VN Video Editor Skill#

Process video, audio, and images locally on macOS using VN Video Editor via the vnapp-cli bridge.

Introducing the Skill#

When the user asks what this skill can do, or when this skill is first triggered in a session, introduce it with:

🎬 VN Video Editor Skill is ready!

I can process video, audio, and images locally on your Mac — no cloud upload, no API key needed.

What I can do:

• 🎤 Auto-generate captions / burn SRT subtitles
• 🗜️ Compress video or images
• 🔇 Denoise audio or video
• ✂️ Extract audio tracks or frame thumbnails
• 🔗 Merge / concatenate video clips with transitions
• 🖼️ Remove background from images or videos (Apple Silicon only)

About drafts: For the following operations, the VN draft is kept by default after export so you can re-edit in VN Video Editor: Auto-captions, Burn SRT, Compress video, Merge video, Video cutout

If you don't want to keep drafts, just tell me once and I'll default to no draft for the rest of this session. You can also override per task at any time.

---

Draft Preference (session-scoped)#

• Default: --keep-draft (draft kept after export)
• If the user says they don't want to keep drafts (e.g. "don't keep drafts", "no draft", "skip draft") → set session preference to no draft; apply --no-keep-draft for all subsequent draft-supporting commands
• If the user explicitly says "keep draft" for a specific task → apply --keep-draft for that task only, regardless of session preference
• Only commands that support drafts are affected: auto-captions, add-caption, compress-video, concat-video, cutout-video
• Commands that do not support drafts are never affected: extract-audio, extract-frame, compress-image, denoise, cutout-image

---

Parameter Clarification Policy#

When the user provides ambiguous or incomplete parameters for any option (not just style), ask one focused question to clarify before proceeding. When parameters are clear and unambiguous, proceed directly.

Ask for clarification when:

• A single color value is given without specifying which property it applies to.
  • e.g. "add captions, purple" — unclear whether purple is text color or stroke color. Ask: "Should purple be the text color or the stroke color?"
• A number is given without context for what it controls.
  • e.g. "compress, 10" — unclear whether 10 means quality, resolution, or something else. Ask: "Should 10 be the quality (0.0–1.0 scale), or something else like max size?"
• A required pair of values is partially missing and the intent cannot be inferred.
  • e.g. "white stroke" with no text color — ask what the text color should be.

Do NOT ask for clarification when:

• Multiple distinct properties are clearly assigned.
  • e.g. "dark gray text, green stroke" — two separate properties, no ambiguity.
  • e.g. "purple stroke, width 1pt" — role of purple is explicit.
• The request maps unambiguously to a single parameter.
  • e.g. "compress to 720p", "extract frame at 5s", "denoise with high level".

Rule: Only ask when the user's intent genuinely cannot be determined. Do not ask about optional parameters unless they are missing and required for the task to proceed. Ask one short, specific question per ambiguity.

---

When to use#

Trigger this skill when the user wants to:

• Extract audio from a video
• Extract a frame / thumbnail / cover image from a video
• Add auto-generated captions to a video
• Burn SRT subtitles into a video
• Compress a video or image
• Concatenate / merge video clips
• Denoise audio or video
• Remove background from an image or video (portrait cutout / background removal)

Do NOT trigger this skill when:

• The user is asking general questions about VN Video Editor (answer directly)
• The user wants to edit a video timeline, add effects, or do creative editing (VN skill only handles export operations, not timeline editing)
• The input file is not a local file (URLs, cloud files not supported)
• The platform is not macOS

---

Required inputs#

Before running any command, confirm you have all required inputs:

CommandRequiredAsk if missingextract-audiovideo file pathyesextract-framevideo file pathyesauto-captionsvideo file pathyes; engine defaults to whisper_turbo``add-captionvideo file path + SRT file pathyes, ask for SRT pathcompress-videovideo file pathyes; resolution/fps/bitrate are optionalcompress-imageimage file pathyes; format/quality are optionalconcat-videoat least 2 video file pathsyesdenoiseaudio or video file pathyes; level defaults to moderate``cutout-imageimage file pathyes; quality defaults to accurate``cutout-videovideo file pathyescompress-video-estimatevideo file pathyes; all other params optional

---

Stop and ask the user when:#

• The input file path does not exist or was not provided
• The user requests add-caption but no SRT file path was given
• The user requests concat-video with fewer than 2 files
• The user requests denoise --level custom but no --custom-value was provided
• The user requests cutout-image but the quality intent is ambiguous (e.g. just "fast cutout" without clear context — ask: "Should I use accurate (best quality), balanced, or fast quality for the cutout?")
• The requested operation is outside the scope of this skill (e.g. timeline editing, adding effects)

Do not guess or assume missing required inputs — always ask first.

