Prerequisites

System dependencies

Dependency	Minimum version	Purpose
Python	3.10+	Running build.py
Node.js	18+	npx hyperframes render CLI
ffprobe	any recent	Audio duration probing (ships with ffmpeg)
ffmpeg	any with libx264 + AAC	Used internally by the HyperFrames renderer

Installing ffmpeg

Ubuntu / DebianmacOS (Homebrew)Windows (winget)

sudo apt install ffmpeg

brew install ffmpeg

winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

Installing Node.js

Download from nodejs.org or use a version manager like nvm:

nvm install --lts

ElevenLabs API key

build.py calls ElevenLabs to generate narration. You need a free or paid account.

1. Sign up at elevenlabs.io
2. Go to Profile → API Keys and copy your key
3. Create a .env file at the repo root:

cp .env.example .env
# then edit .env and set ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=your_key_here

Optional ElevenLabs overrides

ELEVENLABS_VOICE_ID=21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM   # default: Rachel
ELEVENLABS_MODEL_ID=eleven_multilingual_v2   # default

Browse available voices at elevenlabs.io/voice-library.

HyperFrames CLI

The renderer is installed on-demand via npx — no global install required. The first run downloads it; subsequent runs use the npm cache.

To pin a specific version:

npx hyperframes@0.4.42 render video/hf

Chromium download

The HyperFrames renderer ships with Puppeteer, which downloads a compatible Chromium binary on first use (~170 MB). This happens automatically and only once.