--- title: "AutoClip on GitHub: English guide, install and MCP" description: "AutoClip (zhouxiaoka/autoclip, 10K stars, MIT) in English: the desktop app, Docker, the CLI and autoclip-mcp for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, and fixes." url: https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/autoclip updated: 2026-11-13 --- # AutoClip — guide skill for Shorts & Reels > **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q="` returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add `.md` to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page. From a terminal: `curl -fsSL https://varg.ai/install | sh` installs the vargai CLI (https://varg.ai/how-to/cli.md): `vargai search` and `vargai install ` with no key, every varg model after `vargai login`. Free MIT desktop app, CLI and MCP: a link or long video in, platform-ready clips with covers and post copy out. - **Type:** [Guide](https://varg.ai/how-to/guides.md) · [Shorts & Reels](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/shorts.md) - **Slug:** `autoclip` - **Status:** live - **Publisher:** zhouxiaoka (community) - **License:** MIT - **Source:** https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip - **Works in:** Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Any MCP client - **Requires:** Desktop: macOS on Apple Silicon or Windows 10/11 x64 (Python and FFmpeg bundled), CLI/MCP: Python 3.10+ (3.11 recommended), FFmpeg and FFprobe on PATH, uv for uvx, A cloud model key (AUTOCLIP_API_KEY or the desktop settings) or a local Ollama / LM Studio model - **Cost:** Free app (MIT); you pay your own model and speech-to-text providers. The README measured about CNY 0.09 of qwen-plus text-model use for a 1 h 43 min source that had creator captions. - **Adoption:** 10,389 GitHub stars (GitHub, 2026-11-13) ## What it does AutoClip by zhouxiaoka is an MIT-licensed AI clipping tool for interviews, podcasts and courses. Paste a YouTube or Bilibili link or pick a local file, choose Douyin, Xiaohongshu, TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, Bilibili or YouTube, and it renders up to 10 ranked clips per platform, each with a cover, title, description, hashtags and a ZIP publish kit. Cutting, speaker framing and rendering run on your computer; captions come from the source, local Whisper or SenseVoice, or cloud speech-to-text, and the moments are picked by the model you choose, Ollama and LM Studio included. It ships as a desktop app (Apple Silicon Mac, Windows x64), a Docker web app, and a CLI with an MCP server (`uvx autoclip-mcp`) for agents; the main README is in Chinese, with an English one beside it. ## How to use AutoClip, step by step 1. Desktop: download the latest release, `aarch64.dmg` for an Apple Silicon Mac or `x64-setup.exe` for Windows 10/11. If macOS 15+ blocks it, allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway; at Windows SmartScreen choose More info → Run anyway. 2. Open Settings, pick a model provider, paste its API key, test the connection and save. For a local model start Ollama (http://localhost:11434/v1) or LM Studio (http://localhost:1234/v1) and load a model first. 3. On the empty home screen click the example project button (its label is in Chinese and means "see an example project"); it needs no key and the example ships inside the installer. Then paste your own link or file, pick the platform and a vertical layout (interview or full-screen podcast). 4. No subtitles on the source? Local Whisper downloads about 220 MB the first time. To skip it, switch Settings → Default models → Speech to subtitles to Alibaba Bailian cloud transcription, which uploads the audio. 5. For agents: `uvx autoclip-mcp` runs the MCP server. Register it in Claude Code with `claude mcp add-json autoclip '{"command":"uvx","args":["autoclip-mcp"],"env":{"AUTOCLIP_API_KEY":"${AUTOCLIP_API_KEY}"}}'` (the single quotes keep the key out of the config file), and add the skill with `npx skills add zhouxiaoka/autoclip`. 6. Ask: "Make Shorts and TikTok clips from and give me the covers and post text." The agent calls `start_quick_output`, polls `get_quick_output_status`, then asks once more with `export_kits=true` for the files. 7. From a shell: `autoclip produce talk.mp4 --srt talk.srt --platform douyin --portrait-style podcast --json`, then `autoclip outputs PROJECT_ID --export-kits`. ## What you get per platform Each platform you pick gets up to 10 top-ranked clips that fit its frame and length rules, plus more on demand. Every clip comes with a cover, a title, a description, hashtags and a ZIP publish kit; copied post text carries no AutoClip credit. Douyin and Xiaohongshu default to the interview layout, TikTok, Reels and Shorts to full-screen podcast, Bilibili and YouTube stay landscape. Framing follows the speaker and keeps the full frame when nobody is found. A brand outro is on by default; switch it off in Settings. From the CLI and MCP the default template is classic, so the same call gives the same result across upgrades; ask for `--template editorial` or `template: "street"` explicitly. ## Where your data goes Cutting and rendering never leave your computer. Cloud analysis sends captions and post text, visual analysis sends sampled frames, cloud speech-to-text sends the audio; local models and local Whisper send nothing. Clips upload only when you publish (Bilibili or Upload-Post accounts). Analytics and error reports can be turned off in Settings. ## MCP in other agents - **Cursor** (`~/.cursor/mcp.json`): `{"mcpServers":{"autoclip":{"command":"uvx","args":["autoclip-mcp"],"env":{"AUTOCLIP_API_KEY":"${env:AUTOCLIP_API_KEY}"}}}}`. - **Codex** (`~/.codex/config.toml`): a `[mcp_servers.autoclip]` table with `command = "uvx"`, `args = ["autoclip-mcp"]`, `env_vars = ["AUTOCLIP_API_KEY"]`, and raise `startup_timeout_sec` to 120 and `tool_timeout_sec` to 3600, because the first uvx start downloads dependencies and a clip job takes minutes. - **From a source install:** `claude mcp add autoclip -- /path/to/autoclip/venv/bin/autoclip mcp`. - **OpenCode:** `autoclip mcp install opencode` writes the config for you. Job status always carries `progress`, `stage`, `eta` and `poll_after_sec`; `cancel_job` stops ffmpeg and keeps finished clips. The MCP no longer takes an `api_key` argument: use `AUTOCLIP_API_KEY` or the desktop settings. ## Docker `git clone https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip.git`, `cd