Reference index
Read this when you need a reference SKILL.md does not point to directly, or you are not sure which file
covers a question. Every file opens with its own "Read this when" line and an Essentials block (the rules
for that step) with a table of its sections; read only what the current step needs:
showtime guide <topic> [section] prints them, showtime guide --find <words> searches every file
(every word after --find counts; showtime guide <topic> --find <words> searches one).
Workflows by family (start here for a request)#
SKILL.md routes a request by family; each family lists its routes, the guide to read and the route's first
command after showtime job init (its flags: the guide and showtime <cmd> --help). A new feature adds its
line here and one routing eval case (benchmarks/routing-eval/), not a row to SKILL.md.
A <job> can be named by its folder or a shorthand: launch is the newest launch-* job.
Something that happened (a change, a session, a failure)#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/changelog-video.md |
a pull request, release or changelog turned into a video (unattended, in CI: showtime release-video) |
showtime pr-video <N>, showtime release-video |
references/workflows/recap.md |
a coding agent's session turned into a short film of what it did (allow-listed facts only, script.md read first) | showtime recap --latest (or a .jsonl) |
references/workflows/repro.md |
a failing browser test (a Playwright trace, or the test command) as a short narrated video for a bug report or PR | showtime repro <trace.zip> |
A product, repo, site or paper#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/launch-video.md |
a launch, promo or announcement video from a repo, app or URL | showtime brand capture <repo|url> --job <job> |
references/workflows/repo-explainer.md |
a codebase explained: what it does, code map, one request traced through real files and lines | evidence first, then showtime new dom |
references/workflows/paper-explainer.md |
a paper, preprint or technical PDF explained, claims tied to pages, figures credited, Manim for the math | showtime doc extract |
references/workflows/tutorial.md |
a tutorial, walkthrough or product demo (recorded app or drawn) | showtime demo record (drawn: showtime new tutorial) |
references/adopt.md |
their own video code (a page with seek/render/draw(t), CSS animations, a Python frame script) checked, scored and rendered as it is | showtime adopt <folder> |
references/adopt.md § From Claude Design |
a Claude Design animation (its HTML zip export) made into an MP4, then voice, music, captions and exports | showtime adopt <file>.zip |
An idea or a system#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/explainer.md |
an idea, product or process explained (canvas film, voice-over, score); another skill's storyboard table; a video that stops and asks (showtime.json "questions") |
showtime new film (a storyboard: showtime new dom <dir> --from-storyboard <file>) |
references/workflows/diagram.md |
how a system works as a living diagram: parts, flows, states and labels that build over time (light, dark or white); the same scene as a live figure people poke, type on or drag | showtime new diagram (--example typewriter|computer); the live figure: showtime export html <project> --interactive |
references/manim.md |
math: equations, proofs, graphs, grid transforms | showtime manim |
references/html-export.md |
a web page, artifact or embed; a video that stops and asks | showtime export html |
Numbers#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/data-story.md |
numbers or charts animated into a story | showtime data inspect, showtime new data, showtime data import <csv> |
Their own media#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/footage-edit.md |
recorded footage cut, captioned, reframed, cleaned or graded; a long recording's best moments as short clips | showtime transcribe <files> --edit-dir <job>/edit |
references/workflows/xray.md |
an X-ray of the user's clip of a machine or instrument, or a recording or data stream of one (xray import): the inside drawn in sync with its sound, measured and verified; a live page to play |
showtime xray analyze <clip> --job <job>; data: showtime xray import <events> --job <job> --time-map SLOW,T0; the live page: showtime export html <project> --interactive |
references/workflows/music-video.md |
picture cut or animated to a song | showtime audio beats <track> |
references/workflows/slideshow.md |
photos or screenshots set to music | showtime assets sheet <folder> |
references/workflows/voiceover-only.md |
narration added to an existing video | showtime footage probe <video> |
references/workflows/localize.md |
a video re-voiced or subtitled in another language | showtime voice list --lang <code> |
references/reference.md |
"make it like this video" | showtime reference <video> --job <job> |
A format#
| File | Read when the user wants | First command |
|---|---|---|
references/workflows/social-short.md |
a reel, TikTok, Short, vertical cut-down or audiogram (their footage, even as a reel: footage-edit) | showtime new short |
references/workflows/trailer.md |
a teaser or trailer | showtime new film or showtime new dom |
references/tones.md |
a showreel, hype reel or "go all out" | showtime new showreel |
references/components.md |
a logo sting, lower third, title or motion graphic | showtime new dom, then showtime render --alpha animation for an editor |
references/platforms.md § 4 |
a thumbnail or poster | showtime deliver thumb |
Working with the user#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/modes.md |
deciding how much to ask, switching quick/studio, writing the delivery card |
