Edit your Reels in Claude Code, then post them your way
A local video pipeline that turns a phone recording into a branded 9:16 Reel: blooper cuts, a hook title, word-by-word captions and an end card. It runs on your own computer, costs nothing beyond your Claude plan, and hands you a ready-to-post folder. Below: the setup, what broke when we built it, and three ways to automate the posting, with prices.
The short version
- Claude Code plus the free Remotion skill edits video on your machine. You describe the edit, Claude writes the code, Remotion renders the file.
- The win is one reusable template. Set your fonts, colors and caption position once, and every reel after that is a single prompt.
- Posting can stay manual at $0, or you can automate it with Blotato (from $29/mo), Buffer (from $5 per channel per month) or Zapier (free tier, then from $19.99/mo).
Six stages, one prompt to run them
This build follows the workflow Sabrina Ramonov published in her Claude Code and Remotion tutorial, packaged as a reusable skill. Her best advice is to perfect one template, not every video.
What you need on your machine
Four things. The first one costs money, and the rest are free.
| Item | Why | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Writes and runs the editing code for you. Comes with a paid Claude plan. | Claude pricing |
| Node.js | Remotion runs on it. Install the current LTS from nodejs.org. | Free |
| Google Chrome | Remotion draws each frame in a browser. Chrome is the fallback if its own browser download is blocked. | Free |
| Mac developer tools | The backup transcriber compiles locally. Without the tools, it fails. | Free |
Set it up in five steps
Run each command in your terminal, or paste the prompts into Claude Code. Every step runs in order.
-
Install the Remotion skills
These are the official skills from the Remotion team. They teach Claude how Remotion works.
npx skills add remotion-dev/skills -
Repair your Mac's developer tools
Skip this on Windows. On a Mac, run it even if you think the tools are installed. Ours looked installed and were broken, which surfaced as a cryptic
xcrunerror halfway through transcription.xcode-select --install -
Ask Claude to build your reels skill
Paste this into Claude Code. It builds the pipeline from section 01 as a skill, so later you can trigger it in plain English.
Use the remotion skills to build me a reusable skill called reels-studio. It should: normalize any phone video to 1080x1920, transcribe it locally with word timestamps, draft cuts for filler words, restarts and pauses, add a 3-second hook title and word-by-word captions inside 9:16 safe zones, add an optional end card and music, render an MP4, and finish with a ready-to-post folder (video, cover image, captions for each platform). Keep every style choice in one brand file. Test it on a short clip. -
Put your brand in one file
Give Claude your fonts, hex colors, handle and end-card line. Then set the safe zones. These are the margins the platform's buttons and captions cover:
Top220pxBottom420pxRight rail150pxLeft60pxCaptions68% downOn a 1080x1920 frame. Captions at 68% sit under a typical talking-head face. Claude checks frames from each video and moves them if your face sits lower.
-
Make your first reel
Record a 30 to 60 second clip on your phone, AirDrop it to your Downloads folder, then:
Make a reel from the latest video in my Downloads. Cut the mistakes, give me three hook options, and keep captions off my face.Claude shows you what it cut, renders preview frames, and waits for your notes before the final render.
What broke when we set it up
Tutorials show the version that worked. These three problems came up on a real machine, and each one has a fix.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
xcrun: invalid active developer path | The Mac developer tools were half-installed. Homebrew refused to install anything either. | xcode-select --install |
ERR_SSL_WRONG_VERSION_NUMBER on download | A network filter blocked remotion.media, which hosts the speech model and Remotion's browser. | Allow the domain on your router or DNS filter. Rendering can fall back to installed Chrome. |
No option name near '30' | Remotion's bundled ffmpeg is a minimal build, so a few common filters are missing. | Use -r 30 instead of the fps filter, and 16-bit WAV for audio. |
Three ways to automate posting
Manual posting is free and lets you add trending audio in the app. When you have more reels than time, these are the three routes that work from Claude Code.
| Blotato | Buffer | Zapier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Starter $29/mo, or $290/yr | Essentials $5 per channel per month, or $60 per channel per year | Free for 100 tasks/mo. Professional $19.99/mo billed annually, $29.99 monthly |
| What three channels cost | $29/mo. Starter covers 20 accounts | $15/mo on Essentials | $0 to $19.99/mo, depending on volume |
| How Claude connects | An MCP server on every paid plan | An API key on every plan, including free | Zapier MCP on every plan, including free |
| Free option | 7-day trial, card required. The trial excludes the API and MCP | Free plan: 10 scheduled posts per channel at a time | Free plan: two-step Zaps, no premium apps |
| Best for | Many accounts, plus AI images and video in one tool | A few channels at the lowest steady cost | People who already run other automations in Zapier |
| Watch out for | Made by Sabrina Ramonov, author of the tutorial this build follows | Price grows with every channel you add | Instagram needs a Business or Creator account, and the video needs a public link |
You post to five or more accounts and want Claude to schedule everything in one step. Its MCP server lets Claude upload the video and schedule it to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads, X, Bluesky and Pinterest from one prompt.
You post to two or three accounts and want the lowest monthly cost. Buffer auto-publishes Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and its free plan is enough to test the whole loop.
You already pay for Zapier, or you only post to Instagram and Facebook. Connect Instagram for Business in your Zapier MCP settings, then Claude can post through it.
Reels from Claude Code, answered
Short answers, in case you skimmed.
Can Claude Code edit videos?
Yes, through Remotion, a framework that builds video from code. Install the free Remotion skills and Claude writes the code for you: cuts, titles, captions, music and the final render. You do not need to know React or JavaScript.
How much does it cost to edit Reels with Claude Code and Remotion?
Nothing beyond your Claude plan. Remotion is free for individuals, nonprofits and companies with up to 3 employees, and the transcription and rendering run on your own computer. Automated posting is optional: Blotato starts at $29 a month, Buffer at $5 per channel per month, and Zapier has a free tier with paid plans from $19.99 a month.
Do I need Blotato to use this?
No. Blotato handles one step, scheduling the post. Without it, the pipeline ends with a folder holding the video, a cover image and a caption for each platform, and you post from your phone.
Can it remove bloopers from a talking-head video?
It makes a good first pass. A script removes filler words, repeated restarts and long pauses, then Claude reads the transcript to catch flubs the script misses. Review the cut list before the final render.
Where these figures come from
Vendor pricing pages and primary documentation, checked October 7, 2026. Render times and setup problems come from our own build on that date.
Workflow. Sabrina Ramonov, Claude Just Changed Content Creation Forever! (Tutorial).
Remotion. License; Claude Code plugin docs.
Blotato. Pricing: Starter $29/mo, Creator $97/mo, Agency $499/mo, about 17% off yearly, API and MCP on all paid plans.
Buffer. Pricing: Essentials $5 per channel per month, Team $10, free plan with 10 scheduled posts per channel.
Zapier. Pricing: Free 100 tasks per month with two-step Zaps; Professional from $19.99/mo billed annually for 750 tasks; MCP on all plans.
Want this built around your brand?
Prickled starts with why you post, then sets up the template, the voice and the approval step to fit. You get a content system built with you and owned by you, running on your own machine.