OpenVideo
Ollama for video models.
Run MiniMax H3 on your own GPU — install · pull · run — plus a drop-in skill
so any coding agent can generate high-quality video.
Ollama → local LLMs. OpenVideo → local video.
v0.0.1 is exactly that loop for MiniMax H3 — not a multi-model platform yet. ▶ Watch the demo
60-second start
# Linux / macOS — installs ComfyUI engine + pulls H3 weights (resumable, ~54 GB)
curl -fsSL https://open-video.ai/install | bash
# Windows (PowerShell) — prefers WSL2 for the full H3 GPU path
irm https://open-video.ai/install.ps1 | iex
# Same mental model as Ollama: pull → status → run
open-video pull h3 # verify / resume H3 weights
open-video status # engine health + weight inventory (alias: ps)
open-video run "A lone astronaut planting a flag on a red dune at dusk" --duration 8
open-video "sunset waves" --dry-run # plan + validate, no GPU spent
| OS | Install | Generate |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | curl …/install \| bash |
NVIDIA GPU · full H3 |
| macOS | same curl (setup + dry-run) | H3 generation via community/MLX paths; not default |
| Windows | irm …/install.ps1 \| iex |
WSL2 for H3 GPU; native dry-run OK |
Hardware. Local-first; bring your own NVIDIA GPU. open-video recommend-quant picks the
right weight tier for your card:
| VRAM | Quant tier |
|---|---|
| ≥ 22 GB | INT8 ConvRot (default, verified) |
| 12–22 GB | INT8 + --lowvram offload |
| 9–12 GB | W4 ConvRot (~10 GB) |
| < 9 GB | NF4 (~8 GB entry) |
git clone https://github.com/open-video-ai/open-video && cd open-video
pip install -e .
open-video pull h3
open-video run "waves at sunset, golden hour" --duration 10 --model h3 --output out.mp4
# ComfyUI at http://127.0.0.1:8188 (env OPEN_VIDEO_COMFYUI)
The agent path (what makes this different)
Point any agent host at the skill — it installs/pulls if needed, crafts the official H3 3-field prompt, validates against hard constraints, generates, and reviews:
| Skill | Use when |
|---|---|
skill/h3-video/SKILL.md |
v0.0.1 default — high-quality single/short H3 clips (T2V / I2V / FL2VA) |
skill/open-video/SKILL.md |
Longer director path (plan → judge → stitch) — evolving |
Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, and any host that loads SKILL.md.
Quality is encoded, not left to chance: prompt grammar (backends/h3/PROMPT_GRAMMAR.md),
a hard validator, and curated presets (open-video list-presets).
Three ways to use it
| Interface | For | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| 🤖 Skill harness | Any agent | Load skill/h3-video → agent generates H3 video end-to-end |
| ⌨️ CLI | Developers / scripts | open-video pull · status · run (Ollama-shaped) |
| 🖥️ Site | Discovery | open-video.ai — install + docs |
What works today vs what is designed next
| v0.0.1 (shipped) | Designed (not wired yet) | |
|---|---|---|
| Generate | Local MiniMax H3 via ComfyUI — pull / status / run |
Multi-model backends (Wan, LTX, …) |
| Agent path | skill/h3-video crafts official prompts + drives the CLI |
Full multi-shot director agent |
| Judge loop | Real VLM judge via env OPEN_VIDEO_VLM_URL/MODEL/KEY + automatic REFINE retries (OPEN_VIDEO_JUDGE_RETRIES, best take kept); honest PASS stub when unset |
Best-of-N tournament judging |
| Long film | Single clips (H3 shot length) | Planner → stitch multi-minute film |
| Hosted try | Site /try is a browser mockup |
Real hosted generate |
The generate → judge → refine loop runs today: point OPEN_VIDEO_VLM_URL at any
OpenAI-compatible vision model and low-scoring shots regenerate automatically with a bumped
seed (OPEN_VIDEO_JUDGE_RETRIES extra takes, best score kept — full take history in --json).
Why local
Closed tools charge per second and keep your prompts and footage in their pipeline. Open video models are now good enough to matter — what was missing is the simple local loop: install → pull → run, with best-practice prompting built in. v0.0.1 is that loop.
| OpenVideo (local) | Typical closed SaaS | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | MiniMax H3, open weights on your GPU | Vendor-hosted only |
| Cost | Your GPU + electricity | Per-second API / subscription |
| Data | Stays on your machine | Vendor pipeline |
| Software license | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary ToS |
Licenses — read this before commercial use
- Detailed weights terms: docs/WEIGHTS_LICENSE.md.
- Code (this repo): Apache-2.0. Use it freely.
- Model weights are NOT covered by this repo's license. MiniMax H3 weights are distributed under the MiniMax H3 Community License (see the model card and upstream MiniMaxAI), which includes territorial and commercial-use restrictions. The installer downloads weights from the upstream mirrors; you are responsible for confirming the license permits your use case and region.
- License-cleaner second backends (e.g. Wan) are on the roadmap.
How it compares (honest)
| What | Open software? | Local open model? | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenVideo | CLI + skill + H3 on ComfyUI | ✅ Apache-2.0 | ✅ H3 | this project — director/judge loop is scaffolding |
| Runway | Closed SaaS | ❌ | ❌ | Hosted product |
| Seedance | Closed agentic long video | ❌ | ❌ | Hosted product |
| ComfyUI | Node-graph engine | ✅ GPL | via custom nodes | The runtime we drive — a dependency, not a competitor |
OpenVideo is not a foundation model and not a replacement for ComfyUI. v0.0.1 is the install → pull → run layer plus an agent skill on top of H3.
Contributing
OpenVideo is a plugin surface — contribute what you're good at:
| You have | Contribute → | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| A great prompt | library/prompts/ — a verified recipe |
5 min |
| A new model (Wan 2.2, Hunyuan, LTX) | backends/<model>/ — a backend plugin |
an afternoon |
| A scoring method / vision judge | judges/ — a judge plugin |
an afternoon |
| A new engine (diffusers, SGLang) | engines/<engine>/ — an adapter |
an afternoon |
| A style LoRA | library/ — share it |
10 min |
See CONTRIBUTING.md for templates and GOVERNANCE.md for
how decisions get made. We integrate, we don't reinvent — if a working project already does
it, we wrap it as a plugin. Chat lands later; for now use GitHub Issues.
Architecture
Shipped path:
prompt / skill ──→ open-video CLI ──→ backends/h3 ──→ engines/comfyui ──→ mp4
Design target (modules exist as scaffolds; not all wired end-to-end):
concept ──→ planner → crafter → validator → backend → judge → stitcher → film
backends/h3/— MiniMax H3 plugin: prompt grammar, workflows, constraints.engines/comfyui/— ComfyUI HTTP adapter (submit / wait / fetch).skill/h3-video/— the agent harness.core/— shared contracts + judge/planner scaffolding for later phases.
Full design notes: ARCHITECTURE.md.
Status & roadmap
v0.0.1 — shipped: local H3 pull/run, agent skill harness, one-line installer, product site.
- Next: wire a real vision judge, multi-shot continuity, a license-clean second backend.
- Later, only when real: hosted generate, desktop packaging, community gallery.
Acknowledgments
Standing on the shoulders of open giants: ComfyUI (the engine), MiniMax H3 (the model), the woodfantasy prompt methodology (MIT-0), and VideoScore (judge direction). We integrate, not reinvent.
Security
Private vulnerability reporting: SECURITY.md.
License
Apache-2.0 © OpenVideo contributors · open-video.ai
OpenVideo · open-video.ai · Apache-2.0