Hand a viral video to your agent and get it rebuilt around your product

What you'll get

Found a short video, talking-head clip, or podcast excerpt that got lots of views? Hand it to Claude Code or Codex after installing the open-source Hypit tool. The agent will break down how the video is built: how it hooks viewers in the first few seconds, how the cuts and subtitles work together, and where the inserted visuals and motion graphics go. Then it rebuilds that same structure with your product, your presenter, and your language, and makes a new video. You don't need to know video editing. This article includes 4 prompts you can copy and paste.

The agent handles the breakdown, the assets, and the editing. You set the goal, approve the budget, and watch the final cut. Before any step that costs money, the agent will ask you first.

First: learn the structure, don't copy the footage

The word "copy" can be misleading, so here is what it means in this article:

• What you can learn: the pacing, the hook in the first three seconds, where the cuts happen, what the subtitles look like, and layouts like top-ten lists or two-person conversations. These are methods, and anyone can use them.

• What you can't reuse: the original footage, voiceover, and music, plus the faces and voices of real people in the video. These are protected by copyright or by people's right to their own image. Using them as-is can get the video taken down, and using them commercially can lead to legal trouble.

Hypit works this way by default. It pulls the structure out of the reference video. Image and video models then regenerate the visuals and characters, or you supply your own material. The prompts below follow the same rule.

Step 1: Let your agent install Hypit

Hypit is a Skill. You can think of it as an instruction manual for video making, written for an AI agent, plus a set of tools the agent can call. Let the agent handle the installation and setup. Send this to Claude Code or Codex:

I want to use the open-source project Hypit (https://github.com/hypit-ai/hypit) to make short videos. Please help me get everything ready:
1. First read its README and install instructions. Explain in plain language what I need, and which parts are paid services.
2. Check what my computer is missing (for example, the Node.js version). List anything that needs installing, and wait for my approval before installing it.
3. Install the Hypit Skill and confirm that it runs correctly.
4. When you're done, tell me what I need to prepare to make my first video.

Hypit itself is free. It doesn't charge per video and doesn't add a watermark. Two things cost money: your Claude Code or Codex subscription, and the model services that generate images and voiceovers. Those are billed per use, under your own account.

Step 2: Give it a reference video and your goal

This is the most important step. Download the reference video as an MP4, put it in your project folder, and explain your product and your requirements all at once:

Here is why the prompt is written this way:

• Break it down before generating: once you have read the breakdown and agree with it, the agent can start building. This saves money compared with generating a full video and redoing it. It also helps you see what makes the original video work.

• Ask about cost before spending: video models charge per use, and one short video calls them several times. Asking for a price estimate first shows you where the money goes.

• No made-up claims: exaggerated effects in ads can break platform advertising rules. Write only what your product can actually do.

Below is a demo from the project repo. On the left is the source file Hypit uses to describe the video. On the right is the live preview rendered from it:

Step 3: Watch the cut and say what needs changing

Once the finished video is ready, say what you don't like, such as "make the opening text bigger" or "the second selling point is too fast." Hypit ties the subtitles and inserted visuals to each word of the script. If you change one line, the timing after it adjusts on its own, so you don't have to line things up by hand.

You can send something like this:

I've watched the video. Please change only the following, and keep everything else the same:
1. [opening subtitle line] Make the font bigger and keep it on screen longer
2. [second selling point] Slow the pacing of that section a little
3. Add a call to action at the end: [Click the link in my bio to learn more]
After making the changes, regenerate the video. Tell me whether you used any paid models this time, and how much they cost.

Step 4: Batch several versions from one structure

Once one structure works, you can swap out the parts that change to make new versions. Reuse the assets that don't change, so you don't pay to generate them again:

Keep the structure, subtitle style, and assets that have already been generated for this video. Then make [3] versions:
1. Version A: swap the opening for a different hook: [...]
2. Version B: change the whole video to [Spanish], keeping the jokes and pacing the same
3. Version C: replace the host with [another AI avatar, appearance: ...]
Export each version on its own. Before you start, tell me which assets need to be generated again and roughly how much it will cost.

Ad creative loses its pull over time, so you can swap the opening and run it again. The same approach works for selling one product in several languages, or for using one layout with a different product each day.

Notes

• The project's own documentation says its three sample videos each cost a little over one US dollar in model service fees. Your models and video quality will differ, so your costs will differ too. Go by the price the agent reports.

• Hypit is released under Apache 2.0 with added conditions. You can use it for your own videos and make videos for clients, and the videos you make belong to you. You can't repackage it as a service and sell it to others. If you want to build a product on it, read the full license first.

• How good the breakdown is depends on the reference video. Start with one that has a clear structure, and where you can also see why it works.

• When you publish, label AI-generated content as the platform requires. If you use virtual people, don't let them pass as real people.

References

• GitHub: hypit-ai/hypit

• Official quickstart: hypit.ai/quickstart

• Full license: LICENSE

If you only want to take one video apart to study how it's made, then rebuild it in code, read Take a video apart and rebuild it with HyperFrames. For title cards and charts in pure animation, see Get Claude Code to make motion videos you can fix one line at a time.