Installation Requirements for Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor: A Complete Guide

The claude-video skill installs via marketplace for Claude Code, Agent Skills CLI for Codex/Cursor, or manual symlink, with all hosts sharing the same core files in skills/watch/ and lazy-installing ffmpeg, yt-dlp, and Whisper dependencies on first use.

The claude-video repository packages video analysis capabilities as a portable skill that runs identically across different AI coding hosts. While each platform handles installation differently, all implementations rely on the same canonical files in skills/watch/ to ensure consistent behavior when executing the /watch command.

Claude Code Installation Requirements

Claude Code installs the skill through its native plugin marketplace. The host reads .claude-plugin/plugin.json to resolve the skill location and entry points.

Run these commands in your Claude Code session:

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

The host automatically executes scripts/setup.py on first invocation. This pre-flight script installs ffmpeg and yt-dlp via brew on macOS, and scaffolds a ~/.config/watch/.env file for Whisper API configuration. No manual dependency management is required.

Codex and Cursor Installation Requirements

For Codex, Cursor, and other Agent Skills-compatible hosts, use the Agent Skills CLI to install the skill globally or target specific hosts.

Install across all Agent Skills hosts:

npx skills add bradautomates/claude-video -g

Target a specific host:

npx skills add bradautomates/claude-video -g -a codex

The CLI copies the entire skills/watch/ folder into the host-specific directory (e.g., ~/.codex/skills or ~/.cursor/skills). The .codex-plugin/plugin.json manifest points to ./skills/ to ensure the host recognizes the skill structure. Use the --copy flag instead of symlinks if your filesystem does not support symbolic links.

Manual Installation for Development

Developers can install the skill manually without host-specific tooling by cloning the repository and symlinking the skill folder.

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

To build a distributable .skill bundle for Claude AI, execute the build script:

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

This packages SKILL.md and the scripts/ directory into a format suitable for manual import.

Shared Runtime Dependencies

All installation methods share identical runtime requirements, which are installed lazily during the first /watch command execution. The skills/watch/scripts/setup.py file orchestrates these dependencies:

• ffmpeg – Required by scripts/frames.py for extracting video frames.
• yt-dlp – Used by scripts/download.py to fetch video assets and native captions.
• Whisper API key – Optional; only required when videos lack embedded captions. The setup script creates ~/.config/watch/.env with placeholders for GROQ_API_KEY (preferred) and OPENAI_API_KEY.

The skill entry point at skills/watch/scripts/watch.py orchestrates the workflow: download → frame extraction → transcript generation, regardless of which host initiated the installation.

Summary

• Claude Code uses marketplace commands (/plugin install) and auto-runs scripts/setup.py to configure dependencies.
• Codex/Cursor use the Agent Skills CLI (npx skills add) to copy skills/watch/ into host-specific directories like ~/.codex/skills/.
• Manual installation requires cloning and symlinking, with optional .skill bundle generation via build-skill.sh.
• All hosts rely on the same core files: SKILL.md defines the contract, while scripts/setup.py handles lazy installation of ffmpeg, yt-dlp, and Whisper API configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to install ffmpeg and yt-dlp manually before using the skill?

No. The scripts/setup.py file automatically installs these dependencies on first use. For macOS systems, it uses brew to install ffmpeg and yt-dlp. The skill is designed to be self-contained, requiring only the host-specific installation steps to get started.

Can I use the same skill installation for both Claude Code and Cursor simultaneously?

Yes. The skill is host-agnostic. You can symlink the same skills/watch/ folder into both ~/.claude/skills and ~/.cursor/skills directories. Both hosts will execute the same SKILL.md and scripts/watch.py files, ensuring identical behavior across platforms.

What API keys are required for the Whisper transcription feature?

The skill optionally supports GROQ_API_KEY (preferred) or OPENAI_API_KEY for Whisper transcription when videos lack native captions. During first run, scripts/setup.py creates a ~/.config/watch/.env file with placeholder entries for both keys. You only need to populate one to enable automatic transcription.

How do I uninstall the skill from a specific host?

For Claude Code, use /plugin uninstall watch. For Codex or Cursor, remove the skills/watch directory from the host's skills folder (e.g., ~/.codex/skills/watch or ~/.cursor/skills/watch). You may also delete the ~/.config/watch/ directory to remove cached dependencies and API configuration.

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