Prerequisites
- Claude Code installed
- A
VARG_API_KEY— get one at app.varg.ai (or log in during setup)
Setup
1
Install the varg skill
In your project directory:This installs:
SKILL.md— complete instructions for Claude Codereferences/— 10 reference docs (models, components, recipes, prompting, templates, etc.)scripts/— environment check scripts
2
Set your API key
If you already have a key, add it to If you don’t have one, Claude Code will walk you through authentication when you ask it to create a video. It will:
.env:- Ask for your email
- Send a verification code
- Save your API key to
~/.varg/credentials
3
Start creating
- “Create a 10-second TikTok video about cats”
- “Make a talking character video with this script: …”
- “Generate a slideshow from these prompts: …”
How it works
The skill teaches Claude Code:- All available components (
Render,Clip,Image,Video,Speech,Music,Captions, etc.) - All AI models with pricing (kling-v3, nano-banana-pro, flux, eleven_v3, etc.)
- Two rendering modes: cloud render (curl, zero dependencies) and local render (bun + ffmpeg)
- Prompting best practices for cinematic video
- Common patterns: talking head, character consistency, slideshows, lipsync
- Caching strategy to minimize costs
Example prompts
Simple video
Talking character
Product video
Slideshow
Tips for best results
Be specific about format
Include style details
Specify audio
Troubleshooting
”VARG_API_KEY not found”
The skill will prompt you to authenticate. You can also set it manually:“Video rendering failed”
- Check prompt doesn’t violate content policy
- Try simpler motion descriptions
- Reduce video duration (kling-v3 supports 3-15s)
“Slow generation”
First run generates AI assets (1-2 min per clip). Subsequent runs with same prompts are instant (cached at $0).Updating the skill
The skill checks for updates automatically. You can also update manually:Next steps
- Browse Templates for copy-paste examples
- Check Components for all available JSX components
- See AI Models for the full model catalog with pricing