The LeClap command-line tool — the human-facing way to scaffold a video project and render it locally on the ffmpeg-video-composer engine. You write a JSON template.json, drop media in assets/, and render it to an mp4. init exists to take a new user from nothing to a first render in one command.

Quick start

pnpm dlx @leclap/cli init my-video   # scaffold a starter project (prompts for MCP + Remotion)
cd my-video
pnpm install
pnpm render                          # runs the scaffolded `leclap render template.json` script

Commands

leclap init [name]        # scaffold a starter project (template.json + assets/ + README + scripts)
leclap render <template>  # compile a video from a template JSON
leclap diagnose           # check your FFmpeg setup
leclap --help             # usage (per-command help with `leclap <command> --help`)
leclap --version

leclap <template.json> is a shorthand for leclap render <template.json>.

render reads assets from <cwd>/assets and writes output under <cwd>/build.

`init` — scaffold a project

init writes a minimal, immediately-renderable project: a no-external-media template.json (so the first render just works), package.json, README.md, and assets/. It then prompts whether to also set up:

the MCP server (default Yes) — adds a project-scoped .mcp.json wiring @leclap/mcp so an AI agent can author + render in this project (see below);
a Remotion starter (default Yes) — adds a self-contained remotion/ project (an Intro composition) for animated intros, plus the deps the MCP needs to render it.

Skip the prompts with flags (handy for scripts / CI — prompts also auto-default in a non-TTY):

leclap init my-video --yes                 # accept all defaults (MCP + Remotion)
leclap init my-video --no-mcp --no-remotion # bare CLI-render starter only
leclap init my-video --mcp --no-remotion    # MCP wiring, no Remotion

Relation to `@leclap/mcp`

The CLI and the MCP are two front-ends to the same engine:

@leclap/cli — the manual/human path. Scaffold + render template.json on disk yourself.
@leclap/mcp — the agent path. An AI agent authors, validates, and renders the same descriptors over MCP, inside your own project. A template.json from leclap init is equally usable by the MCP's compose_video.

Animated intros are bring-your-own Remotion: the MCP's render_remotion_clip renders a composition from your Remotion project (the remotion/ starter, when you opt in) to a clip, which compose_video composites in front of your scenes. Remotion is optional and design-time only (headless Chromium); the CLI itself never needs it.

The generated .mcp.json uses absolute env paths (this machine). Regenerate or edit them if you move the project.

FFmpeg

The engine resolves FFmpeg in this order: system FFmpeg (fastest) → ffmpeg-static → @ffmpeg/ffmpeg (WASM). Run leclap diagnose to see what your environment provides.