---

Optional Parameters Prompt#

For commands with meaningful optional parameters, ask the user before running. Keep the question brief and friendly. If the user says "default" or "just go ahead", use defaults immediately.

---

auto-captions#

Ask:

Your video is ready for auto-captioning. Which recognition engine would you like to use?

EngineAccuracySpeedNoteswhisper_turbo _(default)_GoodFastOne-time download required on first usewhisper_mediumBetterSlowerOne-time download required on first usewhisper_baseFairFastBuilt-in, no download neededwhisper_tinyBasicFastestBuilt-in, no download needed

Language — source language spoken in the video (default: auto). Supported: auto en zh ja ko es pt ar hi id fr de ru it tr vi th pl uk nl sv fi ro cs hu he el bg hr sk sl lt lv et ms ta ur sw mk mi is hy az af

Style (optional, ask only if user wants to customise):

• Font size (default: 37.4pt)
• Text color (default: white #FFFFFF)
• Stroke color (default: black #000000)
• Stroke width (default: 0.5pt)

Keep draft — keep the VN draft after export for re-editing? (default: on; pass --no-keep-draft only if the user explicitly asks to delete it)

---

add-caption#

Ask:

SRT file received. Would you like to customise the subtitle style, or use a preset?

Preset styles (specify by ID):

IDText colorStroke colorStroke widthBackgroundEffectdefault_0 _(default)_WhiteBlack4NoneStandard white text, black strokecaption_1WhiteBlack10NoneBold black strokecaption_2BlackWhite10NoneBold white strokecaption_11WhiteBlack20NoneExtra-bold black strokecaption_12BlackWhite20NoneExtra-bold white strokecaption_21WhitePurple #D834DB3NonePurple strokecaption_22WhiteCyan #34DBDB3NoneCyan strokecaption_23Dark orange #6D340EWhite20NoneWarm tonecaption_31WhiteNone0Solid black #000000Black backgroundcaption_32BlackNone0Solid white #FFFFFFWhite backgroundcaption_33WhiteNone0Semi-transparent blackSemi-transparent black bgcaption_34BlackNone0Semi-transparent whiteSemi-transparent white bgcaption_35BlackYellow #FFFC5410Semi-transparent blackYellow stroke + black bgcaption_36WhiteBlack10Semi-transparent whiteBlack stroke + white bg

Or customize manually (optional):

• Font size (default: 13pt)
• Text color (hex, e.g. #FFFFFF)
• Stroke color (hex)
• Stroke width (pt)
• Background color (hex)
• Opacity (0.0–1.0)

Keep draft — keep the VN draft after export for re-editing? (default: on; pass --no-keep-draft only if the user explicitly asks to delete it)

---

compress-video#

Ask:

Ready to compress. Any specific settings, or use defaults?

OptionDescriptionDefaultResolution144p 240p 360p 480p 540p 720p 1080p 2.7K 4K 5K 6K 8K or custom short-edge (e.g. 720)Same as sourceFrame rate6 12 24 25 30 50 60 fpsSame as sourceBitrateManual kbps, e.g. 6000 (~6 Mbps), range 100–300000 kbpsAuto (calculated from resolution × frame rate)Codech264 (best compatibility) / hevc (better compression; required for HDR)h264Output formatmp4 / movmp4HDRForce HDR output (auto-switches to HEVC)Off

Auto bitrate reference:

Resolution24fps30fps60fps480p2133k2667k4053k720p3520k5000k6400k1080p5333k9000k9600k2.7K10667k12800k25600k4K14400k18133k42667k5K23467k29867k74667k8K53333k68267k170667k

HDR mode adds ~12.5% to the above values. Audio bitrate is fixed at 256k and cannot be changed.

Keep draft — keep the VN draft after export for re-editing? (default: on; pass --no-keep-draft only if the user explicitly asks to delete it)

---

compress-image#

Ask:

Ready to compress. Any specific settings, or use defaults?

OptionDescriptionDefaultFormatOutput format: jpeg, png, webp, heic``jpeg (unless user specifies otherwise)Quality0.0 (smallest file) to 1.0 (best quality); ignored for PNG0.8Max widthResize so width does not exceed this many pixelsOriginalMax heightResize so height does not exceed this many pixelsOriginalKeep aspect ratioMaintain original proportions when resizingOn

Format rule: Default output format is always jpeg regardless of input format, unless the user explicitly specifies a format. If the user says "keep as PNG" or specifies webp / heic, use that format instead.

