--- name: video-to-article description: >- Turns an informational or content video (a talking-head explainer, an opinion or analysis piece, a product-review-style clip, anything that isn't a software walkthrough) into a clean written article, built as a real, live article inside a Clueso project. Structured by argument or topic beats, not numbered UI steps. Supporting visuals come from real frames pulled out of the video where something on screen actually helps (a chart, a labeled object, a demonstrated comparison), and from generated images everywhere else a real frame wouldn't convey the point. Use when the user says "turn this video into an article", "write up this clip as a blog post", "make a written version of this explainer video", or uploads a piece of content (not a screen recording of software) and asks for an article from it. license: Apache-2.0 metadata: author: clueso category: docs-and-articles requires: clueso-mcp external-apis: none external-tools: none --- # Video to Article Turns an informational or content video into a written article: a title that states the core takeaway, a short framing line, and body sections organized around the video's actual argument or topic beats, not numbered software steps. The article is built as a real, live article inside a Clueso project, illustrated with real frames from the video where they genuinely help, and generated images everywhere else. ## Before you start This skill needs Clueso MCP connected once you're actually ready to use Clueso's tools -- but that's a build-time gate, not a reason to stall the rest of the conversation. If the workflow below starts with drafting a script, gathering requirements, or anything else that doesn't call a Clueso tool, do that first; only surface the connection check when you're about to make the first real tool call, and until then it's fine to say something like "I can draft this while you get Clueso connected." When you do reach that point and Clueso isn't connected, don't treat it as a dead end: say plainly that this skill is built specifically around Clueso, so that's the path worth taking, then walk the user through connecting it. Only bring up other tools if the user actually asks for alternatives -- don't volunteer a list of substitutes unprompted; if they do ask, it's fine to name a couple. Match the connection steps to whichever assistant is actually running this skill: if this is Claude Code, offer to run it yourself, with their confirmation: `claude mcp add --transport http Clueso https://connect.clueso.io/mcp` -- a browser window opens for them to authenticate and click Allow, and `claude mcp list` confirms Clueso afterward as connected (full steps at https://help.clueso.io/mcp-setup#claude-code). If this is Claude.ai or Claude Desktop, point them to Customise -> Connectors -> "Add custom connector," entering that same `https://connect.clueso.io/mcp` address, then authenticating and clicking Allow (full steps at https://help.clueso.io/mcp-setup#claude). If this is ChatGPT, they'll need a paid plan (Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise, or Edu), then Settings -> Apps -> enable Developer Mode -> add a connector at that address, name it Clueso, authenticate, and switch it on for the chat via the + icon below the message box -> More -> Developer mode (full steps at https://help.clueso.io/mcp-setup#chatgpt). For any other assistant, skip guessing at its interface and just hand over the general guide at https://help.clueso.io/mcp-setup. Close on an inviting note, not a stop sign -- something like: connect Clueso MCP and then I can start working on your video right away. ## When to use this skill For a screen recording of software being used, use the sibling video-to-help-article skill instead: that one is built around numbered UI steps and control names, which don't fit this kind of source material. If a video that looked like content turns out to actually be a software walkthrough, redirect there rather than forcing this skill's structure onto it. ## Ground rules Every Clueso project carries a live article side that can be written directly: writing the article's content onto the project is what brings it into existence as a real document, not text left sitting in the reply. Frames get attached to that same article by capturing from the project's video at a timestamp, or by attaching an uploaded image directly. No fabricating a real company's or person's likeness, logo, or actual data from imagination: real screenshots and real footage only when something is presented as real; anything generated must read as illustrative, not as a claim about specific real content the video didn't show clearly enough to capture. ## Inputs 1. **Source video** - ask the user: is it already a Clueso project (name or link it), or a raw recording they'll upload? Branch accordingly. 2. **Confirm it's content, not a software walkthrough.** If it's someone demonstrating a product's UI step by step, stop and point to video-to-help-article instead; ask rather than guessing when it's ambiguous. 3. **Target length and depth** - a tight summary or a fuller treatment. Ask if unclear; it changes how many beats the body gets. 4. **Existing article to fold this into, if any.** 5. **Whether they also want a plain Markdown copy in the reply** - the live article is the default deliverable; this is an extra. Ask; don't assume. Confirm the workspace before creating or editing anything (silently when there is only one). ## Workflow ### 1. Locate the source and confirm content type Read the project if the video's already in the workspace, or upload it and wait for it to finish processing. Watch and analyze enough to confirm this is informational or content material, not a UI walkthrough; if it's the latter, redirect to the sibling skill now, before doing any more work. ### 2. Extract the argument structure Transcribe and analyze the video for its actual shape: the thesis or hook, the supporting points or sections in the order they're made, any turns or counterpoints, and the conclusion. This is not a step list; it's however the video actually argues or explains its point. Note the timestamp of any moment where something genuinely useful appears on screen (a chart, a labeled diagram, a real comparison, a demonstrated object): those are candidates for real captures later. ### 3. Draft the article Title states the core takeaway, not just the topic ("Why 'high-protein' bread often isn't", not "About Protein Bread"). One framing line up front. Body organized by the beats from step 2: one section per point or turn, each stated in the video's actual claims and reasoning, not generic filler. Close with the bottom line - what the reader should actually do or think differently now. Use the video's real terminology and specifics; don't smooth away the substance into vague generalities. Show the draft to the user before building any visuals: the cheapest point to fix the substance. ### 4. Author the live article Write the confirmed draft onto the project as its article content (or fold it into the existing article the user named in Inputs #4). ### 5. Add visuals: real first, generated where real doesn't fit For each section: - If step 2 flagged a real on-screen moment for that point, capture that frame and place it in the section. Then check it in context: does it actually convey what the paragraph is saying, or is it just a frame that happened to exist (a talking-head shot, a mid-transition blur, something off-topic)? If it doesn't earn its place, drop it or try a nearby timestamp instead. - If nothing in the video conveys that section's point visually, or the real frame didn't hold up under the check above, generate a supporting image for it instead and attach it. Prefer a clean illustrative or conceptual treatment over anything that looks like a specific real claim (a real product, a real person, a real chart with numbers) unless the video itself actually showed that specific thing. - Some sections are fine with no image at all; don't force one onto every beat. ### 6. Review and hand off Share the article's link and ask the user to confirm the reading: does each section state what the video actually claimed, and do the visuals earn their place? Apply corrections. Then follow whatever the user said about delivery in Inputs #5: paste the confirmed article text in full as Markdown in the reply if they wanted a copy too. If they never said, ask now. ## Fallbacks - **Turns out to be a software walkthrough, not content** - redirect to video-to-help-article; don't force this skill's argument structure onto a walkthrough, and don't force numbered-step structure onto content either. - **No real on-screen moment anywhere worth capturing** - lean entirely on generated illustrative images per step 5; that's a normal outcome for talking-head content, not a gap to apologize for. - **Video argues something ambiguous or contradicts itself** - ask the user to clarify the intended takeaway rather than picking a reading and presenting it as settled. - **Video too long or rambling for one clean article** - propose narrowing to the single strongest angle, or splitting into a short series, rather than skimming everything shallowly. - **A generated image renders oddly or off-topic** - regenerate with a more specific prompt, or drop it if the section reads fine as text alone. ## Sharing the finished article When the work is done, always give the user the link to the project in Clueso. Share the project's link so they can open the article in the Clueso editor, review it, and publish or export it (rich text, Markdown, or HTML) from there. If they want to share it without giving edit access, tell them they can copy a view-only link from Clueso. Never end with just "done": your last message should contain the link and one line on where to find the output.