HOW TO — Contents and overview
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.
The app UI is currently Japanese; this guide gives the English meaning of each label.
1 — AKARI Video in 30 seconds
AKARI Video is a system for AI agents to edit video. The AI assembles cuts, telops (on-screen text), subtitles, and background music. You have just two jobs: explain what you want to make and review and approve it at key stages.
Your work in progress and finished results all stay on your PC as ordinary files. You can stop midway without losing your work, or switch to another tool. Work handled entirely locally—transcription, editing, and export—is free.
exports/There are two checkpoints by default: the editing plan and export. You can also choose full automation or discussion at every step (→ Your first video).
2 — Two ways to start
There are two ways in, but both use the same underlying files. You can switch between them later.
No programming knowledge needed. Start with the desktop app.
Add 21 video production skills to your usual agent.
/akari in Claude Code, or ask in opencode / Cursoredit.json is the editing source of truth. No API; track changes with git diffsThe desktop app (macOS / Windows, Public Beta) is also a place to review and fix edits made by AI. Terminal users can use it alongside their agent for reviews.
3 — Reading order
Choose between the app and terminal, install, and pick an AI agent (free opencode or paid Claude Code).
install → 2. Your first videoCreate a project, add footage, and get a finished MP4, with example prompts to type.
first-video → 3. Open and fixOpen the preview, drag to move elements, double-click to edit text, and adjust controls.
viewer → 4. File mapWhere files live on your PC, who can edit them, and how to move or back them up.
files → 5. Use from Claude Code / CodexAll 21 skills, the CLI, the ideas behind edit.json, and export to other editors (BETA).
power → 6. TroubleshootingFrequently asked questions and where to get help (LINE open chat, Discord, and GitHub).
faq →4 — About this guide
AKARI Video is under development, so screens and procedures change quickly. Each page therefore shows its last update date and the app version it describes at the top and bottom. If your app looks different from this guide, the guide may be out of date. The documentation on GitHub is always the current source of truth.
| Date | App version | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-17 | v0.1.10 | Updated navigation for the new download page (/download/); clarified macOS / Windows desktop support and reorganized installation into app and terminal paths |
| 2026-08-10 | v0.1.6 | Full review: updated to 21 skills (added declare-audio / beat-sync-edit), adopted the ~/Akari workspace path, and clarified Windows CLI support |
| 2026-08-03 | v0.1.3 | Initial publication (all 7 pages) |
To learn more — This guide is for users. Data format specifications (contracts), internal skill procedures, and developer information are all published in docs/ in the GitHub repository.