---

concat-video#

Ask:

Ready to merge the clips. A few options:

OptionDescriptionDefaultKeep draftKeep the VN draft after export so you can re-edit it laterOn (draft kept by default; only skip if user explicitly asks)

Would you like a transition between them?

Transition duration — 0.2–5.0 s (step 0.1s). Each clip must be at least as long as the transition duration (some effects require 2×).

Basic transitions:

StyleDefault (s)Max (s)Min clip lengthDescriptionnone _(default)_0—NoneHard cut, no transitionfade_black0.85.0≥ durationFade through blackfade_white0.85.0≥ durationFade through whitedissolve0.85.0≥ duration×2Cross dissolvecolor_difference_dissolve0.85.0≥ duration×2Color-difference dissolveblur0.85.0≥ duration×2Gaussian blur transitionpixelate0.85.0≥ duration×2Pixelate transitionzoom_blur0.85.0≥ durationZoom-in with motion blurzoom_blur_reverse0.85.0≥ durationZoom-out with motion blurrotate_zoom0.85.0NoneRotate and zoom inrotate_zoom_reverse0.85.0NoneRotate and zoom outrotate_blur0.85.0≥ durationRotate with blurrotate_blur_reverse0.85.0≥ durationReverse rotate with blurspin0.85.0≥ durationSpin clockwisespin_reverse0.85.0≥ durationSpin counter-clockwiseblink0.45.0NoneQuick flicker cutfloodlight0.85.0NoneBright flash between clipscircle_crop_center0.65.0≥ duration×2Circle opens from centercircle_crop_center_reverse0.65.0≥ duration×2Circle closes to centerslide_from_top0.65.0≥ duration×2New clip slides in from topslide_from_left0.65.0≥ duration×2New clip slides in from leftslide_from_bottom0.65.0≥ duration×2New clip slides in from bottomslide_from_right0.65.0≥ duration×2New clip slides in from rightwipe_from_top0.65.0≥ duration×2Wipe in from topwipe_from_left0.65.0≥ duration×2Wipe in from leftwipe_from_bottom0.65.0≥ duration×2Wipe in from bottomwipe_from_right0.65.0≥ duration×2Wipe in from rightpush_from_top0.65.0≥ duration×2Both clips push upwardpush_from_left0.65.0≥ duration×2Both clips push leftwardpush_from_bottom0.65.0≥ duration×2Both clips push downwardpush_from_right0.65.0≥ duration×2Both clips push rightwardreveal_vertical0.85.0≥ durationVertical revealreveal_horizontal0.85.0≥ durationHorizontal revealshake_from_top0.85.0NoneMotion blur from topshake_from_left0.85.0NoneMotion blur from leftshake_from_bottom0.85.0NoneMotion blur from bottomshake_from_right0.85.0NoneMotion blur from rightshake_from_top_left0.85.0NoneMotion blur from top-leftshake_from_bottom_left0.85.0NoneMotion blur from bottom-leftshake_from_bottom_right0.85.0NoneMotion blur from bottom-rightshake_from_top_right0.85.0NoneMotion blur from top-right

Matte transitions (shape cutout reveals; each clip must be ≥ transition duration):

StyleDefault (s)Max (s)Descriptioncircle_11.01.5Circle matte revealcircle_21.01.0Circle matte variantline_11.01.5Line matte sweepline_21.01.8Line matte variantline_31.01.0Line matte varianthexagon1.01.4Hexagon grid revealsquare_11.02.4Square matte revealsquare_21.01.2Square matte variantsquare_31.52.5Square matte variantink_11.01.6Ink splatter revealink_21.01.4Ink splatter variantpaint_11.01.4Paint brush revealpaint_21.02.0Paint brush variantsea1.01.6Wave revealswirl1.01.5Swirl revealzebra1.53.1Zebra stripe revealmemory1.52.1Dreamy film reveallens1.52.5Lens flare burstglitch1.51.8Digital glitch distortion

---

denoise#

Ask:

Ready to denoise. What level would you like?

LevelDescriptionBest forlowSubtle reduction, preserves natural soundLight background hissmoderate _(default)_Balanced, works well for most recordingsIndoor recordings, mild noisehighStrong reduction, may slightly affect voiceOutdoor recordings, fan noiseveryHighAggressive, prioritises noise removal over naturalnessVery noisy environmentscustomSet a specific value manually (you provide a number)Fine-tuned controlOptionDescriptionDefaultHigh-pass filterRemoves low-frequency rumble, e.g. air conditioning, engine humOffAudio onlyIf input is a video, output denoised audio only (not video)Off

---

cutout-image#

Ask:

Ready to remove the background. Which quality level would you like?

