A specialized automation skill for generating professional terminal recordings and CLI demos using scripted tape files.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install vhs-recorder
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install vhs-recorder using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is VHS Recorder?
The VHS Recorder is a powerful tool designed to automate the creation of high-quality terminal animations. By leveraging the Charm VHS engine, this Openclaw Skills integration allows developers to script terminal interactions—including typing, command execution, and precise pauses—into a reproducible .tape file format. It eliminates the frustration of manual screen recording by providing a code-based approach to terminal videography, ensuring consistent output for documentation, marketing, and developer education.
VHS Recorder Use Cases
- Generating animated CLI demos for GitHub README files and project landing pages.
- Automating the creation of video tutorials for command-line interfaces.
- Creating visual regression tests for Terminal User Interfaces (TUIs).
- Standardizing documentation visuals across a development team with shared themes and settings.
How VHS Recorder Works
- Initialize a .tape file to define the recording environment, including output paths and terminal settings.
- Script terminal actions using commands like Type, Enter, and Tab to simulate user interaction.
- Apply visibility controls with Hide and Show to omit sensitive setup or cleanup steps from the final video.
- Utilize the Wait directive or the 3-2-1 timing rule to ensure the pacing is natural for human viewers.
- Process the script through Openclaw Skills to render the recording into GIF, MP4, WebM, or ASCII formats.
VHS Recorder Setup
To use this skill within the Openclaw Skills ecosystem, you must have VHS and its dependencies installed on your system path.
# Install VHS via Homebrew
brew install vhs
# Or install via Go
go install github.com/charmbracelet/vhs@latest
# Ensure ttyd and ffmpeg are available
ffmpeg -version
ttyd --version
VHS Recorder Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill utilizes a structured .tape configuration to manage recording metadata and execution flow. Data is organized according to the following taxonomy:
| Component | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Output | Directive | Specifies the destination file and extension (.gif, .mp4, .ascii) |
| Settings | Configuration | Defines terminal dimensions, font size, and themes |
| Requirements | Validation | Ensures necessary CLI tools like git or docker are installed |
| Commands | Execution | The sequence of keystrokes and terminal signals |
| Timing | Logic | Controls the speed of typing and duration of pauses |
VHS Recorder Advanced Features
- Support for regex-based waiting with Wait /pattern/ to sync recording with command output.
- Multi-format export capabilities including PNG frame sequences for post-production.
- Inline typing speed overrides using the Type@Xms syntax for varied pacing.
- Comprehensive theme support with access to dozens of terminal color schemes.
- Environment variable injection to simulate different user contexts during recording.
SKILL.md
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