Actions & animations

Instead of just cutting, give each section an action with

--when-active

(

-w:1

, loud) and

--when-inactive

(

-w:0

, silent). Defaults:

-w:1 nil

(keep),

-w:0 cut

. Chain actions with commas; they apply in order.

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 speed:8            # fast-forward through silence (pitch preserved)
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 speed:3,volume:0.5 # speed up AND halve volume of silent parts

-w:0

-w:1

are the silent (label 0) and active (label 1) classes. You can define more classes with

--edit:N

-e:N

and act on them with

--when:N

-w:N

(N = 2–255) — see the auto-editor skill's "Labels" section. Every action below works as the value of any

-w:N

Actions

Action	What it does	Form / range
`nil`	keep unchanged	—
`cut`	remove section	—
`speed`	time-stretch, pitch preserved	`speed:8` , `speed:0.5`
`varispeed`	speed via pitch shift (tape/vinyl)	`varispeed:2` (0.2–100)
`pitch`	shift pitch only, duration preserved	`pitch:12` (octave up), `pitch:-7` (−24–24 semitones)
`volume`	scale volume (1=normal, 0.5=−6dB)	`volume:0.2`
`deesser`	reduce sibilance	`deesser:intensity[:max[:freq]]` (each 0–1)
`tone`	wave from a MIDI note ( `add:` generator)	`add:tone:69` , `add:tone:36:saw`
`invert`	invert pixels	—
`zoom`	zoom factor (1=none)	`zoom:2` , `zoom:0.5` (>0–100)
`rotate`	fixed clockwise rotation, expands so nothing clips	`rotate:90` (pair with `--resolution` )
`spin`	continuous spin `deg/rate` (deg per sec)	`spin:0/120` , `spin:90/-45`
`drawbox`	filled rectangle	`drawbox:x:y:w:h:color`
`pos`	place an overlay clip `x:y[:scale]`	mainly used inside `add` / v3
`add`	overlay a layer: every stream the file holds	`add:path[:x:y:scale]`

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 deesser:0.8:0.7:0.4
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 rotate:90 --resolution 1080,1920   # landscape → portrait
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 drawbox:0:0:1920:200:#000000       # redact a strip

Overlays —

add

add

is virtual: it adds an overlay layer rather than a per-frame effect. Still images hold for the whole section; PNG alpha is preserved. Omit placement to scale-to-fit and center. Actions chained after an

add

apply to that new overlay, not the base.

add

brings every stream the file holds: a video with sound gets a video layer plus its audio layers (mixed in, not a second stream), an audio-only file adds sound with no picture, an image adds picture with no sound. In place of a file it takes a generator action:

confetti

drawbox

paint a video layer,

tone

synthesizes an audio one (so

add:tone

layers stack into a chord).

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./logo.png             # centered, fit to canvas
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./pip.mp4:900:60:0.25  # PiP in the corner, audio included
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./pip.mp4:900:60:0.25,volume:0.3  # ...tucked under the base
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./music.mp3,volume:0.4 # background music, no picture added
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./logo.png,spin:0/-30  # the logo spins, not the base video
auto-editor song.mp3 -bg white -w:1 add:./cover.png   # audio + image → video
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:69                # 440 Hz tone over the audio
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 nil,add:tone:81            # beep the silence, don't cut it
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:60,volume:1..0:ease=out  # a plucked, decaying note
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:36:saw            # buzzy bass (sine|saw|square|triangle)

Overlays appear only where their section is kept, so for silent sections use

-w:0 nil,add:...

(keep + overlay). With

--set-action

the range is kept automatically.

Animations — ramps

from..to

zoom

opacity

blur

brightness

volume

, and each

pos

field accept a ramp. The value interpolates across the section, reaching

to

on its last frame. More than two points = keyframes, spread evenly.

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 zoom:1..1.5          # Ken Burns
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 opacity:0..1         # fade in
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 volume:0..1          # audio fade in
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 zoom:1..1.5..1       # zoom in then out (keyframes)
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./logo.png,pos:0..1200:40:1..0.5  # slide + shrink overlay

Easing —

:ease=curve[:duration]

, curve ∈

linear|in|out|inout

. A standalone

ease:

token sets the curve for every animated action after it.

rotate

spin

are not affected by easing.

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 zoom:1..1.5:ease=inout
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 opacity:0..1:ease=in:2sec        # ease over 2s, then hold
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 ease:out,zoom:1..1.3,brightness:0..0.3

Target a time range —

--set-action

--set-action ACTION,START,END

overrides defaults for a range (range syntax;

sec

start

end

, negatives all work). The range is force-kept.

bash

auto-editor video.mp4 --set-action nil,0,5sec
auto-editor video.mp4 --set-action speed:1.5,varispeed:1.5,30sec,end
auto-editor video.mp4 --set-action add:./logo.png:600:300:1.0,1sec,2sec

Recipes

bash

auto-editor :mic -w:1 deesser:0.8:0.7:0.4         # record, then clean up speech
auto-editor podcast.mp3 -w:0 cut -w:1 speed:1.15      # cut silence, tighten speech
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 volume:0.3                 # duck (not cut) the silence
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 varispeed:1.25             # nightcore (speed + pitch up)
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 pitch:12                   # chipmunk the silence, same length
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 speed:6,volume:0.4         # fast, quiet silent sections

With

:mic

, press Ctrl-C to finish capture; actions are applied afterward.

Full reference: https://auto-editor.com/ref/actions.md. For plain cutting / pace / edit methods, see the auto-editor skill.

auto-editor-effects

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Actions & animations

Actions

Overlays —
`add`

Animations — ramps
`from..to`

Target a time range —
`--set-action`

Recipes