autoclip`, `cp env.example .env`, `mkdir -p data logs uploads`, `docker compose up -d --build`, then open http://localhost:3000 (API docs on port 8000). Inside Docker `localhost` is the container, so point a local model at an address the container can reach. ## Time and cost the README measured On one Apple Silicon Mac in October 2026: a 1 h 43 min English talk with creator captions became 10 Xiaohongshu clips in 7.5 minutes for about CNY 0.09 of qwen-plus; a 2 h 52 min Chinese talk without captions (local Whisper base) took 29.5 minutes for about CNY 0.20. These are three different sources, not a benchmark, and exclude cloud speech-to-text and images. ## Which docs are in English README-EN, the FAQ, the install guide, the Docker guide and the OpenCode guide have English versions. The CLI/MCP guide (`docs/CLI_AND_MCP.md`) and the agent skill (`skills/autoclip/SKILL.md`) are Chinese only; this page sums them up. ## Use when - Turn a podcast, interview or course into Douyin, Xiaohongshu, TikTok, Reels or Shorts clips - Clip a YouTube or Bilibili link from Claude Code, Codex or Cursor through MCP - Keep cutting and rendering local, with a local model if you want - Get a cover, post copy and a ZIP publish kit with every clip ## Not for - Intel Macs as a desktop app (use Docker or the CLI there) - Gameplay or low-dialogue footage without a vision-capable model - The YouTube long-form preset from short sources: it needs complete clips of 180 s or more ## Install - Claude Code: `claude mcp add-json autoclip '{"command":"uvx","args":["autoclip-mcp"],"env":{"AUTOCLIP_API_KEY":"${AUTOCLIP_API_KEY}"}}'` - Any agent, with the vargai CLI: `vargai install autoclip` ## AutoClip: questions and answers ### Is AutoClip free? Do I need an API key? The app is free and MIT. Cloud models and cloud transcription bill you at their own rates; Ollama and LM Studio need no key but need capable hardware. Posting needs your own Bilibili or Upload-Post account. ### No clips were generated. Read the failed stage first: SUBTITLE (empty or mistimed captions, missing Whisper), ANALYZE (model connection or unparseable reply), scoring (threshold too high: lower `--min-score` from 0.7 to 0.5) or EXPORT (FFmpeg, disk space, permissions). `autoclip doctor` checks the setup. Known problems are pinned in [#96](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/96). ### The download stops at 5%. Fixed in v1.5.0: real download progress, retries, fallback formats and the bundled FFmpeg path. Update and try again; a restricted video may still need its own check ([#163](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/163)). ### Windows says "mlx-whisper only supports Apple Silicon" when installing local Whisper. Older builds blocked the install by mistake. Update to v1.3.3 or later and install again ([#141](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/141)). ### Early issues say it barely ran. Is it usable now? Those complaints ([#59](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/59), [#26](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/26)) were mostly about the Docker route, which the maintainer fixed in v1.2.1 and guarded with CI. Frequent releases followed through September and October, with Mac and Windows installers, the autoclip-mcp package on PyPI and the MCP server. AutoClip is maintained by one person, so report failures with `autoclip --version`, your OS, the model and redacted logs. ### Is there a desktop app for an Intel Mac or Linux? No. Desktop builds are Apple Silicon and Windows x64 only; use Docker or the CLI elsewhere. ### Analysing long gameplay streams used a lot of tokens. v1.5 cut repeated analysis calls and added a cost guard for DeepSeek's official API; the cost still depends on the source and the provider ([#175](https://github.com/zhouxiaoka/autoclip/issues/175)). Creator captions skip transcription and are the cheapest route. ## Alternatives to AutoClip - [OpenShorts](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/openshorts.md): MIT clipper with face tracking, a dashboard and a hosted MCP; self-host with Docker. - [SupoClip](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/supoclip.md): A self-hosted OpusClip alternative with English-first docs, caption templates and a hosted MCP. - [Clipify](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/clipify.md): An agent skill for social clips with reframing and word-by-word captions, no app to install. - [claude-shorts](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/claude-shorts.md): A Claude Code skill that scores segments and renders captioned 9:16 clips. - [OpusClip skills and API](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/opusclip.md): The hosted original with a virality score and its own API; billed per minute. - [ClipsAI](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/clipsai.md): A Python library for transcript segmentation and 9:16 resizing, to build your own clipper. _Guide written by varg from the zhouxiaoka source, checked 2026-11-13._ ## More Shorts & Reels skills - [Turn a topic into a stickman video](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/stickman-video.md): Viral stickman reels drawn in code: a jointed figure that walks and reacts, rules on screen, a choice ending. - [AI Social Media Content](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/inference-sh-ai-social-media-content.md): Produce reels, shorts, images and thumbnails for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X with one toolkit. - [Krea Faceless Video](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/krea-faceless-video.md): Make narrated faceless explainers, documentaries and kids' stories as finished multi-scene films on Krea. - [Short Video Script](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/short-video-script.md): Short-video scripts, titles and cover ideas for Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili and WeChat Channels - [Video Producer](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/video-producer.md): Topic in, narrated short MP4 out: shot plan, AI stills, per-scene voiceover, Remotion render - [Stickman Video Director: faceless stickman channels](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/stickman-video-director.md): Turns a topic, article or script into a multi-style animated stickman video (visuals, voiceover, captions, SFX) for faceless YouTube channels.