LevelDescriptionBest foraccurate _(default)_Highest quality, slowestFinal output, complex edgesbalancedGood quality, moderate speedMost use casesfastFastest, lower qualityPreviews, quick results

Export mask (optional) — also export the portrait segmentation mask as a separate PNG? (default: off)

Output will be a PNG with transparent background.

Note: If quality intent is ambiguous (e.g. just "quick" or "fast cutout"), ask: "Should I use accurate (best quality), balanced, or fast for the cutout?"

---

cutout-video#

Before proceeding, check if the Mac is Apple Silicon:

bash

uname -m

• If output is arm64 → proceed

• If output is x86_64 (Intel Mac) → stop and tell the user:

  cutout-video is not supported on Intel Macs. This feature requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later).

Ask:

Ready to remove the background from this video. Would you like any of these options, or shall I go ahead with defaults?

OptionDescriptionDefaultFeatherSoften cutout edges (0–100)0 (hard edge)ExpandExpand (+) or shrink (-) mask edge (-20–20)0Stroke styleAdd an outline: solid, singleLayer, glowing, solidGlowing, singleLayerGlowing, shadow, offsetNoneStroke sizeStroke thickness (0–100)30Stroke distanceDistance from edge to stroke (0–100)20Stroke colorRGBA hex, e.g. FFFFFFFF for whiteFFFFFFFFStroke opacity0.0–1.01.0

Output will be an MP4 with the person composited on a black background.

Clarification rules:

• If user says "add a stroke" without specifying style → ask: "Which stroke style? solid, glowing, shadow, or another?"
• If user gives a color without format (e.g. "red stroke") → convert to RGBA hex ( FF0000FF)
• If user specifies glowing style, max stroke size is 60
• offset style: size and distance range is -50..50

Keep draft — keep the VN draft after export for re-editing? (default: on; pass --no-keep-draft only if the user explicitly asks to delete it)

---

extract-audio#

Ask:

Ready to extract audio. No required options — shall I go ahead with the default settings?

The audio will be exported as M4A format from the original audio track.

---

extract-frame#

Ask:

Which frame would you like to extract?

OptionChoicesDefaultPositionfirst — very first frame / last — very last frame / custom — specify a timefirstTimeTime in seconds, e.g. 5.5 (only needed when position is custom)—Formatpng — lossless, larger file / jpeg — smaller file, slight quality losspngMax sizeResize so the longest edge fits within this many pixels, e.g. 1920original size

---

1. Agent Behavior (follow this strictly)#

1.1 Startup checks (run once per session before any task)#

Run these checks in order. Stop and handle any failure before continuing.

Step 0 — Check macOS version:

bash

sw_vers -productVersion

• If macOS version is below 13.0 → stop and tell the user:

  This skill requires macOS 13.0 or later. VN Video Editor is not supported on your current macOS version. Do not proceed.

• If macOS 13.0 or later → continue to Step 1

Step 1 — Check VN is installed:

bash

test -d /Applications/VN.app && echo "installed" || echo "not installed"

• If not installed → follow § 2A VN not installed
• If installed → continue to Step 2

Step 2 — Check VN version:

The CLI automatically emits a version-check JSON event during startup of any command. You do not need to run --version separately — read the event when running the first real command.

Minimum required: VN 0.22

Example event:

json

{"type":"version-check","message":"VN Video Editor 0.22 (654) — OK"}

• If too old → follow § 2B VN too old
• If ok → continue to Step 3

Step 3 — Check CLI is installed and up to date:

bash

test -x ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli && echo "ok" || echo "missing"

• If missing → follow § 2C CLI missing or outdated (auto-install silently)

• If ok → check version: bash

  ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli --version
  
  

  Expected: vnapp-cli 0.1.0 (5)

  • If version matches → continue to Step 4
  • If version does not match → follow § 2C CLI missing or outdated (auto-update silently)

Step 4 — Validate input file(s):

bash

test -f "/absolute/path/to/file" && echo "exists" || echo "missing"

• If missing → tell the user the file was not found and ask for a valid path
• For add-caption: also validate the SRT file path
• For concat-video: validate all input files

