AKARI Video / How-to guide 日本語 GitHub ↗

HOW TO — Contents and overview

AKARI Video
How-to guide

Add footage. Let the AI edit. Open, fix, and export. This guide explains the whole process, from installation to a finished video, in an order that makes sense for beginners. The aim is to get you up and running without having to read GitHub.

Last updated 2026-10-17 Describes AKARI Video v1.5.0 7 pages

1 — AKARI Video in 30 seconds

You only do two things: “tell” and “check”

AKARI Video is an app where an AI partner does the video editing. The AI assembles the cuts, captions, subtitles and BGM. A human has just two jobs: tell it what you want to make, and confirm “that's fine” at the milestones.

Everything along the way, and the result, stays on your computer as ordinary files. So stopping partway breaks nothing, and you can move to another tool. What runs on your machine (transcription, editing, exporting) is free.

Add footage YouJust drag your shot video into “Assets” on the left
↓
Analysis → a proposed edit plan AITranscription, scene detection, and “why this cut”
↓ By default (with suggestions) it doesn't stop here
The plan arrives YouOnly in “Create together” mode do you give the OK here
↓
Assemble the first draft AIDown to cuts, captions, subtitles and BGM
↓
Open and fix YouDrag to move, or mark a spot and hand it to the AI
↓ Here is the approval (once)
Approve the export You
↓
Done An MP4 is saved in exports/

By default there is one checkpoint: the export approval. You can change it with how much you delegate: fully automatic (0 approvals), with suggestions (the default, 1 approval), or create together (a check at each stage) (→ Your first video). Things that can't be undone, such as publishing, paid generation and sending data outside, always stop for your confirmation in every mode.

2 — Two entry points

First-timers, and people used to AI agents

There are two routes in, but whichever you start with, the contents (the files) are the same. You can switch between them later.

🙂 If you're new

No programming knowledge needed. You can start from the desktop app.

Install the appmacOS / Windows — from the download page
↓
Connect an AI partner by following the on-screen guide, and talk to itFrom “+ Start a new video” on the home screen. With a first-time guide
↓
Check and fix right thereDrag to move, or mark a spot and hand it to the AI
→ Start with “Install”

🔧 If you use Claude Code / Codex

28 video-factory skills grow inside your usual agent.

Use it from your own agentIn Claude Code, /akari; in Codex, opencode and Cursor Agent, just say it
↓
Skills kick in stage by stageAnalysis → planning → editing → QA → export
↓
The only integration is filesThe source of truth for the edit is edit.json. No API, and changes show in git diffs
→ Go to “Use from Claude Code / Codex”

The desktop app (macOS / Windows) is also “the place to check and fix an edit the AI made”. People who work from the terminal can use it alongside as a place to review.

3 — Reading order

Read in this order and you won't get lost

1. Install

How to choose between the app and the terminal, the install steps, how to choose an AI partner (Claude Code / Codex recommended), and updates and the versions you receive.

install → 2. Your first video

From “+ Start a new video”, add footage, ask your partner, and get a finished MP4. With the actual words to type.

first-video → 3. Open and fix

The screen map. The Library and templates, preview marks and annotations, the timeline, the Script panel and scenes. Fix things by dragging and with knobs.

viewer → 4. File map

What gets created where on your computer, who may touch it, and how to move or back up.

files → 5. Use from Claude Code / Codex

The list of 28 skills, the CLI, the idea behind edit.json, and export to other editors (BETA).

power → 6. Troubleshooting

Common questions, and where to ask (LINE open chat, Discord, GitHub).

faq →

4 — About this guide

We always state when it was written

AKARI Video is a fast-moving product, and screens and procedures change. So every page shows its “last updated” date and the app version it describes. If your app and this guide disagree, the guide is probably out of date; the documentation on GitHub is always the latest source of truth.

Update history

DateVersionWhat changed
2026-10-17v1.5.0Full revision (7 pages updated, link format fixed) — screen terms moved to the new names (Assets, Styles, Templates, Playbooks); Install now covers automatic updates and the release channel; Your first video now starts from “+ Start a new video” and playbooks; Open and fix rewritten around the screen map, preview marks and annotations, templates, the Script panel and scenes; updated for 28 skills; the “Public Beta” label removed
2026-09-11v0.1.62Full review — updated for 23 skills; approval revised to “one approval” (once at export by default); Claude Code / Codex recommended, with opencode / Cursor Agent alongside; updates are automatic
2026-08-17v0.1.10Entry points reorganized with the new download page (/download/) — states that the desktop app supports both macOS and Windows; the Install page restructured into two entries, “app” and “terminal”
2026-08-10v0.1.6Full review — updated for 21 skills (declare-audio / beat-sync-edit added); workspace path follows ~/Akari; states that the CLI supports Windows
2026-08-03v0.1.3First release (7 pages)

About the words on screen — The on-screen wording gets new names in the next release. In the v1.5.0 app you will see Motion parts shown as “Overlay”, My styles as “My presets”, Caption styles as “Caption template”, and Channel settings as “Brand kit”.

If you want to know more — This guide is for people who use the product. The data format specifications (contracts), internal skill procedures and developer information are all public in docs/ in the GitHub repository.