A Free Claude Code Skill That Films Your Web App's Demo Video

Keeping a product demo video current is a chore a lot of builders skip. Video Studio Skill is a free Claude Code skill that records your web app in a real browser and edits the demo for you: title card, browser frame, chapters and a call to action. It's a nice tool, and an even better excuse to sell a small, repeatable service.

What happened

Aitor Argomaniz published v1.0 of Video Studio Skill (github.com/aaitor/skill-video-studio) on October 29, 2026, and v1.0.1 on November 2, the same day he posted it to Hacker News as "Skill to Create Product Videos." It's MIT licensed.

In his first comment on the Hacker News thread he explains why he built it: the promotional side of shipping "always felt more like an obligation, and most of the times was neglected." So he built a Claude Code skill to help.

You run it inside Claude Code as /devrel-video. The skill calls itself "a thin orchestrator" and drives three existing tools:

• Playwright CLI records the live flow in a browser: real clicks, eased scrolling and deliberate pauses.
• HyperFrames composes the title, browser frame, chapters and CTA, then renders the MP4. (We edit our own Shorts in HyperFrames.)
• FFmpeg masters it and makes a web copy, an ffprobe check and a contact sheet.

The default output is a silent 16:9 video of about 25 to 40 seconds. Music, narration, subtitles, presenter footage and terminal scenes are optional layers.

v1.0.1 was a bug-fix release: in v1.0 the compose step broke for every new video, and v1.0.1 fixes it, so "the documented path from a fresh clone to a finished video now works." The author's own validation notes say the live Claude Code quick start wasn't rerun for that release, and avatars, the multi-environment example and macOS weren't tested. The docs also say the pipeline was developed on Linux.

What it costs

The skill is free. Claude Code isn't on the free Claude plan (it's in every paid plan, or you can use API credits); Pro is $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly. You also need Node.js 22+, FFmpeg, Chromium and Python 3.10+. Narration and avatars are bring-your-own: you point the skill at your own text-to-speech endpoint or GPU host.

The catch

• Vertical video isn't there yet. The README says portrait and social output profiles "remain on the roadmap." For Shorts, Reels or TikTok you'd recompose it yourself for now.
• The demo drew complaints. On the Hacker News thread, commenters said the author's narrated example cuts off the voiceover and that the music overpowers the narration. That's their report; listen for yourself before you copy his audio settings.
• You might not need the skill. One commenter posted a side-by-side of a product video made with and without it, and said that was their point: models are already good at this on their own. Use the skill for its structure (a brief, beats, QA checks), and judge the output, not the tooling.
• Watch what you record. The docs tell you to capture public fixtures or a sanitized demo environment and check for personal data, keys and host paths before sharing. A commenter also warned about Playwright CVEs, so keep your installs patched.

Try it yourself

1. Clone the stable release: git clone --branch v1.0.1 --depth 1 https://github.com/aaitor/skill-video-studio.git, then cd skill-video-studio and run claude.
2. Ask for a plan first, as the README suggests: /devrel-video Prepare a 25-second silent walkthrough brief for the bundled Acme app: show the workspace, filter by category, then open a project. Reuse brands/acme. Show the plan before capture or rendering.
3. Read the brief. Then install the capture and render prerequisites (Node 22+, FFmpeg, Chromium, Python 3.10+) and follow the worked example in projects/example-walkthrough/ to record and render the silent cut.
4. Swap the Acme fixture for a web app you own and render your own 30-second walkthrough. Time how long it takes. That number is what you'll price around.

Here's how you get paid

My opinion: SaaS founders ship features every week, and their product videos stay stuck on the version from launch day. Nobody wants to re-record them.

Sell a demo refresh. Every time a client ships a feature, they send you the URL and the flow. You record it, cut a walkthrough of about 30 seconds in their brand, and send the MP4 with a thumbnail. Charge per video or as a monthly retainer, and keep a vertical version on your own checklist, since the skill doesn't make one yet.

No income is guaranteed. The value is speed: you're selling an up-to-date demo, delivered the same week the feature ships.