references/onboarding.md |
first run, setup missing, or the user asks what showtime needs |
references/studio.md |
the user wants options first, or accepted the studio offer |
references/boards.md |
writing or changing a studio board (board.json) |
references/review.md |
the critic round on a finished video (quality mode), a critique, notes from the user or a critic, the notes page where the person points at frames (showtime review open), or any message about a video in progress (§5: what to change, and when to change nothing) |
references/diagnosing.md |
the user reports a problem ("it came out wrong", "setup failed") |
references/crew.md |
handing work to crew sub-agents; each role's brief is references/crew/<role>.md, shared rules in references/crew/rules.md |
references/harness-notes.md |
installing, or running showtime from another agent host, a script or CI |
references/mcp.md |
using showtime's MCP server from another client, the plugin settings, the progress monitor |
Story and craft#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/story.md |
before writing any plan: angle, hook, structure, lines, honesty rules; a video that stops and asks (§9); another skill's storyboard table (showtime new dom <dir> --from-storyboard <file>, §10) |
references/tones.md |
choosing a tone preset or translating the user's words into choices; a showreel, hype reel or "go all out" brief (showtime new showreel, --tone showreel) |
references/reference.md |
"make it like this video" (showtime reference), not repeating recent looks (showtime history), look_repeat or reference_copy |
references/pacing.md |
setting holds, cut rhythm, beat sync, narration word budgets, durations |
references/motion-craft.md |
choosing easing, timing, stagger and camera moves |
references/typography.md |
picking fonts, sizes, spacing and safe areas for type |
references/color.md |
building a palette, checking contrast, grading footage; the look signature showtime new picks (--look, showtime signature, §9) |
references/platforms.md |
delivery specs, safe zones, posters and thumbnails, README loops (WebP/GIF), cut-downs and share copy per platform |
references/brand-kit.md |
the user mentions a brand, or gives a repo or site with a visual identity |
Building HTML and canvas projects#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/render.md |
checking, snapping, previewing or rendering a project; what a render keeps (--keep-work, showtime clean); speed, workers, no GPU |
references/looking.md |
looking at frames without filling your context: showtime look, the reviewer brief, check before render, brief output |
references/stage-api.md |
writing or debugging a page (index.html + showtime.json), the time contract; the shutter blur on fast moves (data-st-blur, ST.blur) |
references/components.md |
using DOM motion components (titles, captions, charts, frames, cursor, end card), a WebGL look (fluted glass, tilt-shift, liquid metal, mesh gradient, god rays, marble, metaballs), or a stand-alone motion graphic (logo sting, lower third) |
references/transitions.md |
choosing scene handoffs (CSS and WebGL) |
references/film-api.md |
drawing a canvas film or tutorial with Film |
references/series.md |
a tutorial series: several episodes for one product sharing one kit (showtime series) |
references/html-export.md |
sharing a project as a single-file interactive HTML video (showtime export html); a video that stops and asks the viewer (showtime.json questions); links to a moment or a looping part (#t=10-20); a living diagram's live figure (--interactive) |
references/manim.md |
equations, proofs, graphs, grid transforms: math and diagram animation with Manim |
references/synth-score.md |
writing music or sound design in code with Synth |
references/debugging-renders.md |
a render fails, flickers, shows black or frozen frames, or differs from the preview |
Sound and voice#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/audio.md |
composing, effects, the local library, beats, the mix spec, mastering |
references/music.md |
choosing or composing music and syncing it to picture |
references/sound-design.md |
placing effects, balancing voice against music, loudness targets |
references/voice.md |
narration: voices, scripts, word timings, pronunciation, alignment |
Footage, capture and assets#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/editing.md |
editing real footage by transcript (the EDL and its rules); cards over a talking head and a word behind the speaker (§9); a long recording's best moments as short clips (edit moments, edit clips, §10) |
references/captions.md |
caption styles, grouping, sizes and safe zones for footage |
references/footage-tools.md |
one specific footage tool: probe, scenes, reframe, cut out the speaker (footage cutout), denoise, stabilize, grade, views |
references/capture.md |
material from a repo, a running app, a website or a PDF (doc extract); bot walls |
references/tutorial-recording.md |
scripting and recording an app demo, auto zoom |
references/assets.md |
fonts, icons, emoji, stock photos and video, cutouts, credits, a contact sheet of a folder of images |
Verification#
| File | Read when |
|---|---|
references/qa.md |
the checklists, the showtime qa rules (the hearing pass: voice_masked, quiet_stretch, level_jump, abrupt_end) and the expect block |
references/review.md |
building a review pack, running the critic pass, the findings gate before delivery (showtime review-respond) |
references/receipt.md |
the job's receipt: what a video took (rounds, renders, time, tokens, cost), its file format |
references/debugging-renders.md |
a check or qa finding needs its cause found |