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Video Explorer

  • 6 installs
  • 5 repo stars
  • Updated February 7, 2026
  • cygnusfear/claude-stuff

Analyzes video files by extracting frames hierarchically, starting with an overview then zooming into regions of interest at higher resolution.

About

This skill lets Claude understand video by extracting frames hierarchically, first a wide overview then denser zoom on interesting regions. A developer uses it to watch, review, or analyze video content.

  • Hierarchical frame extraction from wide to zoomed
  • Overview thumbnails at fixed intervals via a bundled script

Video Explorer by the numbers

  • 6 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • Ranked #1,694 of 2,719 Automation & Workflows skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Data as of Jul 29, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/cygnusfear/claude-stuff --skill video-explorer

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Listed on Skillselion
Installs6
repo stars5
Last updatedFebruary 7, 2026
Repositorycygnusfear/claude-stuff

What it does

Analyzes video files by extracting frames hierarchically, starting with an overview then zooming into regions of interest at higher resolution.

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Video Explorer

Analyze video content through hierarchical frame extraction. Start wide, identify interesting regions, zoom in.

Workflow

1. Overview First

Extract quick thumbnails to see the video timeline:

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx overview <video>

This creates small frames (320px) at 10-second intervals in ./videx-out/<name>/overview/.

Read all overview frames to understand video structure:

ls ./videx-out/<name>/overview/

Then use the Read tool on the jpg files to see them.

2. Identify Regions of Interest

After viewing overview frames, identify timestamps where:

  • Something interesting is happening
  • More detail is needed
  • Action is occurring that requires temporal resolution

3. Zoom In

For a time range (more frames, higher resolution):

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx range <video> <start>-<end>
# Example: videx range talk.mp4 5:30-6:00

For higher temporal resolution (catch fast action):

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx range <video> <start>-<end> --fps=10

For a single frame at full detail:

./skills/video-explorer/scripts/videx zoom <video> <time>
# Example: videx zoom talk.mp4 5:45

4. Iterate

Repeat zoom operations as needed until the question is answered.

Commands Reference

CommandPurposeOutput
videx overview <video>Quick timeline scan320px frames @ 10s intervals
videx overview <video> 5 480Denser timeline480px frames @ 5s intervals
videx range <video> <start>-<end>Extract segment1280px frames @ 2fps
videx range <video> <start>-<end> --fps=10Fast action1280px frames @ 10fps
videx zoom <video> <time>Single frame detail1920px single frame
videx zoom <video> <time> --hdMaximum detailFull resolution frame

Time Formats

All commands accept these time formats:

  • 1:30 = 1 minute 30 seconds
  • 01:30:00 = 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 90 = 90 seconds
  • 1:30.5 = 1 minute 30.5 seconds

Output Structure

Frames are saved with timestamps in filenames for easy reference:

./videx-out/
└── video-name/
    ├── overview/
    │   ├── t_00-00-00.00.jpg
    │   ├── t_00-00-10.00.jpg
    │   └── ...
    ├── range_5-30_6-00/
    │   ├── t_00-05-30.00.jpg
    │   └── ...
    └── zoom/
        └── t_00-05-45.00.jpg

Example Session

User asks: "What happens in this lecture video around the 10 minute mark?"

1. Run overview to understand video structure 2. View overview frames, note that slides change around 9:30-11:00 3. Extract that range: videx range lecture.mp4 9:30-11:00 4. View range frames, find the specific slide transition at 10:15 5. Zoom for detail: videx zoom lecture.mp4 10:15 6. Report findings with specific timestamps

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