the diff's file order — explain the change, don't read the diff aloud. Feature 2–4 real diff hunks (from capture/diff.patch), each a small legible snippet; name the code-* block each wants in the frame's scene. Frames carry no asset_candidates except an optional credits close (2–6 assets/<login>.png avatars). Use the exact required fields from the storyboard and script references.

After drafting, show a frame-by-frame summary. In that same message ask the user (a) to approve or request changes, and (b) whether they want a live preview of the storyboard scaffold (npx hyperframes preview) — open it only on a yes. Iterate until approved; carry the preview choice to Step 6.

Gate: STORYBOARD.md exists, every frame has the required narrative fields, SCRIPT.md exists when narration is needed, and the user approved the plan.

---

Step 3.1: Audio

Goal: Generate narration, word timings, music, and audio metadata from the approved script.

Start audio after Step 3 approval. Run it in the background, then continue to Step 4.

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/audio.mjs --script ./SCRIPT.md --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --hyperframes . --out ./audio_meta.json &

The audio script handles narration, word timings, BGM lookup from HeyGen's music library, and timing metadata. BGM mood comes from the storyboard's music: field. This uses the HeyGen Audio API for retrieval, not generation, and the same ~/.heygen credential as TTS. For provider details, read ../hyperframes-media/references/tts.md.

If there is no narration and no SCRIPT.md, skip voice generation. BGM may still run if the storyboard has a music mood.

Gate: audio job has started, or the project is marked silent.

---

Step 4: Frame Visual Design

Goal: Add the visual direction, layout intent, and motion choices to each storyboard frame.

Edit STORYBOARD.md in place. Do not create another storyboard. Use frame.md as the source of truth for color, type, layout feel, and style.

Read references/visual-design.md, references/composition.md, references/motion-language.md, references/code-vocabulary.md, and ../hyperframes-animation/. Use visual-design.md for required frame fields and the required ## Video direction block, and for how a code beat names a code-* block as its focal. Use code-vocabulary.md to pick the right block per beat (diff = code-diff, refactor = code-morph, new code = code-typing, …). Use composition.md for layout/hierarchy/focal points and motion-language.md + ../hyperframes-animation/ for valid effect and blueprint IDs. Do not invent effect names or block/blueprint IDs.

For every frame, add required visual and motion fields, including effects and focal and/or roles. For a code beat, name the code-* block as the focal and let effects choreograph the surrounding claude Code Surface (not the code animation, which the block owns). Add one video-wide ## Video direction block.

Do not change story, script, transition_in, asset_candidates, or the PR source. Do not write HTML in this step. There is no asset-staging step — the only real assets are the credits avatars, already in assets/.

Gate: every frame has effects plus focal and/or roles; code frames name a code-* block; ## Video direction exists.

---

Step 5: Build Frames

Goal: Build every storyboard frame as an HTML composition and assemble the playable video.

Wait for Step 3.1 audio to finish if audio was started. Then sync durations and fetch SFX; skip both if silent.

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/audio.mjs sync-durations --audio-meta ./audio_meta.json --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/audio.mjs fetch-sfx --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --hyperframes .

Duration sync is mechanical: real voice duration wins; silent frames keep estimates; never hand-edit synced durations.

Pre-install the registry blocks named across STORYBOARD.md once, before dispatch, so parallel workers don't race on the registry:

for b in <each registry block named in the storyboard>; do npx hyperframes add "$b"; done

Before dispatch, read sub-agents/frame-worker.md and ../hyperframes-core/references/subagent-dispatch.md. Dispatch one sub-agent per frame, in parallel if possible; otherwise run workers in waves. Each worker gets exactly one frame. Each worker's context must include PROJECT_DIR, frame_id, canvas size, caption status and keep-out band if captions are enabled, ANIM_DIR (absolute path to ../hyperframes-animation/), and the absolute path to references/code-vocabulary.md. Each worker reads frame.md, its own ## Frame N block, the recipe body for each cited effect/blueprint ID, and — for a code beat — code-vocabulary.md for the named block's inputs. Each worker writes only compositions/frames/NN-*.html; workers never edit STORYBOARD.md.

As each worker returns, mark that frame animated in STORYBOARD.md.

After audio timings exist, build captions in the background and assemble the index:

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/captions.mjs build --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --audio-meta ./audio_meta.json --hyperframes . --out ./caption_groups.json &

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/assemble-index.mjs --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --hyperframes .

captions.mjs uses the project's .hyperframes/caption-skin.html (claude's, copied in Step 2), injecting brand tokens from frame.md; captions: skipped (<reason>) is valid. assemble-index.mjs stages the credits avatars from assets/ as an idempotent backstop.

