Make your first video

Start here if you have never used showtime. Ask for a 5-second test video: your agent installs what is missing, makes the video on your computer and checks it. You learn that the install works, and you see every step a bigger video goes through.

Say this#

Install uv and Node.js 24 or 22 LTS (20 or newer works), check them with uv --version and node --version, and restart your coding agent. Add showtime to it (Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add FavioVazquez/showtime, then /plugin install showtime@showtime; other agents: agents.md). Then open an empty folder and type:

"Make a 5-second test video that says hello."

What happens#

1. One line of assumptions, before anything runs: "Quick mode: 5 s, 16:9, no voice-over; full review, say 'lean' for a draft pass." It asks a question only when a request could mean two different videos.
2. Setup, the first time only. showtime job init stops with "setup has not been run yet". Your agent tells you the download (about 0.5 to 0.75 GB, usually 2 to 6 minutes; showtime setup --estimate prints yours) and runs showtime setup once you say yes. A sandbox blocks it? See Troubleshooting.
3. A job folder. showtime job init hello makes showtime-out/hello-<date>-<time>/ for everything this request makes (what is in it).
4. A first look. showtime new dom <job>/project --duration 5 copies a starter page, fits it to 5 s and dresses it in a look signature. Your agent writes "hello" into it, runs showtime check and showtime look, and shows you a still or a fast draft.
5. The render. showtime render <job>/project --job <job> draws every frame in a headless browser on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.
6. The checks. showtime qa <job> checks the file, the loudness, black or frozen stretches and the poster, and prints PASS, WARN or FAIL. In quality mode (the default) a critic then reviews the video; until it has, qa says "review pending".
7. The delivery card: the files, the length, the loudness, the qa verdict, the review, what was assumed, and three things you could ask for next.

What you get#

• final.mp4 (1920x1080, 30 fps) and poster.jpg. Open final.mp4: that is your first video.
• receipt.md: the request as you typed it, the renders, the time, and the tokens and cost when your agent reports them. share.txt holds the receipt's one line.
• project/: the page your agent wrote. Edit it and ask for a new render; renders never overwrite.

How long it takes#

Measured for this guide on a 6-core Intel Mac with its GPU, while other jobs kept it busy (load average about 4):

Setup comes first, the first time (usually 2 to 6 minutes). Your agent's writing and the critic's review come on top and were not timed. More numbers: render § Speed.

Phrases that change it#

• "Show me options first" (or "studio") opens a local board where you pick a concept, a look and a storyboard first.
• "Lean" skips the critic, for a cheaper draft pass; showtime config mode lean makes it the default.
• "With a voice-over" adds narration from a voice on your machine; "in Spanish" changes its language.
• "Vertical" makes a 9:16 video for Reels, Shorts or TikTok.

Limits#

• The test video is a starter page with your word in it. A real video needs something to work from: a repo, a site, a brief, footage.
• Setup needs the network once. Bigger pieces (the transcription model, Manim, music tracks) download the first time a video needs them, with their size shown first. The test video downloads nothing more.
• Something failed? Ask your agent to run showtime doctor, then see Troubleshooting.

The example#

For what a bigger request makes, see example 01: a 20-second launch video for Tidepool, a fictional notes app, made in quick mode from its landing page and app screens, with composed music and no voice-over (1920x1080, 17.0 MB, after a critic review). Then try it on your own repo with launch video from your repo, or pick another task from the guides.

Next: choose your path, the workflow that matches what you want to make.

View or edit docs/guides/first-video.md on GitHub