Video references by Refs — style skill for style references

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4,322 launch films, demos and motion pieces measured shot by shot, searchable free from your agent over MCP.

• Type: Style · Style references
• Slug: refs-video-references
• Status: live
• Publisher: Refs (vendor)
• License: Refs: proprietary hosted service (free search, Pro for the rest)
• Source: https://refs.video/connect
• Works in: Claude.ai, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Any MCP client
• Requires: An MCP client: Claude apps, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or any streamable-HTTP client, A Refs account with Pro for blueprints, frames, formulas and planning (search is free)
• Cost: search_videos is free with no key or account (about 30 searches an hour without one). Everything else needs Refs Pro, $16 a month or $120 a year, with 3,000 credits a month: get_blueprint 5, get_frames 5, get_formula 5, plan_video 10, check_render 2, the rest 0. Library ($6 a month) opens every film on the site. varg credits are only spent on what you generate on varg.

What it does

Refs (https://refs.video) is a library of 4,322 launch films, product demos, explainers, motion pieces, teasers and brand films (Apple, OpenAI, Anthropic, Linear, Framer, Notion, Cursor, ElevenLabs and about 300 more brands), 109,571 shots measured. Every film is taken apart frame by frame into a cut map, pacing, palette, type, voice, music tempo and loudness, a 15-plate blueprint (hook, beats, shots, type, colour, sound, script) and a prompt recipe an agent can run. The hosted MCP at refs.video/mcp has 14 tools. search_videos is free with no key: describe a film ("dark product reveal with kinetic type, under 30 seconds"), name a brand or paste an X, YouTube, TikTok or Instagram link, and get short cards with REF ids, length, aspect and a link to the original post. With Pro, get_blueprint returns every plate, the cut list and the recipe (or the timeline as JSON), get_frames returns the hook at 0.25 s steps and every shot as images, and collections, formulas, plan_video, storyboard and check_render take the plan to a finished render. Refs never rehosts the footage: films play from their original post. Pair it with varg for the shots, voice and music, and with HyperFrames or Remotion for the build.

Use when

• "Find founder-led launch films under 60 seconds" before writing a launch video
• Back a brief with real references instead of the model's average idea of a launch film
• Get the exact cut timing, palette and type of a film you liked, as a shot list or a JSON timeline
• Paste a link to a launch video and get it measured and explained

Not for

• Downloading or reusing the films themselves: they play from the original post and stay their makers'
• Bulk-exporting the archive (Refs' terms forbid it)
• Generating footage: Refs plans and measures; make the shots with varg or another model

Install

• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http refs https://refs.video/mcp
• Claude.ai: Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector → https://refs.video/mcp
• Codex: codex mcp add refs --url https://refs.video/mcp
• Any MCP client: https://refs.video/mcp
• Any agent, with the vargai CLI: vargai install refs-video-references

Example output

https://s3.varg.ai/files/4325c578-378d-4c43-ae53-3cc3218df1ea/file_ae44d5dc80f0.mp4 — 8 s cut from Refs' own film: the archive wall, a film page (Claude's 15-second motion design showreel) with its measurements and shots. (credit: Refs, the Refs film (refs.video/film.mp4), https://refs.video)

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