Gate: every frame is marked animated, index.html exists, and captions are built or explicitly skipped.

---

Step 6: Finalize

Goal: Verify the assembled video, get user approval, and render the final MP4.

Inject transitions, run checks, pause for review, then render.

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/transitions.mjs inject --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --hyperframes .

node <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/transitions.mjs verify --storyboard ./STORYBOARD.md --index ./index.html

npx hyperframes lint

npx hyperframes validate

npx hyperframes inspect

npx hyperframes snapshot --at <frame-midpoints>

snapshot stitches the captured frames into one contact sheet (snapshots/contact-sheet.jpg). Glance at it; if nothing is obviously broken, move on — don't linger here.

If a command fails, surface stderr and stop — don't pile on recovery commands. Fix it yourself: the cheapest safe edit to compositions/frames/NN-*.html, then rerun the failed check.

Known false-positive — do not chase it. inspect may report a handful of text_box_overflow errors of ~1–4px on the caption highlight words (selector #caption-word-* / .caption-line). The caption pill uses a deliberately snug line-height (set once in scripts/captions.mjs) and has no overflow:hidden, so a heavy display glyph's ink spills a few px into the pill's own padding — nothing is actually clipped. Treat these as expected and proceed. Do not inflate the caption line-height (it balloons the pill, which is worse). Only act on a text_box_overflow when it names a frame element (#el-NN-*), not a caption word.

After checks pass, pause for user review. The video is assembled, viewable, and editable in Studio. Manage preview only once across Step 3 and Step 6: open it if the user asked earlier, offer it if they declined earlier, do not ask again if they are already reviewing in Studio.

Preview: npx hyperframes preview

Render only after user approval:

npx hyperframes render --skill=pr-to-video --quality high --output renders/video.mp4

Do not rerun lint, validate, inspect, or snapshot after rendering unless the user asks.

Gate: lint, validate, and inspect passed before render; user approved at the review pause; renders/video.mp4 exists. Final reply states the MP4 path and final duration.

---

Quick Reference

Formats: landscape 1920x1080 by default; portrait 1080x1920; square 1080x1080. Set the format once in the storyboard frontmatter.

PR deltas vs a captured-asset workflow: no Step 1 capture (the gh CLI ingests the PR into a synthetic capture/extracted/ package — tokens.json + visible-text.txt + people.json); the only real assets are the contributors' assets/<login>.png avatars (an optional credits close); no asset-descriptions.md, no asset-staging step. Code beats are rendered by the code-* registry blocks on claude's navy Code Surface; the style is always claude.

Background scripts: the workflow ships these under scripts/: fetch-pr (PR → capture/pr.json + diff.patch via gh; large-PR-safe, no scratch), ingest (→ synthetic capture package; offline), and fetch-people-avatars (contributor avatars → assets/); plus the shared engine — build-frame (adopt + brand-remix a preset into frame.md + caption skin), audio (TTS, BGM, SFX, duration sync), captions, transitions (inject + verify), and assemble-index. Everything else is the hyperframes CLI. Code blocks install via npx hyperframes add <name>.

Read	When
[references/story-design.md](references/story-design.md)	Step 3: plan the PR explanation.
[../hyperframes-core/references/storyboard-format.md](../hyperframes-core/references/storyboard-format.md)	Step 3: write STORYBOARD.md.
[../hyperframes-core/references/script-format.md](../hyperframes-core/references/script-format.md)	Step 3: write SCRIPT.md.
[../hyperframes-media/references/tts.md](../hyperframes-media/references/tts.md)	Step 3.1: choose or understand TTS providers.
[references/visual-design.md](references/visual-design.md)	Step 4: enrich the storyboard visually.
[references/code-vocabulary.md](references/code-vocabulary.md)	Step 4 + 5: pick + fill the code-* block for a code beat.
[references/composition.md](references/composition.md)	Step 4: judge composition.
[references/motion-language.md](references/motion-language.md)	Step 4: judge motion language.
[../hyperframes-animation/](../hyperframes-animation/)	Step 4: cite effect and blueprint IDs.
[sub-agents/frame-worker.md](sub-agents/frame-worker.md)	Step 5: dispatch per-frame workers.
[../hyperframes-core/references/subagent-dispatch.md](../hyperframes-core/references/subagent-dispatch.md)	Step 5: dispatch sub-agents safely.
[../hyperframes-creative/frame-presets/claude/FRAME.md](../hyperframes-creative/frame-presets/claude/FRAME.md)	Step 2: the claude preset (fixed style).