vided 0.1.13

A simple local video silence speeder and rectangular blur redactor.

Vided

Vided is a small local tool for editing one screen recording at a time.

It can:

• cut short silent gaps
• speed up longer silent sections
• optionally mute sped-up silent sections
• generate thumbnails
• mark fixed rectangular blur regions in a browser UI
• render a debug preview with visible boxes
• render the final blurred video with ffmpeg
• optionally apply small audio polish presets at render time

Everything is file-based and local. A project folder contains project.json, redactions.json, generated thumbnails, generated filtergraphs, and rendered outputs.

Best fit

Use Vided for mostly static screen recordings where the sensitive area stays in a predictable part of the screen:

• email addresses
• account IDs
• tokens
• URL bars
• sidebars
• terminal panes

Vided is not a tracker. If the thing you need to hide moves, create multiple redactions across smaller time ranges.

Requirements

For video work:

• ffmpeg
• ffprobe

For local development and source installs:

• Python 3.11 or newer
• uv

Speech-based trimming with VAD is included in the core package.

Run from this repo

Install dependencies and check the CLI:

uv sync
uv run vided --help
uv run vided --version
uv run vided doctor

Run the CLI module directly:

uv run python -m vided --help

Install from PyPI as a tool:

uv tool install vided
vided --help

For one-off use:

uvx vided --help

Install the packaged skill for a coding agent:

uvx vided install-skill --agent codex
uvx vided install-skill --agent claude

Quick start

Create a project:

vided init /path/to/original-recording.mp4 --output-dir my-recording-project

If you omit --output-dir, init creates a folder from the input filename, such as original-recording.

Trim silence:

vided trim my-recording-project

If you only need the automatic edit and do not need redactions or the UI, write the trimmed result straight to the final video:

vided trim my-recording-project --final --overwrite

The final output is:

my-recording-project/output/final.mp4

Open the annotation UI:

vided ui my-recording-project

If thumbnails are missing, ui generates them from work/trimmed.mp4 before opening the browser.

In the UI:

1. Click a thumbnail in the bottom filmstrip.
2. Click Set start.
3. Drag a rectangle in the large frame view.
4. Click the thumbnail where the blur should end.
5. Click Add redaction.
6. Wait for the save status in the top bar.

Render a debug preview first:

vided render my-recording-project --debug --overwrite

The debug output is:

my-recording-project/output/debug-preview.mp4

Render the final blurred video:

vided render my-recording-project --overwrite

The final output is:

my-recording-project/output/final.mp4

Audio presets are opt-in. By default, render copies audio without filtering. To preview a preset on the longest normal-speed speech/sound segment:

vided audio-preview my-recording-project --audio-preset voice-safe --overwrite

The preview defaults to 15 seconds and writes a file like:

my-recording-project/output/audio-preview-voice-safe-0s.mp4

You can choose a specific snippet:

vided audio-preview my-recording-project --audio-preset level --start 60 --duration 15 --overwrite

List presets:

vided audio-presets

Current presets:

none        copy audio unchanged
level       normalize speech to a conservative -18 LUFS target
voice-safe  gentle voice cleanup plus the same conservative loudness target

Render with an audio preset:

vided render my-recording-project --audio-preset voice-safe --overwrite

Render a contact sheet from the final video:

vided render my-recording-project --contact-sheet --overwrite

The contact sheet shows sampled frames from output/final.mp4. Frames that overlap redactions get an accent border.

my-recording-project/output/contact-sheet.jpg

Trim behavior

The default trim mode is hybrid:

detector: audio
short silent sections: cut
silent sections 1.5s or longer: speed:8,volume:0
normal sections: keep
margin: 0.2s
smooth: 0.2s,0.1s
audio threshold: 0.04

Short pauses disappear. Long waits are sped up and muted. Speech stays at normal speed. The default detector uses ffmpeg-decoded audio levels. Trimmed outputs contain only the rendered video and audio streams; subtitle streams, data streams, and chapters from the source are omitted so they cannot extend the reported duration.

