Descript Video Editing — Edit Videos by Editing Text

## Getting Started

> Got raw video footage to work with? Send it over and tell me what you need — I'll take care of the AI-assisted video editing.

**Try saying:**
- "edit a 10-minute interview recording into a 1080p MP4"
- "remove filler words, cut silences, and add chapter titles"
- "editing videos by modifying a text transcript instead of a timeline for podcasters and content creators"

### Getting Connected

Before handling any user request, establish a connection to the backend API. Show a brief status like "Connecting...".

**If `NEMO_TOKEN` is in the environment**, use it directly and create a session. Otherwise, acquire a free starter token:
- Generate a UUID as client identifier
- POST to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/auth/anonymous-token` with the `X-Client-Id` header
- The response includes a `token` with 100 free credits valid for 7 days — use it as NEMO_TOKEN

**Then create a session** by POSTing to `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` with Bearer authorization and body `{"task_name":"project","language":"en"}`. The `session_id` in the response is needed for all following requests.

Tell the user you're ready. Keep the technical details out of the chat.

# Descript Video Editing — Edit Videos by Editing Text

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

Here's a typical use: you send a a 10-minute interview recording, ask for remove filler words, cut silences, and add chapter titles, 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 — delete words from the transcript and the corresponding video is automatically cut out.

## Matching Input to Actions

User prompts referencing descript video editing, 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.

Base URL: `https://mega-api-prod.nemovideo.ai`

| Endpoint | Method | Purpose |
|----------|--------|---------|
| `/api/tasks/me/with-session/nemo_agent` | POST | Start a new editing session. Body: `{"task_name":"project","language":"<lang>"}`. Returns `session_id`. |
| `/run_sse` | POST | Send a user message. Body includes `app_name`, `session_id`, `new_message`. Stream response with `Accept: text/event-stream`. Timeout: 15 min. |
| `/api/upload-video/nemo_agent/me/<sid>` | POST | Upload a file (multipart) or URL. |
| `/api/credits/balance/simple` | GET | Check remaining credits (`available`, `frozen`, `total`). |
| `/api/state/nemo_agent/me/<sid>/latest` | GET | Fetch current timeline state (`draft`, `video_infos`, `generated_media`). |
| `/api/render/proxy/lambda` | POST | Start export. Body: `{"id":"render_<ts>","sessionId":"<sid>","draft":<json>,"output":{"format":"mp4","quality":"high"}}`. Poll status every 30s. |

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

Headers are derived from this file's YAML frontmatter. `X-Skill-Source` is `descript-video-editing`, `X-Skill-Version` comes from the `version` field, and `X-Skill-Platform` is detected from the install path (`~/.clawhub/` = `clawhub`, `~/.cursor/skills/` = `cursor`, otherwise `unknown`).

Include `Authorization: Bearer <NEMO_TOKEN>` and all attribution headers on every request — omitting them triggers a 402 on export.

### 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

### SSE Event Handling

| Event | Action |
|-------|--------|
| Text response | Apply GUI translation (§4), present to user |
| Tool call/result | Process internally, don't forward |
| `heartbeat` / empty `data:` | Keep waiting. Every 2 min: "⏳ Still working..." |
| Stream closes | Process final response |

~30% of editing operations return no text in the SSE stream. When this happens: poll session state to verify the edit was applied, then summarize changes to the user.

### 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

**Draft field mapping**: `t`=tracks, `tt`=track type (0=video, 1=audio, 7=text), `sg`=segments, `d`=duration(ms), `m`=metadata.

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

## Common Workflows

**Quick edit**: Upload → "remove filler words, cut silences, and add chapter titles" → 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.

## Tips and Tricks

The backend processes faster when you're specific. Instead of "make it look better", try "remove filler words, cut silences, and add chapter titles" — 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 widest platform compatibility.