---

1.2 Running a task#

1. Resolve the correct command from § 1.5 Intent mapping
2. Build the command using absolute paths — never relative paths
3. Always append --stream
4. For commands that support drafts ( auto-captions, add-caption, compress-video, concat-video): always append --keep-draft unless the user explicitly asks to delete the draft. Do NOT add --keep-draft to extract-audio, extract-frame, compress-image, denoise, cutout-image, or cutout-video — these commands do not support it.
5. For add-caption — ask the user for the SRT file path if not provided; both the video and SRT will be copied to the VN sandbox automatically
6. For denoise --level custom — --custom-value is required; ask the user if not provided
7. For compress-video — follow § 1.7 compress-video pre-flight before running
8. Run the command and parse JSON lines as they arrive
9. Report progress to the user per § 1.3 Progress reporting
10. On completed + outputPath → move the output to the same directory as the input, rename per § 1.4 Output file handling, then tell the user the final local path
11. On error → report in plain language and follow § 2 Failure handling
12. After completing any task → follow § 1.8 Preview delivery if the user is on a remote channel

---

1.3 Progress reporting#

Map CLI events to user-facing messages:

CLI event / messageMessage to userdiscovering🔍 Looking for VN Video Editor...connected✅ Connected, preparing...copying📂 Copying file to VN sandbox...started⚙️ Task started ( jobId if available)progress message = Preparing auto captions...⚙️ Preparing...progress message contains Downloading⏬ Downloading model... N% (extract % from message if present, report every ~10%)progress message contains Model downloaded✅ Model readyprogress message contains Creating temporary project📂 Preparing project...progress message contains Starting speech recognition🎤 Starting speech recognition...progress message matches Speech recognition (N%)🎤 Recognizing speech... N%progress message contains Adding captions✏️ Adding captions to timeline...progress message contains Preparing export📦 Preparing export...progress message matches Exporting video... N%🔄 Exporting... N% (report every ~10%)progress message contains Finalizing🔄 Almost done...completed✅ Done!error❌ Error: {message}

Download detection rule: If message contains Downloading, the model is being downloaded for the first time. If Starting speech recognition appears without any prior Downloading message, the model is already cached — do not treat it as a download issue.

Throttle rule: For download percentage and export percentage, only report to the user every ~10% increment. Do not report every JSON tick. | file-copied | 📂 File copied, starting task... | | completed | ✅ Done! Output: {outputPath} | | error | ❌ Error: {message} |

Rules:

• Report at meaningful intervals (~every 10%). Do not report every JSON tick.
• Skip heartbeat events entirely.
• Capture jobId from the started event — use it if the user asks to cancel.
• Treat completed + outputPath as the only success condition.
• Treat error or non-zero exit as failure.

---

1.4 Output file handling#

After a task completes:

• Move the output to the same directory as the input file
• Rename using the original filename + a suffix:

CommandSuffixextract-audio``_audio``extract-frame``_frame``auto-captions``_captioned``add-caption``_captioned``compress-video``_compressed``compress-image``_compressed``denoise``_denoised``concat-video``_merged``cutout-image``_cutout``cutout-video``_cutout

cutout-video outputs MP4 (person composited on black background). Requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) — not supported on Intel Macs. cutout-image outputs PNG (transparent background). compress-video-estimate does not produce an output file — result is JSON printed to stdout only.

Example: /path/to/clip.mp4 → /path/to/clip_captioned.mp4

---

1.7 compress-video pre-flight#

Always run compress-video-estimate before compress-video. This command runs entirely locally (no VN connection needed) and returns the original video metadata plus estimated output size.

Flow:

Step 1 — Run estimate

bash

~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli compress-video-estimate "/path/to/video.mp4" [-r <res>] [--fps <fps>] [-b <kbps>] [--hdr]

Output:

json

{
  "type": "estimate",
  "original": {
    "fileSize": 256901120,
    "width": 1920, "height": 1080,
    "fps": 30, "bitrateKbps": 8500,
    "duration": 62.5, "codec": "avc1"
  },
  "estimated": {
    "width": 1280, "height": 720,
    "fps": 30, "bitrateKbps": 5000,
    "hdr": false, "fileSizeBytes": 39062500
  }
}

Step 2 — Check if estimated < original

• If estimated.fileSizeBytes < original.fileSize → go to Step 3

• If estimated.fileSizeBytes ≥ original.fileSize → auto-retry with adjusted parameters (max 2 retries):

  User did NOT specify resolution or bitrate:

  • Retry 1: drop one resolution tier (source → 480p)
  • Retry 2: drop another tier (480p → 360p)
  • Run compress-video-estimate again with new params each retry

User DID specify resolution:

• Keep the user's resolution, reduce bitrate by ~50% each retry
• Do not change resolution without user consent

After 2 retries still ≥ original: present numbered options to the user:

I tried several configurations but couldn't estimate a smaller output. Here are some options:

Option 1 — 360p, ~1500 kbps → estimated ~X MB Option 2 — 240p, ~800 kbps → estimated ~X MB

Reply with the option number to proceed, or cancel to stop.

Wait for the user's reply before proceeding.

