# How Claude Video Ensures Consistent Behavior Across Different Hosts > Discover how Claude Video's self-contained skill package ensures consistent execution across all hosts like Code, Codex, Cursor, and Copilot, guaranteeing identical behavior. - Repository: [bradautomates/claude-video](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video) - Tags: architecture - Published: 2026-07-28 --- **Claude Video implements a self-contained skill package that isolates all runtime code from the host environment, guaranteeing identical execution whether running in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, or any other Agent Skills host.** The `bradautomates/claude-video` repository solves environment drift by treating the entire `skills/watch/` directory as an immutable deployment unit. This architecture ensures consistent behavior across different hosts through strict host-agnostic boundaries and portable path resolution strategies. ## Self-Contained Skill Architecture ### The Skill Contract and Runtime Co-location Unlike traditional CLI tools that separate documentation from execution, Claude Video colocates its **skill contract** ([`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/SKILL.md)) with its **runtime scripts** (`scripts/…`) inside `skills/watch/`. As documented in [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/AGENTS.md), this design eliminates the "missing scripts" problem that previously broke installations on non-Claude hosts by ensuring the contract and its implementation always travel together. ### Single-Folder Deployment Model The installation process—whether invoked via `npx skills add` or manual cloning—copies the entire `skills/watch/` directory as a single atomic unit. According to the source code in [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/AGENTS.md), this single-folder deployment ensures that the contract and its scripts remain together, preventing the classic configuration drift where host-specific paths cause runtime failures. ## Host-Agnostic Path Resolution The [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/SKILL.md) file defines `SKILL_DIR` as *the absolute path of the directory containing this SKILL.md* (line 20). Every script invocation uses `${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/...` rather than host-specific variables like `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}`. This resolution strategy works identically across Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, and any other Agent Skills host, as the variable resolves at runtime to wherever the skill is physically located. You can invoke the main entry point directly using this portable path resolution: ```bash # Assume SKILL_DIR points to the folder containing SKILL.md python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/watch.py" "https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ" --detail balanced ``` ## Synchronized Command Generation The slash command `/watch` is generated directly from the front-matter in [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/SKILL.md) (`name: watch`, `user-invocable: true`) at line 2. Because the command derives from the same file that drives runtime execution, behavior stays synchronized across all surfaces. There is no separate command wrapper that could drift out of sync with the implementation. Users invoke the skill identically on any host: ```text /watch https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ Explain the chorus. ``` ## Portable Configuration and Pre-Flight Checks The [`scripts/setup.py`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/scripts/setup.py) module (line 2) performs host-independent validation of prerequisites including **ffmpeg** and **yt-dlp** installation. It also scaffolds a portable configuration under `~/.config/watch/.env`. Because the same script executes on every invocation regardless of host, each environment enforces identical prerequisites and configuration structure. Run the setup explicitly to verify your environment: ```bash python3 "${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/setup.py" --json # Emits JSON status, creates ~/.config/watch/.env ``` ## Deterministic Distribution Packaging The [`scripts/build-skill.sh`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/scripts/build-skill.sh) script (line 5) archives the entire `skills/watch/` subtree into a single `.skill` zip file. This packaging preserves the exact directory layout required by every host, ensuring that the distributed artifact matches the development structure byte-for-byte. The resulting archive contains everything needed to run the skill without additional host configuration. Create the distributable package: ```bash bash skills/watch/scripts/build-skill.sh # Produces dist/watch.skill ``` ## Summary - **Self-contained `skills/watch/` directory** ensures all dependencies and scripts travel together as a single unit - **`SKILL_DIR` variable** provides host-agnostic path resolution without hardcoding host-specific environment variables - **Front-matter driven command generation** prevents interface drift between the slash command and its implementation - **[`setup.py`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/setup.py) pre-flight checks** enforce consistent prerequisites across all environments - **`.skill` archives** preserve exact directory layouts for deterministic distribution ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What makes Claude Video "host-agnostic"? Claude Video avoids host-specific variables like `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}` by resolving paths relative to `SKILL_DIR`, which is defined in [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/SKILL.md) as the absolute path of the directory containing the contract file. This allows the same code to run in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Copilot without modification, as each host resolves the variable to its own installation path at runtime. ### How does the skill handle missing dependencies on different systems? The [`scripts/setup.py`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/scripts/setup.py) file runs host-independent checks for **ffmpeg** and **yt-dlp** availability before executing video processing tasks. If dependencies are missing, the script emits a JSON status report detailing the failure. This ensures that every host enforces identical prerequisites, preventing "works on my machine" scenarios where one environment has hidden system dependencies. ### Can I run Claude Video outside of Claude Code? Yes. Because the skill uses standard Python 3 and shell scripts with no proprietary APIs, you can invoke [`scripts/watch.py`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/scripts/watch.py) directly using the `${SKILL_DIR}` path resolution pattern. This makes the skill portable to any environment that can execute Python, including local development machines or CI/CD pipelines, provided the setup script has initialized the `~/.config/watch` configuration directory. ### Why does the skill use a `.skill` archive format? The `.skill` file produced by [`build-skill.sh`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/build-skill.sh) is a standard zip archive that preserves the exact directory structure of `skills/watch/`. This format ensures that when the skill is installed on different hosts, the relative paths between [`SKILL.md`](https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video/blob/main/SKILL.md) and `scripts/` remain constant. The archive functions as an immutable artifact, guaranteeing that the version running in production matches the version tested during development.