alecs5am/ralphy

HyperFrames CLI

Everything runs through npx hyperframes. Requires Node.js >= 22 and FFmpeg.

Workflow

1. Scaffold — npx hyperframes init my-video
2. Write — author HTML composition (see the hyperframes skill)
3. Lint — npx hyperframes lint
4. Visual inspect — npx hyperframes inspect
5. Preview — npx hyperframes preview
6. Render — npx hyperframes render

Lint and inspect before preview. lint catches missing data-composition-id, overlapping tracks, and unregistered timelines. inspect opens the rendered composition in headless Chrome, seeks through the timeline, and reports text spilling out of bubbles/containers or off the canvas.

Scaffolding

npx hyperframes init my-video                        # interactive wizard
npx hyperframes init my-video --example warm-grain   # pick an example
npx hyperframes init my-video --video clip.mp4        # with video file
npx hyperframes init my-video --audio track.mp3       # with audio file
npx hyperframes init my-video --example blank --tailwind # with Tailwind v4 browser runtime
npx hyperframes init my-video --non-interactive       # skip prompts (CI/agents)

Templates: blank, warm-grain, play-mode, swiss-grid, vignelli, decision-tree, kinetic-type, product-promo, nyt-graph.

init creates the right file structure, copies media, transcribes audio with Whisper, and installs AI coding skills. Use it instead of creating files by hand.

When using --tailwind, invoke the tailwind skill before editing classes or theme tokens. The scaffold uses Tailwind v4.2 via the browser runtime, not Studio's Tailwind v3 setup.

Linting

npx hyperframes lint                  # current directory
npx hyperframes lint ./my-project     # specific project
npx hyperframes lint --verbose        # info-level findings
npx hyperframes lint --json           # machine-readable

Lints index.html and all files in compositions/. Reports errors (must fix), warnings (should fix), and info (with --verbose).

Visual Inspect

npx hyperframes inspect                 # inspect rendered layout over the timeline
npx hyperframes inspect ./my-project    # specific project
npx hyperframes inspect --json          # agent-readable findings
npx hyperframes inspect --samples 15    # denser timeline sweep
npx hyperframes inspect --at 1.5,4,7.25 # explicit hero-frame timestamps

Use this after lint and validate, especially for compositions with speech bubbles, cards, captions, or tight typography. It reports:

• Text extending outside the nearest visual container or bubble
• Text clipped by its own fixed-width/fixed-height box
• Text extending outside the composition canvas
• Children escaping clipping containers

Errors should be fixed before rendering. Warnings are surfaced for agent review; add --strict to fail on warnings too. Repeated static issues are collapsed by default so JSON output stays compact for LLM context windows. If overflow is intentional for an entrance/exit animation, mark the element or ancestor with data-layout-allow-overflow. If a decorative element should never be audited, mark it with data-layout-ignore.

npx hyperframes layout remains available as a compatibility alias for the same visual inspection pass.

Previewing

npx hyperframes preview                   # serve current directory
npx hyperframes preview --port 4567       # custom port (default 3002)

Hot-reloads on file changes. Opens the studio in your browser automatically.

When handing a project back to the user, use the Studio project URL, not the source index.html path:

http://localhost:<port>/#project/<project-name>

Use the actual port from the preview output and the project directory name. For example, after npx hyperframes preview --port 3017 in codex-openai-video, report http://localhost:3017/#project/codex-openai-video.

Treat index.html as source-code context only. It is fine to link it as an implementation file, but do not label it as the project or preview surface.

Rendering

npx hyperframes render                                # standard MP4
npx hyperframes render --output final.mp4             # named output
npx hyperframes render --quality draft                # fast iteration
npx hyperframes render --fps 60 --quality high        # final delivery
npx hyperframes render --format webm                  # transparent WebM
npx hyperframes render --docker                       # byte-identical

Flag	Options	Default	Notes
--output	path	renders/name_timestamp.mp4	Output path
--fps	24, 30, 60	30	60fps doubles render time
--quality	draft, standard, high	standard	draft for iterating
--format	mp4, webm	mp4	WebM supports transparency
--workers	1-8 or auto	auto	Each spawns Chrome
--docker	flag	off	Reproducible output
--gpu	flag	off	GPU-accelerated encoding
--strict	flag	off	Fail on lint errors
--strict-all	flag	off	Fail on errors AND warnings
--variables	JSON object	—	Override variable values declared in data-composition-variables
--variables-file	path	—	JSON file with variable values (alternative to --variables)
--strict-variables	flag	off	Fail render on undeclared keys or type mismatches in --variables

Quality guidance: draft while iterating, standard for review, high for final delivery.

Parametrized renders: the composition declares its variables on the <html> root with data-composition-variables — a JSON array of declarations ({id, type, label, default} per entry) that defines the schema. Scripts inside read the resolved values via window.__hyperframes.getVariables(). The CLI --variables '{"title":"Q4 Report"}' is a JSON object keyed by id that overrides those declared defaults for one render; missing keys fall through, so the same composition runs unchanged in dev preview and in production. (Sub-comp hosts can also override per-instance with data-variable-values — same object shape, scoped to one mount of the sub-composition. See the hyperframes skill for the full pattern.)

Asset Preprocessing

npx hyperframes tts, transcribe, and remove-background produce assets (narration audio, word-level transcripts, transparent video) that get dropped into a composition. Each downloads its own model on first run. For voice selection, whisper model rules (the .en-translates-non-English gotcha), output format choice (VP9 alpha WebM vs ProRes), and the TTS → transcribe → captions chain, invoke the hyperframes-media skill.

Troubleshooting

npx hyperframes doctor       # check environment (Chrome, FFmpeg, Node, memory)
npx hyperframes browser      # manage bundled Chrome
npx hyperframes info         # version and environment details
npx hyperframes upgrade      # check for updates

Run doctor first if rendering fails. Common issues: missing FFmpeg, missing Chrome, low memory.

Other

npx hyperframes compositions   # list compositions in project
npx hyperframes docs           # open documentation
npx hyperframes benchmark .    # benchmark render performance