Agent skill

Avatar Video

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API.

AGPL-3.0Auto-check passedMedia & Creative

Install Avatar Video

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .claude/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .claude/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .agents/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .agents/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .cursor/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .cursor/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git --path .agents/skills/avatar-video

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .gemini/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .gemini/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .github/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .github/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install calesthio/OpenMontage avatar-video --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/avatar-video .opencode/skills/avatar-video && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "avatar-video" agent skill from https://github.com/calesthio/OpenMontage/tree/main/.agents/skills/avatar-video into .opencode/skills/avatar-video/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "avatar-video", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: avatar-video
GitHub stars: 66k
Token cost: ~1.6k tokens
SKILL.md length: 528 words
Files: 16 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 41
Repo updated: Oct 3, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: AGPL-3.0

At a glance

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API.

Works in 5 steps: List avatars — GET /v2/avatars → pick an… → List voices (if needed) — GET /v2/voices… → Write the script — Structure scenes with… → …
Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video
SKILL.md covers Authentication, Tool Selection, Default Workflow and Quick Reference, plus 3 more sections
Calls curl; reaches api.heygen.com; needs HEYGEN_API_KEY

What it does

Avatar Video is an agent skill from calesthio/OpenMontage. Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API. Use when: (1) Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video, (2) Writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak, (3) Building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene, (4) Creating transparent WebM videos for compositing, (5) Using talking photos as video presenters, (6) Integrating HeyGen avatars with Remotion, (7) Batch video generation with exact specs, (8) Brand-consistent…

Its SKILL.md is about 1.6k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 16 other files, including reference files (for example `references/assets.md`, `references/avatars.md` and `references/backgrounds.md`).

It sits in Media & Creative, covering AI video generation and Video production. It works with HeyGen, Remotion and Model Context Protocol. The repository describes itself as: World's first open-source, agentic video production system. 12 production pipelines, 100+ tools, 700+ agent skill and production-knowledge files. Turn your AI coding assistant… The licence is AGPL-3.0.

When your agent uses it

Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video
Writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak
Building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene
Creating transparent WebM videos for compositing

Example prompts

“/avatar-video”

Requirements

A credential in HEYGEN_API_KEY
Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): mcp__heygen__*

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

List avatars — GET /v2/avatars → pick an avatar, preview it, note avatar_id and default_voice_id. See avatars.md
List voices (if needed) — GET /v2/voices → pick a voice matching the avatar's gender/language. See voices.md
Write the script — Structure scenes with one concept each. See scripts.md
Generate the video — POST /v2/video/generate with avatar, voice, script, and background per scene. See video-generation.md
Poll for completion — GET /v2/videos/{video_id} until status is completed. See video-status.md

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9327439. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- mcp__heygen__*
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- curl
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- api.heygen.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
- HEYGEN_API_KEY
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Avatar Video loads about 1.6k tokens when it runs, and up to ~45k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 143 tokens; SKILL.md has 528 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~143
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.6k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~45k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from calesthio/OpenMontage at commit 9327439, republished under its AGPL-3.0 licence (© calesthio). 528 words, ~1,642 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/avatar-video/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 15 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: avatar-video
description: Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API. Use when: (1) Choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video, (2) Writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak, (3) Building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene, (4) Creating transparent WebM videos for compositing, (5) Using talking photos as video presenters, (6) Integrating HeyGen avatars with Remotion, (7) Batch video generation with exact specs, (8) Brand-consistent production videos with precise control.
allowed-tools: mcp__heygen__*
homepage: https://docs.heygen.com/reference/create-a-video

Avatar Video

Create AI avatar videos with full control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds. Build single or multi-scene videos with exact configuration using HeyGen's /v2/video/generate API.

Authentication

All requests require the X-Api-Key header. Set the HEYGEN_API_KEY environment variable.

bash

curl -X GET "https://api.heygen.com/v2/avatars" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $HEYGEN_API_KEY"

Tool Selection

If HeyGen MCP tools are available (mcp__heygen__*), prefer them over direct HTTP API calls — they handle authentication and request formatting automatically.

Task	MCP Tool	Fallback (Direct API)
Check video status / get URL	`mcp__heygen__get_video`	`GET /v2/videos/{video_id}`
List account videos	`mcp__heygen__list_videos`	`GET /v2/videos`
Delete a video	`mcp__heygen__delete_video`	`DELETE /v2/videos/{video_id}`

Video generation (POST /v2/video/generate) and avatar/voice listing are done via direct API calls — see reference files below.

Default Workflow

List avatars — GET /v2/avatars → pick an avatar, preview it, note avatar_id and default_voice_id. See avatars.md
List voices (if needed) — GET /v2/voices → pick a voice matching the avatar's gender/language. See voices.md
Write the script — Structure scenes with one concept each. See scripts.md
Generate the video — POST /v2/video/generate with avatar, voice, script, and background per scene. See video-generation.md
Poll for completion — GET /v2/videos/{video_id} until status is completed. See video-status.md

Quick Reference

Task	Read
List and preview avatars	avatars.md
List and select voices	voices.md
Write and structure scripts	scripts.md
Generate video (single or multi-scene)	video-generation.md
Add custom backgrounds	backgrounds.md
Add captions / subtitles	captions.md
Add text overlays	text-overlays.md
Create transparent WebM video	video-generation.md (WebM section)
Use templates	templates.md
Create avatar from photo	photo-avatars.md
Check video status / download	video-status.md
Upload assets (images, audio)	assets.md
Use with Remotion	remotion-integration.md
Set up webhooks	webhooks.md

When to Use This Skill vs Create Video

This skill is for precise control — you choose the avatar, write the exact script, configure each scene.

