Install Claude Desktop
Get it from claude.ai/download. Needs Claude Pro or higher.
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Claude × your video folder
Give Claude a folder of clips. Tell it what you want. Get the edited video back.
Watch: connect a folder, add your files, then prompt for great results.
What you can ask for
Setup
Do it once. Then every edit is one message.
Get it from claude.ai/download. Needs Claude Pro or higher.
The website can't reach your files. Use the app.
Open Cowork and pick your video folder. Claude only sees that folder.
Use a fresh folder like To edit and keep a backup.
Claude uses ffmpeg, a free video engine. Just ask and it sets it up.
Approve the install once if your computer asks.
Talk like you would to an editor. Claude saves a new file every time.
Start with the "Set the rules" prompt below.
Read this first
Audio can drop, captions can drift, a filter can go too far. Tight prompts help, and this one makes Claude catch problems before you do.
After each edit, check your own work before you say it's done: 1. Confirm my voice is audible from start to end, at an even level. 2. Check the captions match my words and timing. 3. Confirm the length, resolution, and file size. 4. Look at 3 frames (start, middle, end). If anything is off, fix it first, then tell me what you fixed.
Rendering and re-checking video eats into your plan quickly. Paste this at the start to get more edits out of your limit.
Keep this efficient to save my usage: - Work on one file at a time. - Make a 10 second test first. Only do the full export after I say go. - Use quick low-quality previews while we decide, and export full quality once at the end. - Don't re-read files you already checked. - Wait until I list all my fixes, then apply them in one pass. - Keep replies short: what you did and the file name.
Prompt packs
Swap the orange parts for your own file names.
The full pro look in one go: even audio, flattering light, bold captions, smooth cuts.
Make [FILE NAME] look and sound professional: - Keep my voice at the same level all the way through, including the last line. - Brighten and warm my face like a soft key light. Keep my background as it is, with no dark vignette. - Bold uppercase captions, synced word by word, with key words in [amber]. - A quick zoom and blur on every scene change so cuts feel smooth.
Removes pauses and filler words. Great for talking-head videos.
Open [FILE NAME]. Remove every pause longer than [0.5] seconds and any "um" or "uh" you can detect. Keep the audio and video in sync. Save it as a new file in the "edits" folder. Do not change the original.
Vertical version of any video, ready to post.
Turn [FILE NAME] into a 9:16 vertical video for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Keep my face centered. Maximum [60] seconds, so pick the strongest part. Export 1080x1920 MP4 to the "edits" folder.
Auto subtitles burned into the video, plus a caption file.
Transcribe [FILE NAME] and burn in captions. Style: [bold white text with a black outline], [2 to 4] words at a time, in the lower third. Also save the captions as an .srt file.
Clean cut with smooth fades.
Trim [FILE NAME] to keep only [00:12] to [02:45]. Add a 0.5 second fade in at the start and fade out at the end.
Smaller file, still sharp.
Compress [FILE NAME] to under [25] MB without making it look blurry. Tell me the file size and resolution before and after.
Same edit on every video, one message.
For every video in this folder: [cut silences, add captions, export 9:16]. Process them one at a time. At the end, give me a table with each file name, old length, and new length.
Joins clips into one clean video.
Combine [clip1.mp4, clip2.mp4, clip3.mp4] in this order into one video. Match them all to [1920x1080], add a short crossfade between each clip, and save as [final.mp4] in the "edits" folder.
Claude picks the best moments for you.
Look through all clips in the [raw] folder. Pick the best [30] seconds of moments with movement or speech. Combine them into a fast highlight reel with quick cuts, and put [music.mp3] underneath at low volume.
Brand every video the same way.
Add [intro.mp4] at the start and [outro.mp4] at the end of [FILE NAME]. If I don't have an intro file, create a 3 second title card with the text "[TITLE]" on a [orange] background.
Music that gets out of the way when you talk.
Add [music.mp3] as background music to [FILE NAME]. Keep my voice clear: lower the music to about [15]% while I speak, and fade it out over the last 3 seconds.
Pick a thumbnail without scrubbing the video.
Pull [5] frames from [FILE NAME] where my face is clear and expressive. Save them as JPG files in a "thumbnails" folder so I can choose one.
Post everywhere from a single edit.
From [FILE NAME], export three versions: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels, and 1:1 for the feed. Keep the important action in frame for each one.
A voiceover script that fits the video length.
Watch [FILE NAME] and write a voiceover script that fits its length. Tone: [friendly and confident]. Audience: [small business owners]. Put a timestamp at the start of each line. Save it as script.txt.
Needs ElevenLabs connected. See the voice section below.
Use ElevenLabs with my voice "[MY VOICE NAME]" to read script.txt. Natural pace, small pauses between sentences. Save it as vo.mp3 in this folder.
Swap the original sound for your voiceover.
Replace the original audio in [FILE NAME] with vo.mp3. If the voiceover is longer than the video, hold the last frame. Never cut words. Save as [FILE NAME]-vo.mp4.
Builds a full video around a voiceover.
Edit the clips in [raw] to follow vo.mp3. Show a new clip at each new sentence, cut on natural pauses, and make the total length match the voiceover exactly.
Clear, even voice for social media.
Make the voice in [FILE NAME] clear and even. Reduce background noise, set loudness to about -14 LUFS for social media, and keep any music under the voice.
Same video, new audience.
Translate script.txt into [Hindi]. Create a new voiceover with ElevenLabs using "[MY VOICE NAME]", then save a dubbed copy of [FILE NAME] as [FILE NAME]-hindi.mp4.
Paste at the start of every session. Keeps your files safe.
Before you edit anything, follow these rules: 1. Never change or delete my original files. 2. Save every output to an "edits" folder. 3. Tell me your plan in short steps and wait for my OK. 4. After each edit, tell me the file name, length, and size.
Check the look on a short sample first. Saves time on long videos.
Make a 10 second preview of this edit first so I can check the look. Only process the full video after I say go.
Fix a detail without redoing the whole edit.
Keep everything from the last version. Only change this: [the captions are too big, make them 20% smaller].
Quick way to review an edit.
List every change you made to [FILE NAME] with timestamps, so I can check it quickly.
The four details that make every edit land first time.
Always tell Claude: - Format: 9:16, 16:9, or 1:1 - Length in seconds - Where it will be posted - Exact file names Vague: "Make it shorter." Clear: "Cut to 45 seconds for Instagram Reels."
Get a consistent look across all your videos.
Look at [reference.mp4]. Describe its pacing, caption style, and music level, then edit [FILE NAME] to match that style.
Voice
Good to know: Claude can't clone voices itself. ElevenLabs makes the voice, Claude does the rest.
Voices, then Instant Voice Clone. Upload 1 to 3 minutes of clean audio. Only clone your own voice.
Settings, then Connectors, then add ElevenLabs.
Use the Voiceover prompts. No clone? Use a ready-made voice.
FAQ
No. You write normal sentences. Claude handles the technical part in the background.
It's best for repeat edits: cutting, captions, resizing, combining, audio, and voiceovers. For detailed creative work on a timeline, keep your editor and let Claude do the boring parts first.
Claude only works inside the folder you choose. Use the "Set the rules" prompt so it never changes your originals, and keep a backup of important footage.
Not by itself. ElevenLabs creates the voice. Claude writes the script, asks ElevenLabs for the audio, and edits it into your video.
They work, but take longer. Start with clips under 10 minutes and ask for a 10 second preview first.
Send: Install ffmpeg for me and confirm it works. Approve the install if your computer asks.
Prefer Grok Bot?
Same folder, same prompts, same quality. Grok Bot also needs a Pro plan.