<p align="center"><strong>The first open-source, agentic video production system.</strong></p>
OpenMontage turns your AI coding assistant into a full video production studio. Tell it what you want — a 60-second explainer, a cinematic brand teaser, a batch of TikTok clips from your podcast — and your agent handles the entire pipeline: research, scripting, asset generation, editing, and final composition.
No video editing experience required. No complex UI to learn. Just describe your vision in plain language.
Works with **Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, Codex** — any AI coding assistant that can read files and run code.
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## Why OpenMontage?
Most AI video tools give you a single clip from a prompt. OpenMontage gives you an **end-to-end production pipeline** — the same structured process a real production team follows, automated by your AI agent.
Edit your own talking-head footage. Generate a fully animated explainer from scratch. Cut a 2-hour podcast into a dozen social clips. Translate and dub your content into 10 languages. Build a cinematic brand teaser from stock footage and AI-generated scenes. **If a production team can make it, OpenMontage can orchestrate it.**
- **11 production pipelines** — explainers, talking heads, screen demos, cinematic trailers, animations, podcasts, localization, and more
- **400+ agent skills** — production skills, pipeline directors, creative techniques, quality checklists, and deep technology knowledge packs that teach the agent how to use every tool like an expert
- **Live web research built in** — before writing a single word of script, the agent runs 15-25+ web searches across YouTube, Reddit, news sites, and academic sources to ground your video in real, current data
- **Both free/local AND cloud providers** — every capability supports open-source local alternatives alongside premium APIs. Use what you have.
- **No vendor lock-in** — swap providers freely. The selector pattern auto-routes to whatever's available on your machine.
- **Budget governance built in** — cost estimation before execution, spend caps, per-action approval thresholds. No surprise bills.
| **Remotion** | Local (Node.js) | React-based programmatic video — animated text cards, stat cards, charts, spring physics transitions, image-to-video with motion. **When no video generation providers are configured, the agent generates still images and Remotion turns them into fully animated video.** |
| **FFmpeg** | Local | Core video assembly, encoding, subtitle burn, audio muxing, color grading |
Each stage has a dedicated **director skill** — a markdown instruction file that teaches the agent exactly how to execute that stage. The agent reads the skill, uses the tools, self-reviews, checkpoints state, and asks for human approval at creative decision points.
> **Web research is a first-class stage.** Before writing a single word of script, the agent searches YouTube, Reddit, Hacker News, news sites, and academic sources. It gathers data points, audience questions, trending angles, and visual references — then cites everything in a structured research brief. Your videos are grounded in real, current information, not hallucinated facts.
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## How It Works
OpenMontage uses an **agent-first architecture**. There is no code orchestrator. Your AI coding assistant IS the orchestrator.
```
You: "Make an explainer video about how black holes form"
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Agent reads pipeline manifest (YAML) -- what stages to run, what tools to use
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v
Agent reads stage director skill (Markdown) -- HOW to execute each stage
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v
Agent calls Python tools -- TTS, image gen, video gen, FFmpeg, etc.
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v
Agent self-reviews using reviewer skill -- quality checks
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Agent checkpoints state (JSON) -- resumable if interrupted
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v
Agent presents for your approval -- you stay in control
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Final video output
```
**Python provides tools and persistence.** All creative decisions, orchestration logic, review criteria, and quality standards live in readable instruction files (YAML manifests + Markdown skills) that you can inspect and customize.
Each tool declares which Layer 3 skills it relies on. The agent reads Layer 1 to know what's available, Layer 2 to know how OpenMontage wants it used, and Layer 3 for deep technical knowledge when needed.
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## Style System
Style playbooks define the visual language for your productions:
Playbooks control typography, color palettes, motion styles, audio profiles, and quality rules. The agent reads the playbook and applies it consistently across all generated assets.
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## Platform Output Profiles
Built-in render profiles for every major platform:
| Profile | Resolution | Aspect Ratio |
|---------|-----------|--------------|
| YouTube Landscape | 1920x1080 | 16:9 |
| YouTube 4K | 3840x2160 | 16:9 |
| YouTube Shorts | 1080x1920 | 9:16 |
| Instagram Reels | 1080x1920 | 9:16 |
| Instagram Feed | 1080x1080 | 1:1 |
| TikTok | 1080x1920 | 9:16 |
| LinkedIn | 1920x1080 | 16:9 |
| Cinematic | 2560x1080 | 21:9 |
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## Budget Governance
Every paid API call goes through the cost tracker:
- **Estimate** before execution — see what it will cost
See `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md` for the full technical reference, `docs/PROVIDERS.md` for the complete provider guide (setup, pricing, free tiers), and `AGENT_GUIDE.md` for the agent contract.
