Hyperframes is an open-source video rendering framework that lets you create, preview, and render HTML-based video compositions — with first-class support for AI agents.
## Quick Start
### Option 1: With an AI coding agent (recommended)
Install the HyperFrames skills, then describe the video you want:
```bash
npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes
```
This teaches your agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Codex) how to write correct compositions and GSAP animations. In Claude Code, the skills register as slash commands — invoke `/hyperframes` to author compositions, `/hyperframes-cli` for CLI commands, and `/gsap` for animation help.
For Claude Design, open [`docs/guides/claude-design-hyperframes.md`](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/blob/main/docs/guides/claude-design-hyperframes.md) on GitHub and click the download button (↓) to save it, then attach the file to your Claude Design chat. It produces a valid first draft; refine in any AI coding agent. See the [Claude Design guide](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/guides/claude-design).
For Codex specifically, the same skills are also exposed as an [OpenAI Codex plugin](./.codex-plugin/plugin.json) — sparse-install just the plugin surface:
```bash
codex plugin marketplace add heygen-com/hyperframes --sparse .codex-plugin --sparse skills --sparse assets
```
For Claude Code, the repo also ships a [Claude Code plugin manifest](./.claude-plugin/plugin.json): test it locally with `claude --plugin-dir .`. The manifest intentionally omits `skills` because Claude Code auto-discovers the root `skills/` directory by convention, and for marketplace submission use the title `HyperFrames by HeyGen` plus the black/white icon assets at [`assets/claude-code-icon-dark.svg`](./assets/claude-code-icon-dark.svg) and [`assets/claude-code-icon-light.svg`](./assets/claude-code-icon-light.svg) for the two theme slots.
For Cursor, the same skills are packaged as a [Cursor plugin](./.cursor-plugin/plugin.json) — install from the Cursor Marketplace, or sideload by cloning this repo and pointing **Settings → Plugins → Load unpacked** at the repo root.
#### Try it: example prompts
Copy any of these into your agent to get started. The `/hyperframes` prefix loads the skill context explicitly so you get correct output the first time.
**Cold start — describe what you want:**
> Using `/hyperframes`, create a 10-second product intro with a fade-in title, a background video, and background music.
**Warm start — turn existing context into a video:**
> Take a look at this GitHub repo https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes and explain its uses and architecture to me using `/hyperframes`.
> Summarize the attached PDF into a 45-second pitch video using `/hyperframes`.
> Turn this CSV into an animated bar chart race using `/hyperframes`.
**Format-specific:**
> Make a 9:16 TikTok-style hook video about [topic] using `/hyperframes`, with bouncy captions synced to a TTS narration.
**Iterate — talk to the agent like a video editor:**
> Make the title 2x bigger, swap to dark mode, and add a fade-out at the end.
> Add a lower third at 0:03 with my name and title.
The agent handles scaffolding, animation, and rendering. See the [prompting guide](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/guides/prompting) for more patterns.
### Option 2: Start a project manually
```bash
npx hyperframes init my-video
cd my-video
npx hyperframes preview # preview in browser (live reload)
npx hyperframes render # render to MP4
```
`hyperframes init` installs skills automatically, so you can hand off to your AI agent at any point.
**Requirements:** Node.js >= 22, FFmpeg
## Why Hyperframes?
- **HTML-native** — compositions are HTML files with data attributes. No React, no proprietary DSL.
- **AI-first** — agents already speak HTML. The CLI is non-interactive by default, designed for agent-driven workflows.
- **Deterministic rendering** — same input = identical output. Built for automated pipelines.
- **Frame Adapter pattern** — bring your own animation runtime (GSAP, Lottie, CSS, Three.js).
