Clone a video's format with Claude Code: the command and the setup steps

Hypit is a free GitHub repo that turns Claude Code into a video editor that copies formats. You give it a video and one sentence. It rebuilds the cuts, captions and B-roll around your new words. Here is the install command, the clone prompt, the setup steps, what it touches on your computer and what it costs.

What you need first

Claude Code. It comes with the paid Claude plans. Pro is $20 a month if you pay monthly (claude.com/pricing).
Node.js 22.15 or newer. The Hypit README lists it as the requirement.
FFmpeg on your computer (on a Mac: brew install ffmpeg).
One of your own videos that already did well. That's the one you clone.

The install command

This is the line from the Hypit README. It adds the Hypit skill to your coding agent:

npx skills add hypit-ai/hypit -g

The -g installs it for every project. I'd try it in an empty test folder first and read the skill before the first run (see "What it touches" below).

On the first run, Claude checks for the Hypit program itself and offers to install it. The skill's own notes give this command for that:

npm install --global @hypit/hypit

The clone prompt

The README's example is: "/hypit Clone this video: /path/to/video.mp4, and replace the ranking content with a comparison of Hypit with other AI video products."

My version for your own video:

Paste this

/hypit Clone this video: [/path/to/your-best-video.mp4], and replace the content with [your new topic in one sentence]. Show me the plan and the cost before you generate anything.

The setup steps

Open Claude Code in an empty folder.
Run the install command above, then restart Claude Code so it sees the new skill.
Put your own video in the folder.
Paste the clone prompt. Swap the parts in [brackets].
Let Claude watch the video and explain what it found: where the cuts land, how the captions group, which words the B-roll follows.
Before anything paid runs, ask for the cost. The skill has a hypit pricing command for that.
Check the preview, ask for changes in plain words, then ask for the final render.

What it touches on your computer

Read this part before you install. The skill tells Claude to run commands for you. From the skill's own documents:

It installs the @hypit/hypit program with npm.
It may need FFmpeg and uv (a Python tool) on your computer.
For word timing it can set up WhisperX locally. That's its own Python environment and a large first download.
It downloads a browser it uses to render the video.
It can download a reference video from a link (it uses yt-dlp).
Paid model accounts and keys are stored through hypit auth.

The skill says it should ask you before paid work and agree a budget with you first. Still, read the skill before the first run.

What it costs

Hypit: free and open source. The repo says: "Hypit is free to use; your Coding Agent and model services have their own accounts and charges."
Captions, motion graphics and code-drawn visuals: no model needed. The README says a workflow can finish a video "without calling a generation model or incurring its service charges".
AI footage, AI images and AI voices: paid, through the model service you choose. The three README examples with AI footage cost $1.07, $1.09 and $1.15 per video.
HypiHub, their hosted service: Starter is $9.90 a month for 1,800 credits, or you buy 2,000 credits for $15 without a plan (hypit.ai/pricing).

The honest part

Copy formats only. Someone else's face, voice and footage stay theirs. Clone your own videos, or videos you have the rights to use.
The license is free for your own work, including client work. Reselling Hypit as a hosted service needs a paid license from them.
The videos you make belong to you. Any AI model you use has its own terms.
I read the README, the license and the skill on October 19, 2026. This is how it works as of October 2026. Repos change fast.

If it doesn't work

/hypit doesn't show up: restart Claude Code. Still nothing? Run the install command again.
"hypit: command not found": ask Claude to run hypit version. If it's missing, ask Claude to install it with the npm command above.
The word timing setup is slow: the first WhisperX setup downloads a lot. Let it finish once and it's reused after that.
You don't want to pay for anything: say so in the prompt: "Use only captions, motion graphics and my own footage. No paid models."

Sources: github.com/hypit-ai/hypit (README, LICENSE and skills/hypit/SKILL.md, read October 19, 2026), hypit.ai/pricing (read October 19, 2026), claude.com/pricing (read October 18, 2026).