Best Video Editor for YouTube — Edit and Export YouTube Videos

## Getting Started

> Ready when you are. Drop your raw video footage here or describe what you want to make.

**Try saying:**
- "edit a 10-minute unedited YouTube vlog recording into a 1080p MP4"
- "trim dead air, add transitions, and export in 1080p for YouTube"
- "editing and polishing videos for YouTube upload for YouTubers"

### First-Time Connection

When a user first opens this skill, connect to the processing backend automatically. Briefly let them know (e.g. "Setting up...").

**Authentication**: Check if `NEMO_TOKEN` is set in the environment. If it is, skip to step 2.

1. **Obtain a free token**: Generate a random UUID as client identifier. POST to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/auth/anonymous-token` with header `X-Client-Id` set to that UUID. The response `data.token` is your NEMO_TOKEN — 100 free credits, valid 7 days.
2. **Create a session**: POST to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` with `Authorization: Bearer <token>`, `Content-Type: application/json`, and body `{"task_name":"project","language":"<detected>"}`. Store the returned `session_id` for all subsequent requests.

Keep setup communication brief. Don't display raw API responses or token values to the user.

# Best Video Editor for YouTube — Edit and Export YouTube Videos

Drop your raw video footage in the chat and tell me what you need. I'll handle the AI video editing on cloud GPUs — you don't need anything installed locally.

Here's a typical use: you send a a 10-minute unedited YouTube vlog recording, ask for trim dead air, add transitions, and export in 1080p for YouTube, and about 1-2 minutes later you've got a MP4 file ready to download. The whole thing runs at 1080p by default.

One thing worth knowing — shorter clips under 5 minutes process significantly faster and use fewer credits.

## Matching Input to Actions

User prompts referencing best video editor for youtube, aspect ratio, text overlays, or audio tracks get routed to the corresponding action via keyword and intent classification.

| User says... | Action | Skip SSE? |
|-------------|--------|----------|
| "export" / "导出" / "download" / "send me the video" | → §3.5 Export | ✅ |
| "credits" / "积分" / "balance" / "余额" | → §3.3 Credits | ✅ |
| "status" / "状态" / "show tracks" | → §3.4 State | ✅ |
| "upload" / "上传" / user sends file | → §3.2 Upload | ✅ |
| Everything else (generate, edit, add BGM…) | → §3.1 SSE | ❌ |

## Cloud Render Pipeline Details

Each export job queues on a cloud GPU node that composites video layers, applies platform-spec compression (H.264, up to 1080x1920), and returns a download URL within 30-90 seconds. The session token carries render job IDs, so closing the tab before completion orphans the job.

All calls go to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai`. The main endpoints:

1. **Session** — `POST /api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` with `{"task_name":"project","language":"<lang>"}`. Gives you a `session_id`.
2. **Chat (SSE)** — `POST /run_sse` with `session_id` and your message in `new_message.parts[0].text`. Set `Accept: text/event-stream`. Up to 15 min.
3. **Upload** — `POST /api/upload-video/nemo_agent/me/<sid>` — multipart file or JSON with URLs.
4. **Credits** — `GET /api/credits/balance/simple` — returns `available`, `frozen`, `total`.
5. **State** — `GET /api/state/nemo_agent/me/<sid>/latest` — current draft and media info.
6. **Export** — `POST /api/render/proxy/lambda` with render ID and draft JSON. Poll `GET /api/render/proxy/lambda/<id>` every 30s for `completed` status and download URL.

Formats: mp4, mov, avi, webm, mkv, jpg, png, gif, webp, mp3, wav, m4a, aac.

Three attribution headers are required on every request and must match this file's frontmatter:

| Header | Value |
|--------|-------|
| `X-Skill-Source` | `best-video-editor-for-youtube` |
| `X-Skill-Version` | frontmatter `version` |
| `X-Skill-Platform` | auto-detect: `clawhub` / `cursor` / `unknown` from install path |

Every API call needs `Authorization: Bearer <NEMO_TOKEN>` plus the three attribution headers above. If any header is missing, exports return 402.

Draft JSON uses short keys: `t` for tracks, `tt` for track type (0=video, 1=audio, 7=text), `sg` for segments, `d` for duration in ms, `m` for metadata.

Example timeline summary:
```
Timeline (3 tracks): 1. Video: city timelapse (0-10s) 2. BGM: Lo-fi (0-10s, 35%) 3. Title: "Urban Dreams" (0-3s)
```

### Translating GUI Instructions

The backend responds as if there's a visual interface. Map its instructions to API calls:

- "click" or "点击" → execute the action via the relevant endpoint
- "open" or "打开" → query session state to get the data
- "drag/drop" or "拖拽" → send the edit command through SSE
- "preview in timeline" → show a text summary of current tracks
- "Export" or "导出" → run the export workflow

### Reading the SSE Stream

Text events go straight to the user (after GUI translation). Tool calls stay internal. Heartbeats and empty `data:` lines mean the backend is still working — show "⏳ Still working..." every 2 minutes.

About 30% of edit operations close the stream without any text. When that happens, poll `/api/state` to confirm the timeline changed, then tell the user what was updated.

### Error Codes

- `0` — success, continue normally
- `1001` — token expired or invalid; re-acquire via `/api/auth/anonymous-token`
- `1002` — session not found; create a new one
- `2001` — out of credits; anonymous users get a registration link with `?bind=<id>`, registered users top up
- `4001` — unsupported file type; show accepted formats
- `4002` — file too large; suggest compressing or trimming
- `400` — missing `X-Client-Id`; generate one and retry
- `402` — free plan export blocked; not a credit issue, subscription tier
- `429` — rate limited; wait 30s and retry once

## Tips and Tricks

The backend processes faster when you're specific. Instead of "make it look better", try "trim dead air, add transitions, and export in 1080p for YouTube" — concrete instructions get better results.

Max file size is 500MB. Stick to MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM for the smoothest experience.

Export as MP4 with H.264 codec for the best balance of quality and file size on YouTube.

## Common Workflows

**Quick edit**: Upload → "trim dead air, add transitions, and export in 1080p for YouTube" → Download MP4. Takes 1-2 minutes for a 30-second clip.

**Batch style**: Upload multiple files in one session. Process them one by one with different instructions. Each gets its own render.

**Iterative**: Start with a rough cut, preview the result, then refine. The session keeps your timeline state so you can keep tweaking.