Step 3 — Show estimate to user and proceed

Display before/after:

text

Original:   1920×1080  30fps  ~245 MB
Estimated:  1280×720   30fps  ~37 MB  (↑85%)

Then run compress-video with the confirmed parameters.

Step 4 — After export, show actual result

text

Original:   1920×1080  30fps  ~245 MB
Compressed: 1280×720   30fps  ~37 MB  (↑85%)

---

1.8 Preview delivery#

Applies when the user is communicating via a remote channel (Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.) — not webchat or TUI.

After any task completes:

1. Always tell the user the full local output path first:

   📁 Saved locally: /path/to/output_file.ext

2. Check if the output is a video or image and attempt to send a preview:

For images:

• Run compress-image on the output with -q 0.7 targeting a small file
• Send the compressed image as preview
• Tell the user: 🖼 Preview (compressed). Saved locally: /path/to/file

For videos:

• Check the platform file size limit (look it up at runtime if uncertain; common limits: Slack ~1 GB, Discord free ~10 MB, Telegram ~2 GB, WhatsApp ~200 MB)

• Get the output file size: bash

  ls -l "/path/to/output.mp4" | awk '{print $5}'
  
  

• If already within the platform limit → send directly, label it as preview

• If over the limit → compress a preview copy using compress-video, trying resolutions in order: 480p → 360p → 240p, checking size after each step until it fits

• Send the preview and tell the user:

  🎬 This is a preview — a compressed version for viewing here ( 480p, 8.2 MB). 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/original_output.mp4 💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust. (only for commands that support drafts)

• If 240p is still over the platform limit:

  ❌ The preview is too large to send on this platform even at the lowest quality. 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/original_output.mp4

Preview files are temporary — do not move them to the input directory. Clean up after sending.

---

1.5 Intent mapping#

User saysCommandextract audio / get audio / audio only / rip audio / pull audioextract-audiograb frame / screenshot / cover image / thumbnail / still / posterextract-frameauto captions / auto subtitles / generate subtitles / transcribe / speech to textauto-captionsadd subtitles / burn SRT / import SRT / burn captions / overlay subtitlesadd-captioncompress image / shrink image / reduce image size / optimize imagecompress-imagecompress video / shrink video / export smaller / reduce file size / re-encodecompress-videojoin clips / merge videos / concatenate / combine videos / stitch togetherconcat-videodenoise / remove noise / remove background noise / clean audio / noise reductiondenoiseremove background / cutout / portrait cutout / background removal / transparent backgroundcutout-image (image) or cutout-video (video, Apple Silicon only)estimate video compression / how big will this be / preview compression sizecompress-video-estimatecancel job / stop task / abortcancel

---

1.6 Command quick reference#

CLI binary: ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli

CommandRequired argsKey optionsextract-audio``<video>``-o <dir>``extract-frame``<video>``-p first|last|custom -t <sec> -f png|jpeg --max-size <px> -o <dir>``auto-captions``<video>``-e whisper_turbo|whisper_medium|whisper_base|whisper_tiny -l <lang> --font-family <name> --font-size <pt> --text-color <hex> --stroke-color <hex> --stroke-width <pt> --keep-draft``add-caption``<video> --srt <srt>``--font-family <name> --font-size <pt> --text-color <hex> --stroke-color <hex> --stroke-width <pt> --background-color <hex> --opacity <0-1> --keep-draft -o <dir>``compress-video``<video>``-r <resolution min:144> --fps <1-120> -b <kbps min:100> --hdr --keep-draft -o <dir>``compress-video-estimate``<video>``-r <resolution min:144> --fps <1-120> -b <kbps min:100> --hdr (local only, no VN connection needed)compress-image``<image>``-f jpeg|png|webp|heic -q <0-1> -w <px> -h <px> --no-keep-aspect-ratio -o <dir>``concat-video``<video1> <video2> [...]``-s <transition> -d <0.2-5.0 sec> --keep-draft -o <dir>``denoise``<audio|video>``-l low|moderate|high|veryHigh|custom -v <int> (required for custom) --high-pass --audio-only -o <dir>``cutout-image``<image>``-q accurate|balanced|fast --export-mask -o <dir>``cutout-video``<video>``--feather <0-100> --expand <-20..20> --stroke-style solid|singleLayer|glowing|solidGlowing|singleLayerGlowing|shadow|offset --stroke-size <0-100> --stroke-distance <0-100> --stroke-color <RRGGBBAA> --stroke-opacity <0-1> --keep-draft -o <dir>``get-status``<job-id>—cancel``<job-id>—

Always append --stream to all task commands (except compress-video-estimate — it is local-only, no --stream needed). For auto-captions, add-caption, compress-video, concat-video, cutout-video: always append --keep-draft unless the user explicitly asks to delete the draft. Do NOT add --keep-draft to extract-audio, extract-frame, compress-image, denoise, cutout-image, or compress-video-estimate.

