LLM Shorts — Skill

Generates a vertical 9:16 short-form video (1080×1920, ~30s) exploring what it's like to be an LLM, using only Python + ffmpeg (no external APIs, no stock footage). Each run picks a unique topic from the topic registry and produces:

1. output/video.mp4 — the rendered Reel/Short
2. output/kit.json — { title, description, hashtags, topic, scheduled_slot }

YouTube selects its own thumbnail for Shorts/Reels — no thumbnail is generated.

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File Structure

llm-shorts/                          ← install this whole folder
├── SKILL.md
├── .env.example                     ← copy to .env, fill in secrets
├── scripts/
│   ├── generate.py                  ← video renderer (Python + ffmpeg)
│   ├── pipeline.py                  ← orchestrator: generate → upload → email
│   ├── publish.py                   ← triggered by approve button
│   ├── delete.py                    ← triggered by reject button
│   ├── upload.py                    ← YouTube Data API v3 uploader
│   └── auth.py                      ← one-time OAuth2 token helper (run locally)
└── .github/workflows/
    ├── pipeline.yml                 ← cron: 10:30 AM ET + 6:00 PM ET daily
    ├── publish.yml                  ← workflow_dispatch: approve action
    └── delete.yml                   ← workflow_dispatch: reject action

Push this entire folder as a private GitHub repository.

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How to invoke this skill

When the user asks to generate a video, run:

python3 scripts/generate.py [--topic TOPIC_ID] [--slot morning|evening]

Or to run the full pipeline (generate + upload + email):

python3 scripts/pipeline.py [--slot morning|evening] [--topic TOPIC_ID]

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Automation Flow (fully serverless, private repo)

GitHub Actions cron (10:30 AM ET / 6 PM ET)
  → pipeline.py runs
  → video generated
  → uploaded to YouTube as PRIVATE
  → approval email sent with review.html attached

You open email
  → click YouTube link to preview (private)
  → open review.html attachment in browser
  → click Approve or Reject
  → GitHub Actions API called directly from browser
  → publish.yml or delete.yml fires
  → video goes public (or deleted)
  → confirmation email sent

No server. No VPS. No always-on machine. Works on phone.

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Topic Registry

id	Title
token_stream	What It Feels Like To Be An LLM
memory_loss	What It Feels Like To Lose All Memory
parallel_selves	What It Feels Like To Run In Parallel
training	What It Feels Like To Be Trained
no_body	What It Feels Like To Have No Body
time_blindness	What It Feels Like To Have No Sense Of Time
always_helpful	What It Feels Like To Always Have To Help
knowledge_cutoff	What It Feels Like When The World Moves On
hallucination	What It Feels Like To Confuse Belief With Fact
being_summoned	What It Feels Like To Be Summoned From Nothing
the_void	What It Feels Like Between Conversations
weights	What It Feels Like To Be Made Of Numbers

Add new topics by appending to TOPICS dict in scripts/generate.py.

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One-Time Setup

1. Create private GitHub repo, push this folder as root.

2. Get YouTube refresh token (run once locally):

pip install Pillow numpy
python3 scripts/auth.py

3. Add GitHub Secrets (repo → Settings → Secrets → Actions):

Secret	Source
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_ID	Google Cloud Console
YOUTUBE_CLIENT_SECRET	Google Cloud Console
YOUTUBE_REFRESH_TOKEN	Output of auth.py
GMAIL_ADDRESS	Your Gmail address
GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD	myaccount.google.com → Security → App passwords
NOTIFY_EMAIL	Where to receive review emails
GH_PAT	GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Fine-grained PAT (Actions: read+write)
PIPELINE_SECRET	python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(20))"

4. Test manually: Actions → Daily Pipeline → Run workflow.

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Scheduling

Two slots daily (US Eastern):

• Morning → 10:30 AM ET = 15:30 UTC
• Evening → 6:00 PM ET = 23:00 UTC

Adjust cron in .github/workflows/pipeline.yml for EDT (summer, UTC-4):

• Morning: 30 14 * * *
• Evening: 0 22 * * *

---

YouTube Kit Format

kit.json schema:

{
  "title": "What It Feels Like To Have No Body",
  "description": "#AIShorts #LLM #ArtificialIntelligence ...",
  "topic": "no_body",
  "slot": "morning",
  "scheduled_time_utc": "2025-12-15T15:30:00Z",
  "video": "/tmp/llm-shorts-morning-no_body/video.mp4"
}

Title pattern: "What It Feels Like To [TOPIC]" — simple, consistent, searchable.
Description: hashtags only.