## Hyperframes vs Remotion
Hyperframes is inspired by [Remotion](https://www.remotion.dev) — we used Remotion at HeyGen in production, learned a ton from it, and kept attribution comments in the source for the patterns it pioneered (Chrome launch flags, image2pipe → FFmpeg streaming, frame buffering). Both tools drive headless Chrome and both are deterministic. They differ on one decision: **what the primary author writes.** Remotion's bet is React components; Hyperframes' bet is HTML.
| | **Hyperframes** | **Remotion** |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | --------------------------------- |
| Authoring | HTML + CSS + GSAP | React components (TSX) |
| Build step | None; `index.html` plays as-is | Required (bundler) |
| Library-clock animations (GSAP, Anime.js, Motion One) | Seekable, frame-accurate | Plays at wall-clock during render |
| Arbitrary HTML / CSS passthrough | Paste and animate | Rewrite as JSX |
| Distributed rendering | Single-machine today | Lambda, production-ready |
### Licensing: fully open source vs source-available
**Hyperframes is completely open source under [Apache 2.0](LICENSE)** — an OSI-approved license. Use it commercially at any scale, with no per-render fees, no seat caps, no company-size thresholds.
**Remotion is [source-available, not open source](https://www.remotion.pro/license).** The code is on GitHub under a custom Remotion License that requires a paid company license above small-team thresholds. It's a great product with a real team behind it — but if open-source licensing matters to you (OSI compliance, redistribution rights, no per-use fees), that's a first-order decision point.
Full write-up with benchmarks, an honest list of where each tool wins, and a GSAP side-by-side: **[Hyperframes vs Remotion guide](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/guides/hyperframes-vs-remotion)**.
## How It Works
Define your video as HTML with data attributes:
```html
```
Preview instantly in the browser. Render to MP4 locally or in Docker.
## Catalog
50+ ready-to-use blocks and components — social overlays, shader transitions, data visualizations, and cinematic effects:
```bash
npx hyperframes add flash-through-white # shader transition
npx hyperframes add instagram-follow # social overlay
npx hyperframes add data-chart # animated chart
```
Browse the full catalog at **[hyperframes.heygen.com/catalog](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/catalog/blocks/data-chart)**.
## Documentation
Full documentation at **[hyperframes.heygen.com/introduction](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/introduction)** — [Quickstart](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/quickstart) | [Guides](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/guides/gsap-animation) | [API Reference](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/packages/core) | [Catalog](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/catalog/blocks/data-chart)
## Packages
| Package | Description |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| [`hyperframes`](packages/cli) | CLI — create, preview, lint, and render compositions |
| [`@hyperframes/core`](packages/core) | Types, parsers, generators, linter, runtime, frame adapters |
| [`@hyperframes/engine`](packages/engine) | Seekable page-to-video capture engine (Puppeteer + FFmpeg) |
| [`@hyperframes/producer`](packages/producer) | Full rendering pipeline (capture + encode + audio mix) |
| [`@hyperframes/studio`](packages/studio) | Browser-based composition editor UI |
| [`@hyperframes/player`](packages/player) | Embeddable `` web component |
| [`@hyperframes/shader-transitions`](packages/shader-transitions) | WebGL shader transitions for compositions |
## Skills
HyperFrames ships [skills](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) that teach AI agents framework-specific patterns that generic docs don't cover.
```bash
npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes
```
| Skill | What it teaches |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `hyperframes` | HTML composition authoring, captions, TTS, audio-reactive animation, transitions |
| `hyperframes-cli` | CLI commands: init, lint, preview, render, transcribe, tts, doctor |
| `hyperframes-registry` | Block and component installation via `hyperframes add` |
| `website-to-hyperframes` | Capture a URL and turn it into a video — full website-to-video pipeline |
| `gsap` | GSAP animation API, timelines, easing, ScrollTrigger, plugins, React/Vue/Svelte, performance |
## Contributing
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.
### Cloning the repo
The repo uses [Git LFS](https://git-lfs.com) for golden regression-test baselines under `packages/producer/tests/**/output.mp4` (~240 MB of `.mp4` files). If you're cloning the full repo for development, install Git LFS first:
```bash
# macOS
brew install git-lfs
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install git-lfs
# Windows
winget install GitHub.GitLFS
# (or install Git for Windows, which bundles Git LFS as an optional component)
# Then (once, per machine)
git lfs install
```
If you hit `git-lfs filter-process: command not found` during `git clone` or `npx skills add heygen-com/hyperframes`, install Git LFS and retry. You can also skip LFS content if you only need the source files:
```bash
GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes.git
```
## License
[Apache 2.0](LICENSE)