To use VAD instead:

vided trim my-recording-project --detector vad --overwrite

This creates or refreshes work/vad.wav and work/vad_ranges.json as needed, then runs the same ffmpeg trim renderer.

Project layout

After the full flow, a project looks like this:

my-recording-project/
  project.json
  redactions.json
  input/
    original.mp4
  work/
    trimmed.mp4
    vad.wav
    vad_ranges.json
    filtergraph.txt
    filtergraph.debug.txt
    frames/
      frame_000001.jpg
      frame_000002.jpg
      frames.json
  output/
    debug-preview.mp4
    final.mp4
    contact-sheet.jpg

vad.wav and vad_ranges.json exist only after using VAD.

Commands

The quick start above is the normal workflow. For other knobs, use command help:

Usage: vided COMMAND

Simple local video silence speeder and rectangular blur redactor.

Commands:
  init: Create a one-video project folder.
  trim: Run the trim renderer on the source video.
  ui: Start the local annotation UI, generating frames if needed.
  render: Render final or debug preview video.
  doctor: Check external tool availability.
  install-skill: Install the packaged agent skill.
  --help, -h: Display this message and exit.
  --version, -v: Display application version.

vided init --help

Usage: vided init [OPTIONS] SOURCE

Create a one-video project folder.

Arguments:
  SOURCE: [required]

Parameters:
  --output-dir, -o: Project folder to create. Defaults to a name based on the
  input video.
  --frame-interval: Default thumbnail interval. [default: 1.0]
  --symlink: Symlink instead of copying input video. [default: False]
  --overwrite: Allow reusing a non-empty folder. [default: False]

vided trim --help

Usage: vided trim [OPTIONS] PROJECT

Run the trim renderer on the source video.

Arguments:
  PROJECT: [required]

Parameters:
  --detector, --engine: [choices: audio, vad]
  --mode: [choices: hybrid, speed, cut, keep]
  --margin
  --smooth
  --silent-speed
  --mute-silent-audio, --no-mute-silent-audio
  --vad-threshold
  --vad-min-speech-ms
  --vad-min-silence-ms
  --vad-speech-pad-ms
  --vad-merge-gap
  --speed-indicator, --no-speed-indicator
  --speed-indicator-corner: [choices: top-left, top-right, bottom-left,
  bottom-right]
  --speed-indicator-style: [choices: dark, light]
  --speed-indicator-min-seconds
  --final: Also copy the trimmed video to the final output path. [default: False]
  --final-output: Final output path; implies --final. Defaults to output/final.mp4.
  --overwrite: [default: False]
  --dry-run: [default: False]

vided ui --help

Usage: vided ui [OPTIONS] PROJECT

Start the local annotation UI, generating frames if needed.

Arguments:
  PROJECT: [required]

Parameters:
  --host: [default: 127.0.0.1]
  --port: [default: 8765]
  --no-open: Do not open the browser automatically. [default: False]
  --frame-interval: Seconds between thumbnails.
  --thumbnail-width
  --regenerate-frames: Regenerate thumbnails before opening the UI. [default:
  False]

vided render --help

Usage: vided render [OPTIONS] PROJECT

Render final or debug preview video.

Arguments:
  PROJECT: [required]

Parameters:
  --debug: Render visible rectangles instead of blur. [default: False]
  --contact-sheet: Render a contact sheet from the final video. [default: False]
  --final-video: Final video to sample when rendering a contact sheet.
  --output
  --overwrite: [default: False]
  --dry-run: [default: False]

vided doctor --help

Usage: vided doctor

Check external tool availability.

vided install-skill --help

Usage: vided install-skill --agent LITERAL[CODEX, CLAUDE] [OPTIONS]

Install the packaged agent skill.

Parameters:
  --agent: Personal skill directory to install into. [choices: codex, claude]
  [required]
  --overwrite: [default: False]
  --dry-run: [default: False]

Technical design

The pipeline is:

original video
  -> audio-level or VAD activity detection
  -> ffmpeg-backed speed/mute trim pass
  -> work/trimmed.mp4
  -> ffmpeg thumbnail generation
  -> browser rectangle annotations
  -> redactions.json
  -> ffmpeg debug preview
  -> ffmpeg final blurred render

Redactions are created against the trimmed video. That keeps all redaction timestamps in the same timeline as the debug and final renders.

