Make Code-Rendered Videos with Claude: Four Repos and a Practical Setup Guide

Claude Code generates videos by writing code, not by calling a video generation model. It produces HTML Canvas animations, p5.js sketches, Three.js scenes, or Manim scripts, then a headless browser renders them frame by frame and FFmpeg stitches the result into an MP4. The four repos below are public starting points for that workflow. Each repository is publicly available to clone; check its license before reusing code or media. The Claude usage is not free.

How This Actually Works

When you run one of these repos, Claude Code acts as a coding agent. You describe what you want, Claude writes the rendering code, a local pipeline captures frames, and FFmpeg compiles the video. There is no single magic prompt that produces a finished film without infrastructure. You need Node.js, FFmpeg, and Chrome installed locally before anything runs.

These repositories describe examples made with Claude Opus 5.5. That is not a guarantee that every prompt needs one model. Check the model and billing route available in your Claude Code account before starting. Public repository access does not include free model usage.

What You Need Before Starting

• Claude Code installed and authenticated with a valid Anthropic account. Check your Claude Code account and billing route before starting; repository access does not pay for model usage.
• Node.js (Lemo requires 20 or later) — download from nodejs.org
• FFmpeg installed and accessible on your system PATH
• Google Chrome or Chromium for headless frame capture
• Python 3.11 or later (required by Lemo-Opuscar only)
• A stable internet connection and enough disk space for rendered frames

None of these tools are difficult to install individually, but the combination makes initial setup non-trivial. If you are on Windows, FFmpeg and Chromium PATH configuration typically needs manual steps.

Repo 1: Awesome Opus 5.5 Video Styles

This repo is a gallery, not a generation tool. It contains 425 prompts organised into 12 style categories: hand-drawn and sketch (22 prompts), flat cartoon (43), cinematic 3D (82), kinetic typography (52), product UI promo (80), generative and neon (34), low-poly and voxel (32), explainers and data viz (38), pixel art (22), collage and cutout (6), retro and terminal (5), and photoreal (9). Each entry shows a still frame from the actual output and a copy button for the prompt.

Use it as a reference library. Browse, find a style you want, copy the prompt, then run it in Claude Code with one of the execution repos below. The repo itself uses a HiAPI key for access to Claude rather than a direct Anthropic key. If you already have Claude Code, you do not need a HiAPI account.

Repo 2: Opus Video Prompts

This repo contains 18 prompts with 54 documented real-world cases across 9 technical approaches (HTML Canvas, p5.js, Three.js, Remotion, Manim, Blender scripts, and more). It is the most practically documented of the four, with cost estimates and time estimates for each example.

One startup launch example in the repository uses the prompt: "make a modern slick and punchy video for a modern startup that works on inference". The listed cost and timing belong to that example, not a quote for your own result. Multi-minute music videos can reach $200 per iteration or more at the complex end. The repo documents this range honestly and recommends setting Claude Code's effort to "high" or "xhigh" for best results.

Quickstart steps:

1. Install Node.js, FFmpeg, and Chrome if you have not already
2. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/joeseesun/opus-video-prompts
3. Follow the README setup instructions to configure your environment
4. Open Claude Code in the repo directory
5. Paste a prompt from the examples table (or write your own) and run it

Repo 3: PDoom Video

This is the source code for a complete Claude-generated music video titled I'm Upping My P(doom). The README states: "Everything in this repository was generated by the model." The video has nine chapters, each with its own scene file, plus shared code for characters, props, and timeline management. It uses HTML5 and p5.js for rendering, with a headless Chrome pipeline and FFmpeg for final output. An MP3 audio file is included in the repo.

This repo is most useful as a reference implementation rather than a blank-slate starter. You can read how Claude structured a multi-chapter animated music video, study the character and prop abstractions, and adapt the pipeline for your own song. The animation styles it demonstrates include custom character designs and p5.js brushstroke techniques. There is no explicit cost figure in the README for this repo.

To run it locally:

1. Clone https://github.com/JohnHeibel/PDoomVideo, review its files, then install Node.js dependencies (npm install) if you choose to run it.
2. Ensure Chrome and FFmpeg are available
3. Follow the render instructions in the README to compile the chapters

Repo 4: Lemo-Opuscar (Recommended Starting Point)

Lemo-Opuscar describes itself as "a toolbox of film styles made in code." It has 59 ready-to-use named film styles across multiple visual categories. Each style comes with a three-guide system: DIRECTOR.md (narrative direction), TECHNIQUE.md (rendering technique), and a style-specific STYLE.md. These guides steer Claude during generation so outputs stay within the intended aesthetic.

Features include frame-by-frame canvas and WebGL rendering, original music composition from sample libraries, and text-to-speech narration. It does not use stock footage or an external video generation API. Everything is rendered in code.

The README recommends installing its Claude Code skill through the plugin marketplace. Alternatively, clone the repo and run it locally. To start a film, you describe what you want: for example, "Make a 45-second film in the watercolor style about the coffee farm my family runs." Claude then generates the code, renders each frame, and produces the final video.

Important expectations to set:

• A single film generation typically takes 30 to 60 minutes of agent time
• Token usage is described as "a fair amount" in the README. Budget accordingly
• The repo is optimised for Claude Opus 5.5. Other models may not reproduce the visual styles reliably
• Python 3.11 or later is required in addition to Node.js and FFmpeg

Quickstart steps:

1. Install Node.js 20+, Python 3.11+, FFmpeg, and Chrome
2. Install via the Claude Code plugin marketplace (recommended) or clone: git clone https://github.com/lemomo-ai/lemo-opuscar
3. Open Claude Code in the project directory
4. Describe your film and the style you want from the 59 available
5. Let the agent run. Check back after 30-60 minutes

Honest Cost and Safety Summary

Repository access is free. All four repositories are publicly available on GitHub; check each repository license before reuse. You can read, clone, and study them without spending anything.

Claude usage is paid. Generating a video requires running Claude Opus through Claude Code, which consumes tokens. A simple 30-second animation may cost a few dollars. A complex multi-chapter production can cost significantly more. The Opus Video Prompts repo is the most transparent about this range ($2 to $200+). Do not start a long generation without understanding your billing settings.

Do not run untrusted code from these repos without reviewing it. Claude Code runs as an agent on your machine. Before executing any generation pipeline, review what the repo's setup scripts do. A public repository is not a security audit. Review setup scripts and permissions before running them.

No model version is guaranteed to stay current. The repositories describe examples made with Claude Opus 5.5. Anthropic's model lineup changes over time. If a newer Opus version becomes the default, test outputs before assuming the same quality.

Quick Comparison: Which Repo to Start With

Your goal	Start here
Explore what styles are possible	Awesome Opus 5.5 Video Styles (gallery)
Run a prompt and see the pipeline work	Opus Video Prompts (best documented)
Study a complete animated music video	PDoom Video (reference implementation)
Generate a styled short film end-to-end	Lemo-Opuscar (most complete toolkit)

The fastest path for most people is: browse Awesome Opus 5.5 Video Styles to find a visual style you like, then use Opus Video Prompts to run your first generation. Once you are comfortable with the pipeline, move to Lemo-Opuscar for named film styles with deeper creative control.