If the user just wants to describe a video idea and let AI handle the rest (script, avatar, visuals), use the create-video skill instead.

User Says	Create Video Skill	This Skill
"Make me a video about X"	✓
"Create a product demo"	✓
"I want avatar Y to say exactly Z"		✓
"Multi-scene video with different backgrounds"		✓
"Transparent WebM for compositing"		✓
"Use this specific voice for my script"		✓
"Batch generate videos with exact specs"		✓

Show full SKILL.md (182 more words)Show less

Reference Files

Core Video Creation

references/avatars.md - Listing avatars, styles, avatar_id selection
references/voices.md - Listing voices, locales, speed/pitch
references/scripts.md - Writing scripts, pauses, pacing
references/video-generation.md - POST /v2/video/generate and multi-scene videos

Video Customization

references/backgrounds.md - Solid colors, images, video backgrounds
references/text-overlays.md - Adding text with fonts and positioning
references/captions.md - Auto-generated captions and subtitles

Advanced Features

references/templates.md - Template listing and variable replacement
references/photo-avatars.md - Creating avatars from photos
references/webhooks.md - Webhook endpoints and events

Integration

references/remotion-integration.md - Using HeyGen in Remotion compositions

Foundation

references/video-status.md - Polling patterns and download URLs
references/assets.md - Uploading images, videos, audio
references/dimensions.md - Resolution and aspect ratios
references/quota.md - Credit system and usage limits

Best Practices

Preview avatars before generating — Download preview_image_url so the user can see the avatar before committing
Use avatar's default voice — Most avatars have a default_voice_id pre-matched for natural results
Fallback: match gender manually — If no default voice, ensure avatar and voice genders match
Use test mode for development — Set test: true to avoid consuming credits (output will be watermarked)
Set generous timeouts — Video generation often takes 5-15 minutes, sometimes longer
Validate inputs — Check avatar and voice IDs exist before generating

Files

SKILL.md and 15 other files (references) in .agents/skills/avatar-video of calesthio/OpenMontage.

SKILL.md
references/assets.md
references/avatars.md
references/backgrounds.md
references/captions.md
references/dimensions.md
references/photo-avatars.md
references/quota.md
references/remotion-integration.md
references/scripts.md
references/templates.md
references/text-overlays.md
references/video-generation.md
references/video-status.md
references/voices.md
references/webhooks.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9327439

Compare with similar skills

Avatar Video next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

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Agentsope AI Video Directoragentsope/SkillAlchemy	436	—	~3.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 days ago

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Questions about Avatar Video

What does Avatar Video do?

Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API. Avatar Video is an agent skill from calesthio/OpenMontage. Create AI avatar videos with precise control over avatars, voices, scripts, scenes, and backgrounds using HeyGen's v2 API.

When should I use Avatar Video?

Avatar Video fits situations like: choosing a specific avatar and voice for a video; writing exact scripts for an avatar to speak; building multi-scene videos with different backgrounds per scene; creating transparent WebM videos for compositing.

How do I install Avatar Video in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/avatar-video in calesthio/OpenMontage) into .claude/skills/avatar-video in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Avatar Video in Codex?

Run `npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/avatar-video in calesthio/OpenMontage) into .agents/skills/avatar-video in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Avatar Video in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add calesthio/OpenMontage --skill avatar-video -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/avatar-video, .gemini/skills/avatar-video, .github/skills/avatar-video and .opencode/skills/avatar-video in your project.

What does Avatar Video need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Avatar Video needs the command-line tools its instructions call (curl) and credentials named HEYGEN_API_KEY. Our summary lists: A credential in HEYGEN_API_KEY. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: mcp__heygen__*.

Does Avatar Video access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: api.heygen.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Avatar Video safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Avatar Video use?

Avatar Video is published under the AGPL-3.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Avatar Video use?

About 1.6k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 6.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 44k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Avatar Video?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Avatar Video: HyperFrames Video Entry Point (heygen-com/hyperframes, 60k stars), Super Video Maker (Bomx/super-video-maker-skill, 310 stars), Video (Nexus-JPF/note-companion, 870 stars) and AI Motion Director (Pluviobyte/video-production-skills, 671 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Avatar Video?

calesthio (a GitHub user) maintains it in calesthio/OpenMontage, which has 65,930 GitHub stars. The repository holds 41 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 3, 2026.

Source: calesthio/OpenMontage on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Avatar Video

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Avatar Video

Authentication

Tool Selection

Default Workflow

Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill vs Create Video

Reference Files

Core Video Creation

Video Customization

Advanced Features

Integration

Foundation

Best Practices

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from calesthio/OpenMontage

Related

Questions about Avatar Video