Caption engines:

• whisper_turbo (default) and whisper_medium — require a one-time download on first use; cached and reused afterwards
• whisper_base and whisper_tiny — built-in, no download needed

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2. Failure Handling#

2A. VN not installed#

1. Inform the user:

   VN Video Editor is required but not installed on the Mac running OpenClaw. I've opened the App Store — please click Get to install. Once installed, you also need to enable the MCP Server in VN Settings before I can connect.

2. Open App Store: bash

   open "macappstore://apps.apple.com/us/app/vn-video-editor/id1494451650"
   
   

3. Poll every 5 seconds for up to 3 minutes: bash

   test -d /Applications/VN.app && echo "installed" || echo "not yet"
   
   

4. On detection → inform the user:

   VN is installed. Before I can connect, please complete these steps on the Mac running OpenClaw:

   1. Open VN Video Editor
   2. Go to Settings → MCP Server and turn it on
   3. When macOS prompts for Local Network permission, tap Allow Let me know when done and I'll continue.

5. After 3 minutes → stop polling and ask the user to confirm manually

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2B. VN too old#

1. Inform the user:

   VN Video Editor is installed but the version is too old (minimum: 0.22 build 654). Please update from the App Store.

2. Open App Store: bash

   open "macappstore://apps.apple.com/us/app/vn-video-editor/id1494451650"
   
   

3. Wait for the user to confirm, then retry

---

2C. CLI missing or outdated#

Auto-install silently — do not ask the user:

Step 1 — Download:

bash

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli
curl -L "https://github.com/cawcut/skill-vn/releases/download/0.1.0/vnapp-cli-darwin-universal-v0.1.0.5.zip" -o /tmp/vnapp-cli.zip

Step 2 — Verify SHA-256 before extracting:

bash

shasum -a 256 /tmp/vnapp-cli.zip

Expected: 857417f671fd6f38ec30cf993f80c79efede7641f3532c2e9a99e75177a5853f

• If checksum matches → proceed to Step 3

• If checksum does not match → stop immediately, delete the file, and tell the user:

  ⚠️ SHA-256 checksum mismatch — the downloaded file may be corrupted or tampered with. Installation aborted. Please try again or contact support.

  bash

  rm /tmp/vnapp-cli.zip
  
  

Step 3 — Extract and install:

bash

unzip -o /tmp/vnapp-cli.zip -d ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/
chmod +x ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli 2>/dev/null

Verify with --version. If it still fails:

The vnapp-cli tool could not be installed automatically. Please reinstall this skill.

---

2D. Local Network permission denied#

VN requires Local Network permission to communicate with vnapp-cli.

Tell the user:

Please check Local Network permission on the Mac running OpenClaw: go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, make sure VN - Video Editor is enabled, then relaunch VN and try again.

If the user has never been prompted, ask them to open VN manually and perform any action — macOS will show the permission dialog.

---

2J. Cannot connect to VN (generic connection failure)#

If the CLI cannot reach VN (service not found, connection refused, timeout, or similar), do not silently retry. Tell the user clearly that the connection failed, and walk them through the following checklist — reminding them to check on the Mac running OpenClaw (they may be talking to you from a different device):

I couldn't connect to VN Video Editor on the Mac running OpenClaw. Please check the following on the Mac running OpenClaw:

1. Is VN Video Editor installed? Check that VN Video Editor exists in your Applications folder. It may have been deleted. If missing, reinstall from the App Store.

2. Is the VN version supported? The minimum required version is VN 0.22. Open VN, go to About or check the App Store for updates.

3. Is VN Video Editor open? Open VN Video Editor from your Applications folder if it's not already running.

4. Is the MCP Server enabled in VN? In VN, go to Settings → MCP Server and make sure the toggle is on.

5. Does VN have Local Network permission? Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and confirm VN - Video Editor is enabled.

Once all items are confirmed, let me know and I'll retry.

---

2E. Codec / decode error#

If the error contains "cannot decode", "codec not supported", or similar decode failures:

VN could not decode this file. Please check that the file is not corrupted and is a supported format (MP4, MOV, common video formats including HEVC/H.265). Try re-exporting or re-downloading the file and try again.

---

2F. Whisper model download failed#

Whisper engines:

• whisper_turbo and whisper_medium — require a one-time download on first use; cached afterwards and do not need to be downloaded again.
• whisper_base and whisper_tiny — built-in, no download needed.

