Video-Use: How to Edit Videos with AI Coding Agents — Drop Footage, Chat, Get Final.mp4

Introduction: AI Video Editing Without the Learning Curve

Video editing has traditionally been one of the most time-consuming and skill-intensive tasks for developers who create content. Whether you're recording tutorials, product demos, conference talks, or travel vlogs, the post-production process can easily take hours or even days.

But what if your AI coding assistant could handle all of that for you? What if you could simply say "edit these into a launch video" and get back a polished result?

That's exactly what Video-Use does. It's an open-source tool from the team behind Browser-Use that transforms AI coding agents into full-fledged video editors. No timelines to scrub, no color grading panels to master, no audio mixing to learn — just natural conversation.

How Video-Use Works: The LLM Reads Your Video, Not Watches It

The genius of Video-Use lies in how it represents video content to the AI. Instead of dumping thousands of frames into the model (which would consume millions of tokens), it uses a two-layer approach:

Layer 1: Audio Transcript (Always Loaded)

Every video source gets transcribed using ElevenLabs Scribe, which provides word-level timestamps, speaker diarization, and audio events like (laughter) or (applause). All takes get packed into a single ~12KB markdown file that serves as the AI's primary reading view:

## C0103 (duration: 43.0s, 8 phrases)
 [002.52-005.36] S0 Ninety percent of what a web agent does is completely wasted.
 [006.08-006.74] S0 We fixed this.

Layer 2: Visual Composite (On Demand)

When the AI needs to make visual decisions — like comparing retakes or checking cut points — it generates a filmstrip with waveform and word labels for specific time ranges. This is only called at decision points, not for the entire video.

The result? Instead of 30,000 frames × 1,500 tokens = 45 million tokens, Video-Use works with just 12KB of text plus a handful of PNGs. It's the same principle as giving an LLM a structured DOM instead of a screenshot — but for video.

Key Features That Make Video-Use Stand Out

Intelligent Audio Processing

Video-Use automatically cuts out filler words (umm, uh, false starts) and dead space between takes. It adds 30ms audio fades at every cut so you never hear a pop or click. The audio is the primary driver for edit decisions — cuts come from speech boundaries and silence gaps, not arbitrary timestamps.

Professional Color Grading

Every segment gets auto color graded with presets like warm cinematic, neutral punch, or any custom ffmpeg chain you define. No more manually adjusting curves and levels for each clip.

Subtitle Burning

Subtitles get burned in with your custom style — 2-word UPPERCASE chunks by default, but fully customizable. Perfect for social media content where captions are essential.

Animation Overlays

Video-Use can generate animation overlays using HyperFrames, Remotion, Manim, or PIL. These get spawned in parallel sub-agents, one per animation, for maximum efficiency.

Self-Evaluation Loop

Before showing you anything, Video-Use runs a self-evaluation at every cut boundary. It checks for visual jumps, audio pops, hidden subtitles, and other issues. You only see the preview after it passes all checks. If there's an issue, it fixes and re-renders (up to 3 attempts).

Session Memory

Video-Use persists session memory in a project.md file, so next week's editing session picks up right where you left off. Your style preferences, project structure, and editing decisions all carry over.

Real-World Example: Creating a Product Launch Video

Let's say you've recorded 10 takes of a product launch video. Here's how you'd use Video-Use:

cd /path/to/your/videos
claude  # or codex, hermes, etc.

# In the session:
edit these into a launch video

The agent then:

1. Inventories the source files and reads the transcripts
2. Proposes an editing strategy (which takes to use, pacing, structure)
3. Waits for your approval
4. Executes the edit, producing edit/final.mp4
5. Self-evaluates at every cut boundary
6. Shows you the preview only after it passes all checks

The entire process takes minutes instead of hours, and you get professional-grade output without touching a single timeline.

Installation and Setup

Getting Video-Use running is straightforward:

# 1. Clone and symlink into your agent's skills directory
git clone https://github.com/browser-use/video-use ~/Developer/video-use
ln -sfn ~/Developer/video-use ~/.claude/skills/video-use  # Claude Code
# ln -sfn ~/Developer/video-use ~/.codex/skills/video-use  # Codex

# 2. Install dependencies
cd ~/Developer/video-use
uv sync  # or: pip install -e .
brew install ffmpeg  # required
brew install yt-dlp  # optional, for downloading online sources

# 3. Add your ElevenLabs API key
cp .env.example .env
$EDITOR .env  # ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...

Then just point your agent at a folder of raw takes and describe what you want.

Key Benefits

• Zero learning curve — No need to learn Premiere, Final Cut, or DaVinci Resolve
• Natural language interface — Just describe what you want in plain English
• Professional output — Color grading, audio cleanup, subtitles, animations all handled automatically
• Self-evaluating — Catches issues before you see them
• Session persistence — Your preferences and project structure carry over between sessions
• 100% open source — Full control over your editing pipeline
• Works with multiple agents — Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, OpenClaw, and more
• Local processing — Your footage never leaves your machine (except for ElevenLabs transcription)

When to Use Video-Use

Video-Use is perfect for:

• Talking head content — Tutorials, product demos, thought leadership videos
• Montages — Travel videos, event recaps, highlight reels
• Interviews — Podcast clips, customer testimonials, expert roundups
• Tutorials — Screen recordings with voiceover, coding walkthroughs
• Product launches — Quick turnarounds on announcement videos

It's not designed for complex narrative editing with intricate plot structures, but for the vast majority of developer and business content, it's a game-changer.

FAQ

Q: Does Video-Use work with any AI coding agent?

A: Video-Use works with any agent that has shell access, including Claude Code, Codex, Hermes, OpenClaw, and others. The installation process automatically detects and configures the agent you're using.

Q: Do I need video editing experience to use Video-Use?

A: Not at all. That's the whole point. You describe what you want in natural language, and the AI handles all the technical aspects like cuts, color grading, audio cleanup, and subtitles.

Q: How does Video-Use handle privacy and security?

A: All video processing happens locally on your machine. The only external service used is ElevenLabs for audio transcription (which you can self-host if needed). Your footage never leaves your machine except for the transcription step.

Q: Can I customize the editing style?

A: Yes. While Video-Use has sensible defaults, you can customize color grading presets, subtitle styles, animation frameworks, and more. The tool follows 12 hard production rules but gives you artistic freedom everywhere else.

Q: What video formats does Video-Use support?

A: Video-Use works with any format that ffmpeg can handle, which includes MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, and most other common video formats. It outputs final.mp4 by default.

Q: How long does it take to edit a video?

A: It depends on the length and complexity of your footage, but typically minutes instead of hours. The transcription step is the most time-consuming part, and that's handled by ElevenLabs in the cloud.

Q: Can Video-Use handle multiple camera angles?

A: Yes. Video-Use can work with multiple sources and will intelligently switch between angles based on speaker diarization and visual quality.

Q: Is Video-Use free?

A: Yes, Video-Use is 100% open source and free to use. You'll need an ElevenLabs API key for transcription, which has a free tier with limited usage.