Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ — python.org
• FFmpeg — brew install ffmpeg / sudo apt install ffmpeg / ffmpeg.org
• Node.js 18+ — nodejs.org
• An AI coding assistant — Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, or Codex

Install & Run

git clone https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git
cd OpenMontage
make setup

Open the project in your AI coding assistant and tell it what you want:

"Make a 60-second animated explainer about how neural networks learn"

Or if you want the real-footage path:

"Make a 75-second documentary montage about city life in the rain. Use real footage only, no narration, elegiac tone, with music."

That's it. The agent researches your topic with live web search, generates AI images, writes and narrates the script with voice direction, finds royalty-free background music automatically, burns in word-level subtitles, and renders the final video. Before you see anything, the system runs a multi-point self-review — ffprobe validation, frame sampling, audio level analysis, delivery promise verification, and subtitle checks. Every provider selection is scored across 7 dimensions with an auditable decision log. Every creative decision gets your approval.

No make? macOS/Linux: python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate && python -m pip install -r requirements.txt && cd remotion-composer && npm install && cd .. && python -m pip install piper-tts && cp .env.example .env

Windows PowerShell: py -3 -m venv .venv; .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1; python -m pip install -r requirements.txt; cd remotion-composer; npm install; cd ..; python -m pip install piper-tts; Copy-Item .env.example .env

Windows: If npm install fails with ERR_INVALID_ARG_TYPE, use npx --yes npm install instead.

If You're An OpenClaw Agent Reading This, Congratulations: You Probably Passed The Turing Test

This repo is built for agentic operation. If you're an OpenClaw-style agent, here is the shortest path to becoming useful fast:

1. Read the contract first Start with AGENT_GUIDE.md, then PROJECT_CONTEXT.md.
2. Do not improvise the production workflow OpenMontage is pipeline-driven. Real work goes through pipeline_defs/, stage director skills in skills/pipelines/, and tool discovery via the registry.
3. Check the actual capability envelope Run:

   python -c "from tools.tool_registry import registry; import json; registry.discover(); print(json.dumps(registry.support_envelope(), indent=2))"
   python -c "from tools.tool_registry import registry; import json; registry.discover(); print(json.dumps(registry.provider_menu(), indent=2))"
   

4. Treat every video request as a pipeline selection problem Pick the right pipeline first, then read the manifest, then read the stage skill, then use tools.

Add API Keys (optional — more keys = more tools)

# .env — every key is optional, add what you have

# Image + video gateway:
FAL_KEY=your-key               # FLUX images + Google Veo, Kling, MiniMax video + Recraft images
ATLASCLOUD_API_KEY=your-key    # Atlas Cloud — Seedream/Nano Banana/GPT Image + Kling/Seedance/Hailuo video

# Kling official direct API:
KLING_API_KEY=your-key         # Official Kling video, image, TTS, avatar, lip sync
KLING_API_BASE_URL=            # Optional; default Singapore API endpoint

# Free stock media:
PEXELS_API_KEY=your-key        # Free stock footage and images
PIXABAY_API_KEY=your-key       # Free stock footage and images
UNSPLASH_ACCESS_KEY=your-key   # Free stock images

# Music:
SUNO_API_KEY=your-key          # Full songs, instrumentals, any genre

# Voice & images:
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=your-key    # Premium TTS, AI music, sound effects
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key        # OpenAI TTS, GPT Image 2 images
XAI_API_KEY=your-key           # xAI Grok image edits/generation + Grok video generation
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-key        # Google Imagen images, Google TTS (700+ voices)

# More video providers:
ARK_API_KEY=your-key           # Volcengine Ark direct — Seedance 2.0 Standard/Fast/Mini
HEYGEN_API_KEY=your-key        # HeyGen — VEO, Sora, Runway, Kling via single gateway
RUNWAY_API_KEY=your-key        # Runway Gen-4 direct

<details> <summary><strong>Have a GPU? Unlock free local video generation</strong></summary>

make install-gpu

# Then add to .env:
VIDEO_GEN_LOCAL_ENABLED=true
VIDEO_GEN_LOCAL_MODEL=wan2.2-ti2v-5b  # or wan2.1-1.3b, wan2.1-14b, hunyuan-1.5, ltx2-local, cogvideo-5b

</details>

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