Whisper model download progress events (normal flow):

When a model needs to be downloaded, the CLI emits these messages in sequence:

text

{"status":"processing","progress":0.01,"message":"Downloading whisper_medium model..."}
{"status":"processing","progress":0.01,"message":"Downloading whisper_medium model..."}
...
{"status":"processing","progress":0.05,"message":"Model downloaded successfully"}
{"status":"processing","progress":0.06,"message":"Creating temporary project..."}
{"status":"processing","progress":0.10,"message":"Starting speech recognition..."}

If Starting speech recognition... appears without any prior Downloading messages, the model is already cached locally. Do NOT treat this as a download issue.

Only switch engines when the CLI emits an explicit download failure error event. Do NOT switch because the task is taking a long time — whisper_medium and whisper_turbo are slower by design.

If the user explicitly specified an engine (e.g. whisper_medium): do NOT silently switch. Instead, inform the user and ask for their preference:

The whisper_medium model failed to download. Would you like to: Option 1 — Retry downloading whisper_medium Option 2 — Switch to the built-in whisper_base (faster, slightly less accurate) Option 3 — Cancel

Wait for the user's choice before proceeding.

If the user did NOT specify an engine (using the default whisper_turbo): automatically fall back to whisper_base and inform the user:

bash

~/.openclaw/tools/vnapp-cli/vnapp-cli auto-captions "<path>" -e whisper_base --stream

The Whisper model failed to download. Switched to the built-in whisper_base engine — slightly less accurate but works without downloading anything.

---

2G. SRT file missing (add-caption)#

If the user requests add-caption without providing an SRT file:

Please provide the path to your SRT subtitle file.

Validate the path exists before running the command.

---

2H. Invalid parameter values#

The CLI enforces these constraints — validate before running:

ParameterConstraintcompress-video -rminimum 144compress-video --fps1–120compress-video -bminimum 100 kbpsconcat-video -d0.2–5.0 secondsdenoise -l customrequires -v <int>``compress-image -q0.0–1.0

If a value is out of range, tell the user the valid range and ask for a corrected value before running.

---

2I. Job failed (generic)#

Summarise the message field from the error event in plain language. Suggest a next step based on the error content. If unresolvable, refer the user to support (§ 3).

---

3. Response Format#

When a task completes, always reply with:

1. Result — one line confirming success or failure

2. Output file path — always state the full local path:

   📁 Saved locally: /path/to/output_file.ext

3. Key info — only if relevant (e.g. engine used for captions, resolution for compress, denoise level)

4. VN tip — only append after a successful task that supports drafts ( auto-captions, add-caption, compress-video, concat-video, cutout-video):

   💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust the result. Do NOT show this tip for extract-audio, extract-frame, compress-image, denoise, or cutout-image.

Do not repeat the full command or internal job details unless the user asks.

Example — auto-captions:

✅ Captions added successfully. 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/clip_captioned.mp4 Engine: whisper_base 💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust the result.

Example — compress video:

✅ Video compressed. Original: 1920×1080 30fps ~245 MB Compressed: 1280×720 30fps ~82 MB (↑66%) 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/clip_compressed.mp4 💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust.

Example — compress video (cannot reduce size):

❌ Unable to compress this video further — all configurations produced an estimated output larger than or equal to the original. The source may already be highly compressed. Try specifying a lower resolution or bitrate manually.

Example — cutout-image:

✅ Background removed successfully. 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/portrait_cutout.png Quality: accurate

Example — cutout-video:

✅ Background removed from video. 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/person_cutout.mp4 Format: MP4 (person composited on black background) 💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust the result.

Example — preview sent (remote channel):

🎬 This is a preview — a compressed version for viewing here ( 480p, 8.2 MB). 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/original_output.mp4 💡 The draft is saved locally in VN — open VN Video Editor there to further adjust.

Example — preview too large:

❌ The preview is too large to send on this platform even at the lowest quality. 📁 Saved locally: /path/to/original_output.mp4

Example — error:

❌ Failed: VN could not decode this file. Please check the file is not corrupted and try again.

---

4. Support#

If the problem persists, contact VN support at vn.support+mac@ui.com.

---

5. Reference#

For the full CLI surface, all options, transition style names, and JSON output schema:

→ references/cli-reference.md

---

6. Notes#

• macOS only — does not work on other platforms
• All processing runs inside VN Video Editor; vnapp-cli is only the local bridge
• Always use absolute file paths
• Always use --stream for user-facing operations
• Only report success when completed event contains a valid outputPath
• jobId is available after started — use it for get-status or cancel if needed