FREE SETUP GUIDE
Build your own 24/7 AI video editor
Drop in a raw video, say "edit this," and get back a cut, captioned edit. Answer three quick questions and the guide fits your computer. No coding experience needed.
Works on 8GB laptops
Free tools
About 30 minutes
QUICK QUESTIONS
Let's fit this guide to you
Three questions. Your answers are saved on this device only.
This guide needs a laptop or desktop computer. The editor runs video tools that don't work on phones, tablets, or Chromebooks. Come back when you're on a Mac or Windows PC.
You need a paid Claude plan first. The editor runs inside Claude Code, and editing uses a lot of usage, so the free plan isn't enough. Get Pro (or Max if you'll edit often) at claude.ai, then come back to this guide.
New to terminals? No problem. A terminal is a window where you paste commands. On a Mac, press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Enter. On Windows, press the Windows key, type PowerShell, and press Enter. You'll only copy and paste, and Claude can do most of it for you.
START HERE
Your setup checklist
Tick each item as you go. It saves on this device, so you can come back anytime.
If you get an error: copy it, paste it into Claude, and say "fix this." Claude can usually solve it. If Claude asks you to restart, quit the app fully and open it again.
BEFORE YOU START
What you need
✓ A Mac or Windows computer (8GB RAM is enough). The original editor was tested on Windows 11, and this lighter version was tested on a Mac.
✓ A paid Claude plan (Claude Code is where the editor runs)
✓ About 1 GB of free disk space
✓ Node.js 22 or newer (Claude can install it for you)
✓ A short test video, about 30 to 60 seconds, of you talking to camera
You'll set up three tools: FFmpeg (cuts and exports the video), Pillow (draws the captions and graphics), and a free Groq key (turns your voice into captions).
Shortcut: you don't have to install these by hand. In Claude Code, you can type "Check what I'm missing for video editing and install it. Ask me before each install." Claude will install each tool and ask your OK first. The steps below show what it's doing, and how to check that it worked.
STEP 1
Open Claude Code
Open the Claude desktop app and click the Code tab. Choose Local, then pick a new empty folder called free247editor in your Documents.
WINDOWS ONLY
Installer error? If the Claude app fails with "Installation failed: AddPackage failed," your Windows app installer is broken, not Claude. Open PowerShell and install Claude Code directly:
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Then type claude in your Documents folder and sign in with the same Claude account.
● ● ●
Claude
Code
Chat
Projects
Settings
Chat Code
Local 📁 free247editor
Type a message to start…
EXAMPLE ON A MAC · THE CODE TAB WITH YOUR FOLDER
Claude
─ ☐ ✕
Code
Chat
Projects
Settings
Chat Code
Local 📁 free247editor
Type a message to start…
EXAMPLE ON WINDOWS · THE CODE TAB WITH YOUR FOLDER
STEP 2
Install FFmpeg
FFmpeg is the tool that does the cutting and exporting.
MAC
Open Terminal and paste:
brew install ffmpeg
Don't have Homebrew yet? Get it at brew.sh first, or just ask Claude to install FFmpeg for you.
WINDOWS
Easiest way: in Claude Code, type "Install FFmpeg for me. Ask me first." Claude finds the right command for your PC and installs it after you click Allow.
Check that it worked:
ffmpeg -version
● ● ●
Terminal
you@MacBook ~ % ffmpeg -version
ffmpeg version … Copyright (c) the FFmpeg developers
built with …
EXAMPLE ON A MAC · YOU SHOULD SEE A VERSION LINE
Windows PowerShell
─ ☐ ✕
PS C:\Users\you> ffmpeg -version
ffmpeg version … Copyright (c) the FFmpeg developers
built with …
EXAMPLE ON WINDOWS · YOU SHOULD SEE A VERSION LINE
STEP 3
Install Pillow
Pillow draws your captions and motion graphics. It needs Python.
MAC
The first time you run python3, it may ask you to install the developer tools. Click Install and wait for it to finish. Then, in your free247editor folder, paste:
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install pillow
Check that it worked:
.venv/bin/python -c "import PIL; print('Pillow OK')"
● ● ●
Terminal
you@MacBook ~ % .venv/bin/python -c "import PIL; print('Pillow OK')"
Pillow OK
EXAMPLE ON A MAC · YOU SHOULD SEE PILLOW OK
WINDOWS
Install Python from python.org first and tick "Add Python to PATH" in the installer. Then, in your free247editor folder, paste:
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\pip install pillow
Check that it worked:
.venv\Scripts\python -c "import PIL; print('Pillow OK')"
Windows PowerShell
─ ☐ ✕
PS C:\Users\you> .venv\Scripts\python -c "import PIL; print('Pillow OK')"
Pillow OK
EXAMPLE ON WINDOWS · YOU SHOULD SEE PILLOW OK
STEP 4
Get your free Groq key
Groq turns your voice into text, so your captions match what you said, including Taglish.
✓ Go to console.groq.com/keys and sign up for free
✓ Click Create API Key and name it "editor"
✓ Copy the key. You'll only see it once.
Then tell Claude: "Save my Groq key as GROQ_API_KEY in a .env file in this folder." Paste the key when it asks. Claude creates the file and keeps the key out of the chat.
Keep it private. Never post your key, put it in a video, or share it in a screenshot. Blur it before you show anyone.
● ● ●
console.groq.com/keys
API Keys
editor
gsk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Create API Key
Your key is blurred here on purpose. Never show your real key.
EXAMPLE · YOUR KEY IS HIDDEN
STEP 5
Tell Claude to build the editor
Now paste this one prompt into Claude Code. It builds the whole editor for you and asks before it installs anything:
I want to run my video editing on a computer with 8GB RAM. Do not use HyperFrames for rendering. Build this from scratch. Use Groq to transcribe my clip for captions, ffmpeg to cut and export, and Pillow for graphics. First, tell me what I need to install, including a Groq API key, and ask before installing anything. Then set up an inbox folder for raw videos and an outbox folder for finished edits.
● ● ●
Claude · free247editor
I want to run my video editing on a computer with 8GB RAM. Do not use HyperFrames for rendering… Use Groq, ffmpeg, and Pillow…
Claude
Here is what you need to install:
• FFmpeg
• Pillow
• A free Groq key
May I install these? (Allow / Deny)
EXAMPLE · CLAUDE ASKS BEFORE IT INSTALLS
STEP 6
Edit your first video
✓ Put your test video in the inbox folder
✓ Type: edit this
✓ Watch the draft in the outbox folder
✓ Tell Claude what to change in plain words, like you would tell a human editor
✓ When you like it, say final
● ● ●
free247editor
📁 inbox
📁 outbox
🎬 my-video-draft.mp4
🎬 my-video-final.mp4
EXAMPLE · YOUR EDITS APPEAR IN OUTBOX
If something goes wrong
"ffmpeg not found"
Close the terminal, open a new one, and run ffmpeg -version again. If it still fails, redo Step 2.
Groq says my key is invalid
Copy the key again from the Groq page. Check there are no extra spaces at the start or end.
My computer slows down or restarts while editing
Close other apps first. This setup is built to be light, but video work still needs some free memory.
Any other error
Copy the whole error, paste it into Claude, and say "fix this."
WHAT'S NEXT
You have the editor.
Now give it something worth editing.
A great editor can't fix content nobody wants to watch. Content Creator Lab teaches the other half: what to say, how to get views, and how to turn content into income.