# OpenMontage — workflow skill for AI editing agents

> **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>"` 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.

Open-source agentic video studio: 12 pipelines (8 edit your footage), 100+ tools, ~140 skills. Run your agent in it.

- **Type:** [Workflow](https://varg.ai/how-to/workflows.md) · [AI editing agents](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/edit-agents.md)
- **Slug:** `openmontage`
- **Status:** live
- **Publisher:** Calesthio (community)
- **License:** AGPL-3.0
- **Source:** https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage
- **Works in:** Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw
- **Requires:** Python 3.10+ and Node.js, ffmpeg, API keys for the providers you enable
- **Cost:** Free and open source; generation billed by the providers you connect
- **Runtime:** ~8.6 min for a 15 s promo (Agent Skills Hub test)
- **Adoption:** 23,270 installs, 72,488 GitHub stars (GitHub + skills.sh, 2026-10-27)

## What it does

The most-starred community video project of 2026 (72K stars; once #1 repository of the day on GitHub Trending). You clone the repo and run Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot or Windsurf inside it; agent guides route a request, or a video you paste as a reference, into one of 12 production pipelines with 100+ tools and about 140 SKILL.md knowledge packs covering generation providers, Remotion and HyperFrames composition, three.js, TTS and speech-to-text, character animation QA and more. Provider adapters span fal.ai, Atlas Cloud, Kling, ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, BFL, xAI and others, each with your own keys. In the Agent Skills Hub end-to-end test it made a 15-second promo with a look of its own in 8.6 minutes.

## Use when

- Run a full video production pipeline from an agent
- Remake a reference video's style for your own topic
- Mix several generation providers in one project

## Not for

- A single lightweight skill to drop into ~/.claude/skills
- Closed-source or hosted use without AGPL compliance

## Install

- Claude Code: `git clone https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git`

## Example output

https://s3.varg.ai/how-to/previews/d1a56fafe3a7/openmontage.mp4 — README showcase 'SIGNAL FROM TOMORROW', a sci-fi trailer produced end to end through OpenMontage (concept, script, scene plan, Veo motion clips, soundtrack, Remotion composition): the rocket-launch sequence. Cut 12.5-20.5 s of 30 s. (credit: Calesthio (OpenMontage), https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage#readme)

## How-to tutorials that use it

- [How to cut a podcast into short video clips with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/cut-a-podcast-into-short-video-clips.md): Find the best moments in a long video, cut them, reframe to 9:16 and burn captions.

## More AI editing agents skills

- [video-use](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/video-use.md): Drop raw takes in a folder, chat with your agent, get final.mp4: transcript-first cuts, grade, subtitles, overlays.
- [FireRed-OpenStoryline](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/firered-openstoryline.md): Conversational editing agent: finds media, writes the storyline, beat-syncs music and refines the cut by chat.
- [ButterCut](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/buttercut.md): Claude Code builds selects, scenes and rough cuts from your footage library and exports XML for FCP, Premiere, Resolve.
- [Agentic Video Editor (ave)](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/agentic-video-editor.md): CLI where Gemini agents pick shots, trim, render with FFmpeg and score the result until a brief is met.
- [OpenChatCut](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/openchatcut.md): Local-first chat video editor with a multi-track timeline that Codex and Claude Code can edit over MCP.
- [BaoCut](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/baocut.md): Desktop AI video agent that transcribes, subtitles, translates, dubs, cuts and animates into an editable timeline.