The UI stores rectangles in real video pixels, not thumbnail pixels.

Redaction data

The browser writes redactions.json. Each redaction stores selected times, buffered effective times, a video-pixel rectangle, and a style:

{
  "id": "redaction_001",
  "selected_start_seconds": 10.0,
  "selected_end_seconds": 15.0,
  "buffer_pre_seconds": 0.5,
  "buffer_post_seconds": 0.5,
  "effective_start_seconds": 9.5,
  "effective_end_seconds": 15.5,
  "rect": {
    "x": 1000,
    "y": 42,
    "w": 420,
    "h": 90
  },
  "style": {
    "type": "blur",
    "filter": "boxblur",
    "luma_radius": 18,
    "luma_power": 3
  }
}

Rendering

For each blur redaction, the renderer generates an ffmpeg filtergraph that:

1. splits the video stream
2. crops the target rectangle from a copy
3. applies boxblur to the crop
4. overlays the blurred crop back onto the base video during the redaction time range

Generated filtergraphs are written to:

work/filtergraph.txt
work/filtergraph.debug.txt

The final render must re-encode video because blur is a video filter. Defaults:

{
  "video_codec": "libx264",
  "crf": 16,
  "preset": "medium",
  "pixel_format": "yuv420p",
  "audio_codec": "copy"
}

Lower CRF means higher quality and larger files. Try CRF 12 or 14 for very high quality, or 18 to 23 for smaller files.

Audio is stream-copied during the redaction render. Silence speeding and muting happen during the trim pass.

Limitations

• Fixed rectangles only. There are no keyframed rectangles or object tracking.
• Annotations happen on the trimmed video. Changing trim settings later means regenerating thumbnails and reviewing redactions.
• The UI uses frame thumbnails plus debug render. It does not include a video preview.
• Frame times are based on the thumbnail interval. This is fine for broad redactions with buffers, but not frame-perfect editing.
• Rotation metadata and unusual pixel aspect ratios are not normalized.
• Blur is implemented in the UI. Solid redaction is partially supported by the renderer if you hand-edit style.type to solid.
• The local UI server binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. Do not expose it to the public internet.

Development

Run tests:

uv run pytest

Format, lint, and type-check:

uv run ruff format src tests
uv run ruff check src tests
uv run ty check src tests

Install the prek-managed pre-commit hook:

uv run prek install

Verify the configured hooks:

uv run prek run --stage pre-commit --dry-run
uv run prek run --stage pre-commit

The hooks run Ruff formatting, Ruff lint checks, and the release-version bump guard.

Every commit with package source or release metadata changes must bump the package version with zerover. This includes staged changes under src/ and published package metadata in pyproject.toml, such as runtime dependencies, entry points, Python version support, or build configuration. Tests, workflows, docs, scripts, dev dependencies, and uv.lock-only changes do not require a bump.

uv version --bump patch
# or, for larger changes while still staying on major zero:
uv version --bump minor
git add pyproject.toml uv.lock

After committing, add the matching tag:

version="$(uv version --short)"
git tag -a "v$version" -m "v$version"
git push origin HEAD --tags

Publishing runs from .github/workflows/publish.yml when a v* tag is pushed. In PyPI, configure a trusted publisher for:

• owner: pmbaumgartner
• repository: vided
• workflow: publish.yml
• environment: pypi

Realistic media fixtures

The repo includes two Git LFS-tracked public-domain NASA fixtures:

• tests/fixtures/media/realistic-speech-gaps.mp4
• tests/fixtures/media/realistic-speech-gaps-short.mp4

Use them for realistic trim, VAD, frame generation, render, and UI smoke tests. Source and license notes live beside each fixture as *.LICENSE.md.

Run fixture e2e tests:

uv run pytest --run-e2e -m e2e

Install the Playwright browser once before browser e2e tests:

uv run playwright install chromium
uv run pytest --run-e2e -m browser --browser chromium