How to Install the Claude-Video Skill: Complete Setup Guide

To install the Claude-Video skill, use the Claude Code marketplace command /plugin install watch@claude-video, the Agent Skills CLI npx skills add bradautomates/claude-video -g, or manually symlink the skills/watch/ directory into your host's skill folder.

The Claude-Video watch skill is a self-contained video analysis tool hosted in the bradautomates/claude-video repository. When you install the Claude-Video skill, you register the skills/watch/ directory—containing the manifest (SKILL.md) and runtime scripts—with any Agent-Skills compatible host. Because the skill resolves all paths relative to SKILL_DIR, it requires no host-specific environment variables and works identically across Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, and the Claude web UI.

Installation Methods for Different Hosts

Claude Code (Recommended)

The simplest way to install the Claude-Video skill in Claude Code is through the built-in marketplace.

/plugin marketplace add bradautomates/claude-video
/plugin install watch@claude-video

This pulls the latest released version and registers skills/watch/ in the Claude Code plugin cache.

Codex, Cursor, Copilot, and Gemini CLI

For hosts that support the Agent Skills specification, use the global installer:

npx skills add bradautomates/claude-video -g

The CLI discovers skills/watch/SKILL.md and copies or symlinks the folder into the host's global skill directory (e.g., ~/.codex/skills or ~/.cursor/skills).

Claude Web UI (claude.ai)

To install on the web interface:

1. Download the pre-built watch.skill bundle from the latest release
2. Navigate to Settings → Capabilities → Skills
3. Click + and upload the bundle file

The bundle is a zipped copy of skills/watch/ that the web UI unpacks automatically.

Manual and Development Installation

For development or to keep the installation synced with a local git repository:

git clone https://github.com/bradautomates/claude-video.git
ln -s "$(pwd)/claude-video/skills/watch" ~/.claude/skills/watch

This symlinks directly to claude-video/skills/watch/, ensuring changes to your working copy reflect immediately in the installed skill.

What Gets Installed

All installation methods ultimately produce the same directory structure:

skills/watch/
 ├─ SKILL.md                ← skill contract and manifest
 └─ scripts/
     ├─ watch.py            ← main entry point
     ├─ download.py         ← yt-dlp wrapper
     ├─ frames.py           ← ffmpeg frame extraction
     ├─ transcribe.py       ← caption parsing
     ├─ whisper.py          ← Groq/OpenAI client
     ├─ config.py           ← reads ~/.config/watch/.env
     ├─ setup.py            ← pre-flight installer
     └─ build-skill.sh      ← bundling script

The SKILL.md file serves as the source of truth, defining the skill's name, version, and allowed tools. The scripts/watch.py file acts as the orchestrator, invoking helpers like download.py and frames.py when users run the /watch command.

Post-Installation Configuration

After you install the Claude-Video skill, the first execution triggers scripts/setup.py to perform pre-flight checks:

• Verifies ffmpeg and yt-dlp binaries are installed (auto-installs via Homebrew on macOS, prints apt/dnf/pipx commands on Linux)
• Scaffolds ~/.config/watch/.env with placeholder API keys for Whisper transcription services

The skill relies solely on standard-library Python plus these external binaries, ensuring consistent behavior across all hosts without additional environment variables.

Building a Custom Bundle

To package the skill manually for claude.ai upload:

bash skills/watch/scripts/build-skill.sh

This creates dist/watch.skill, a zipped archive of skills/watch/ ready for manual installation.

Summary

• Install via Claude Code: Use /plugin install watch@claude-video for automatic marketplace installation.
• Install via Agent Skills CLI: Run npx skills add bradautomates/claude-video -g for Codex, Cursor, Copilot, or Gemini CLI.
• Install on Claude Web: Download the watch.skill bundle and upload via Settings.
• Manual Install: Clone the repository and symlink skills/watch/ into ~/.claude/skills/ or equivalent.
• First Run: scripts/setup.py automatically checks dependencies and creates ~/.config/watch/.env.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Claude-Video skill located in the repository?

The skill resides in the skills/watch/ directory at the root of the bradautomates/claude-video repository. This folder contains the SKILL.md manifest and the scripts/ subdirectory with all runtime logic.

Do I need to set environment variables to install the Claude-Video skill?

No. The skill uses SKILL_DIR to resolve paths relative to the directory containing SKILL.md. It does not require host-specific environment variables, making it portable across Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and other Agent-Skills hosts.

What dependencies does the skill require after installation?

The skill requires Python 3.x (standard library only), ffmpeg for video processing, and yt-dlp for downloading. The scripts/setup.py file checks for these on first run and guides you through installation if they are missing.

Can I modify the skill after installing it?

Yes, if you use the manual installation method with ln -s. Symlinking the skills/watch/ directory allows you to edit files in your git clone and see changes immediately in the installed skill without reinstallation.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}